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You can also check out all of our practical videos on our YouTube Channel here - these include nappy changing, making up a bottle, topping and tailing and so much more!
Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. The last 12 months have been such a strange time and we are all adjusting after spending so much time at home with our family members (possibly more than ever before). We have had to make changes so that we have been able to manage the situation and by doing this we have got into new routines and hopefully made home a place where we can feel safe and secure.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. It has been a long 12 months, but we are just starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel (keeping everything crossed) and the thought of being able to do things and see people again is a really exciting one. However, for our babies and children (and even some adults) this new phase is something that we need to adjust to, and this might not just be a case of ‘getting back to normal…’ in some cases we will need a plan to gradually re-introduce other people back into our lives.
Read MoreWritten by Emily Darwell. Becoming a mother, entering lockdown and getting to know the new norm, 2020 was quite the year for our new family! When thinking about writing this, it has made me think a lot about other families and how this past year has effected everyone individually. I want to make it clear I am aware we are all on our own journey, the saying ‘we are all in the same boat’ got thrown around a lot in 2020 and I very much disagree with it, yes we have all had challenges and it is of course affecting us all, however, our ‘boats’ are all very different!! I know I am very lucky, having a garden and living in the Yorkshire Dales which suddenly became a huge benefit of 2020 life, I think the new mum in a small flat, home schooling two older children, with zero outside space living in a city would very much agree, we are not in the same boat! Though saying this and recognising I am lucky to live where I am doesn’t mean emotionally it hasn’t taken its toll, but it has enabled me on harder days to always see that silver lining, knowing I am lucky to have what I have! As mothers we should always try to remember we are on our own parental journey, completely individual to us and our wee ones, pandemic or no pandemic - just trying to do our best with what we have and somedays just finding the energy to get to bedtime is more than enough!
Read MoreWritten by Abby Wheeler. When Abby became pregnant, she couldn’t have imagined the way the world would look when her son was born. Here she tells her story of bringing a baby in to the world during lockdown - it’s a story that many of you will identify with - there have been tough times, positive moments and now hope for the future...
Having a new baby in September 2020 started in much the same way as many new parents - once we were home, we could have visitors to meet our new little man for the very first time and I even managed to get out to cafés a couple of times to meet friends. I set into a new rhythm of life as a mum, trying to work out things on the baby front but also learning how to fill my days.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. There have been thousands of babies born during 2020, a year when we have seen lockdowns and more social isolation than we have ever experienced before! This has brought about a great deal of concern for parents, often questioning if this isolation from friends, family, activity groups and classes will have an impact on their baby’s development.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. In these strange and surreal times, we have been and still are facing things that we have never faced before in our lifetimes. Many families have experienced an extremely difficult time in relation to living and working space, finances and family circumstances etc and this is likely to continue as we start to go into some kind of ‘recovery phase’.
We just wanted to take a moment to look at all of the things we are hearing from families about their experiences through the Coronavirus outbreak and what these changes might mean for us and, more importantly, our children, as we come out of it and into our ‘new normal’ - will this experience change our children forever?
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. There is a wealth of information out there to support babies, toddler and pre-school children, but once they are over the age of 5 the information tends to be more limited and is often focused on school related topics.
Just because our children are getting older, it doesn’t mean that parenting gets easier or that you will have all the answers to the new phases and stages that your child might be going through. It can be challenging and sometimes make you feel like you are having to use guess work to get through it.
Read MoreWritten by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Maybe now more than ever we are experiencing what is like to be together, day in, day out and I think that we can all agree that some days can be lovely and others can be more challenging than we would like.
As we are all spending more time together, sibling rivalry seems to be a topic which many families are having to deal with on a daily basis. Sibling rivalry is a is a natural part of family life, the frustration of siblings can be a real issue, but (if it helps), this is a normal stage of children’s development where they are learning skills such as resilience and tolerance…..along with how to negotiate and problem solve! ;-)
Read MoreWritten by Anna Turner, Childcare Consultant. During this time of lockdown, I have had many conversations with parents, friends and colleagues about how school will be for our children when they go back – both on an emotional and physical level. We are entering the unknown when it comes to fully understanding what the long-term effects will be for children who have been forced into different routines before being re-introduced to what could be a very different environment – one where safety, health and hygiene is now paramount, where they may not allowed to play with the same friends, join in with class assemblies, or even hug their best friends.
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