For a long time, I used food as a shortcut. If the children packed away their toys, sat quietly through an appointment, or made it through a difficult shopping…
A kitchen gadget earns its place in a busy family home when it removes a job, shortens a routine or saves a pile of washing up. The promise on the box matters…
There was a time when I believed a happy family home should look calm by late afternoon. I pictured clear floors, cushions standing neatly to attention and a…
A household can feel busy even when nothing particularly dramatic is happening. There are school notes to sign, washing to fold, groceries to buy, bathrooms to…
Getting children to eat unfamiliar food can turn an ordinary family dinner into a tense little performance. A parent offers one more bite, a child clamps their…
I used to think kindness was something children absorbed by watching the adults around them. We said please and thank you, welcomed people into our home,…
Toddlers seem to grow overnight, spill food in seconds and develop very firm opinions about which jumper feels “scratchy”. Buying a little of everything can…
For a long time, I treated walking as something that happened while I was getting somewhere. I walked from the car to school pickup, from the kitchen to the…
A candle can change the feeling of a room in minutes. It softens a busy kitchen, adds warmth to a dining table and makes an ordinary evening at home feel a…
Our cat has never read a parenting book, attended a mindfulness workshop, or organised a family calendar. Still, she has a remarkable understanding of…