Category: Parenting

Parenting is my largest category on my blog. I started it when my first child was around 2 years old as I wanted to not only promote my book but document what it was like to be a Mum and what we got up to.

Topics here are vast. You will find top tips, advice, real-life experiences, first-hand mistakes and parenting fails, help and support and an honest viewpoint of being a parent and all that goes with that title.

In tips I cover those fun topics like sleep or the lack of! Teething, the stages like terrible two’s and threenager. I also go into the changes that occur when you have a child like the start of pre-school or school. Everything is real life, no sugar coating. I also cover how I am now far more eco-friendly and how you can also implement this as a busy parent.

 

Happy mother holding smiling baby beside Papablic SafeguardPlus™ Baby Bottle Washer System (P8Plus) and baby bottles on kitchen counter

Best Baby Bottle Washer of 2026? An Honest Look at the Papablic SafeguardPlus™

Posted on by Emma Reed
*Collaborative Post

When you have a baby, washing bottles, pump parts and other feeding accessories can quickly become one of those household jobs that never seems to end. There are bottles to clean after feeds, pump parts to wash throughout the day, and little accessories that need just as much attention as the larger items. Before long, the kitchen sink can feel like a permanent part of your feeding routine.

A dedicated baby bottle washer could help simplify that process, but is it worth the investment? And what should you look for before choosing one?

Continue reading “Best Baby Bottle Washer of 2026? An Honest Look at the Papablic SafeguardPlus™” →
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How Family Tech Habits Shape Children’s Attitudes Toward Privacy

Posted on by Emma Reed
*Collaborative Post

The children of today are certain to grow up in a world that’s defined by technological change. If you want to protect your children and ensure that they’re allowed to thrive in this world, then you’ll want to equip them with the right digital skills and instil in them the right digital habits.

If you take a hands-off approach, then you might be surprised at what your kids learn. And not all of the surprises will be pleasant!

Continue reading “How Family Tech Habits Shape Children’s Attitudes Toward Privacy” →
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When Motherhood Meets School Anxiety: Navigating the Hidden Toll on Our Mental Health

Posted on by Emma Reed

 

*Collaborative Post

Motherhood is a constant learning curve. Just when we think we have a handle on the daily routines, a new challenge appears that leaves us questioning everything. For many mums, that challenge is the daily school run. 

When a child is struggling with school anxiety, learning can become tangled up with pressure. Books, uniforms and timetables may all remind them of difficult mornings. And while our first instinct is always to help our children, we rarely talk about the heavy emotional toll this takes on us as mothers. 

Continue reading “When Motherhood Meets School Anxiety: Navigating the Hidden Toll on Our Mental Health” →
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A Parent’s Guide to Buying the First Car for Their Teen

Posted on by Emma Reed
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Getting your first car is always an exciting experience for anyone who is a teenager. But parents usually add some element of pragmatism into the equation. Your teenager may be dreaming of having that cool hatchback or whatever flashy model, and which brand name adorns the bonnet.

You’ll be thinking about safety ratings, insurance premiums and whether the thing will actually start on a cold Monday morning, not to mention whether it will keep them safe if someone pulls out in front of them on a wet roundabout. Somewhere between those two positions is a car that’s safe, affordable to run and sensible for someone with about three weeks of driving experience. 

Continue reading “A Parent’s Guide to Buying the First Car for Their Teen” →
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Summer School or Family Holiday: Which Is Right for Your Child?

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Six or seven weeks sit between the end of one school year and the start of the next, and most families spend part of the spring deciding how to fill them. Two options tend to come up repeatedly: enrolling a child on a structured programme abroad, or booking a family trip that everyone travels on together.

Continue reading “Summer School or Family Holiday: Which Is Right for Your Child?” →
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School Sports Gear: A Parent’s Checklist for the Term Ahead

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The list arrives in August. Two pages from the school, cheerfully titled something like What Your Child Will Need This Term. Somewhere between the geometry set and the glue sticks sits the vaguest line on the page: PE kit.

Anyone who has stood in a shop holding that list knows the problem. PE kit doesn’t tell you why one jersey survives a school year while another pills by October, or why the cheapest leggings always migrate, unworn, to the bottom of the drawer. Schools tell you what to buy. Nobody tells you how to buy it well.

So here it is, a working checklist for school sports gear for kids, written from the trenches of half-terms past.

Continue reading “School Sports Gear: A Parent’s Checklist for the Term Ahead” →
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Child Visitation Rights Explained

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Visitation exists because separation shouldn’t have to mean losing a real connection with your child. Based on Census Bureau data on custodial parents, in 2022 about one in four children under 21 lived with just one parent, while the other parent lived elsewhere. That’s a large number of families finding different ways to keep the non-custodial parent involved.

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