Mates don’t bully mates. Or do they? A staggering one in five (19%) children surveyed by the Anti-Bullying Alliance ahead of Anti-Bullying Week said they have steered clear of spending time with friends to avoid being bullied, suggesting that friends are more often than not the perpetrators. Sad…
Do you have a teen in the house with a penchant for shopping online? If not you are a rare breed indeed. If, like me the answer is yes, please read on. Fact – online shopping is on the rise in households worldwide and our household is no…
Grief after the loss of a loved one is inevitable. Throw suicide into the mix and the consequence for those left behind is guilt of the truly toxic kind, that keeps its victims awake at night and forces them through a labyrinth of closed doors. There is never…
“I want you back my love.” My words to my son last night. It’s been an unsettling couple of years in our house but I had not fully appreciated how tough it would be for my son on top of everything else. My first born. My handsome, clever…
Motherly advice takes on a whole new resonance during the teenage years but never more so than when a parent-free holiday looms on the horizon. I have written before about teenagers holidaying abroad and the fear that strikes at the heart of every mother, but just as going…
There are many milestones in life but none more memorable than your first relationship. It provides a footprint for the way forward and the impression it leaves is significant. Mine was at the tender age of 15 years old. I was on a French exchange trip from…
Sometimes I forget I have been diagnosed with cancer. It’s been a year and from the outside in, life just keeps chugging along until something comes along to remind me that actually my life is not what it was and that I need to spare a thought. A…
Talking is a big part of our family life. Whatever direction our teens are taking on their route to adulthood and however nervous I might feel sometimes I take comfort from the chats we have. Tonight was no exception. My daughter is an extraordinary young woman. She has…
