This is a topic close to Becks’s heart as she starts to prepare for both of her children leaving home for university. One of Becks’s friends asked us to record this episode – so here you are!  We spoke about:  How it’s a different milestone to going to childcare / school for the first time. The social media phenomenon of making the most of ‘18 summers with your children’...what we think! The feelings and emotions that you have and the stages that you go through when your child/ren leave...

Please note that Meriel was a surrogate in the US and rules in each country are very different – to find out more about surrogacy rules in the UK you can find them here and more information on surrogacy in the UK here.  Meriel is a three times surrogate from the United States. She was blessed to help two families achieve the dream of completing their families through surrogacy. She currently works for an agency as a surrogacy journey coordinator, where she is passionate about helping to...

We spoke to Hayley and Becky from Paths to Parent Hub. We first came across Paths to Parent Hub when we listened to their podcast following a recommendation from a friend.  We started with Hayley and Becky sharing their own stories with us. Hayley is a donor conceived person herself and is also a parent of twins through sperm donation. Becky was diagnosed with early menopause at 28 – she and her husband did 5 rounds of IVF and then decided to use an egg donor to have her 3 children. Both...

Lee is Becks’s ‘Boxing trainer’ - (well kind of 😉!) and a personal trainer (to real boxers!). He is also a stay-at-home dad looking after his little girl Beaux which started when she was 3 months old.  We talked to Lee about:  As a couple how Lee and his wife came to the decision that Lee would be the main carer and how he felt about it. The reaction from friends and family to Lee staying at home with his little one. How he and his wife prepared for parenthood (reading blogs, books, listening...

You probably already know Susie Amy – perhaps from Footballer’s Wives or maybe from Hollyoaks or as a stage actress (we recently saw her in Fatal Attraction).  We do too, but we are also lucky to know Susie via a mutual friend who gave her a gift of some time with Claire when her first baby was born. Susie didn’t feel for a while that she was ready to use this gift straight away – she felt instead that her baby didn’t like / need sleep and was just a bit different! When Claire spent some time...

If not, you must listen to this podcast!  We spoke to Bik-ki Wong and Helen Thompson who are both partners at Myerson solicitors  Bik-ki is responsible for wills, trust and probate and Helen heads up the department that looks after contesting wills.  We talked to Bik-ki about:  What happens if you don’t write a will? Doesn’t it just go to my husband / wife?  Not necessarily, Bik-ki explained. And what happens if you aren’t married? How many people we know who don’t have a will and don’t want...

Violet (Katherine’s eldest daughter) was fully out of nappies by 10 / 11 months, but how did she do it?!  Katherine shares all with us in this funny, insightful and informative episode!   Amongst all the talk of poo and pee, we chatted with Katherine about...  The potty training approach Katherine has used –often referred to as elimination communication. She told us how she has used this approach with all of her children by having a consistent routine, watching their faces for signs,...

There are lots of different ways for children to play, but one of the elements of play is rough and tumble – but what is it?   We spoke about:  What is involved in rough and tumble play?  Respecting when your little one wants to stop and establishing rules / boundaries for when children are playing rough and tumble together and how to do this (perhaps have a word - possibly “Flamingo” or maybe even “sausages” 😉!!). Sharing these rules with others who might want to do rough and tumble play...

Hitting (and any of that type of ‘inappropriate’ behaviour) can be difficult whichever side you are on – either the parent of the child who is hitting or the one who has been hit.  We chatted about:  Why Children (and some adults) do this! Emotions and how they affect children’s behaviour. Cause and effect – ‘if I do this what happens’. How children are attention needing and that this can drive their behaviour. Children laughing when they’ve hit you...and why?? How to respond when a child...

Managing the dynamic and using grandparents for childcare  More and more we are using grandparents to help care for our children, but what do we need to think about? This episode goes into it all, the plusses, the minuses and how to approach it.  Some stats – ever wondered how many of us use grandparents for childcare?   Things to think about when asking grandparents if they can help with childcare – how it can really change the dynamic. “Well I raised you OK didn’t I? You’re OK...”. How to...

We talked about sleep for babies under 6 months: How babies don’t immediately start sleeping through the night (and neither do we!). Why they wake and what ‘sleeping through the night’ actually means. The transition from the womb to ‘outside life’! It’s quite a change! Can you teach babies ‘bad sleep habits’? Starting to look at a sleep routine (6-8 weeks) - if you want to. Introducing a bedtime routine and wind down to naps 4 month sleep regression (or is it progression?) Sleep...

We covered so much with Sian including: Sian’s background and how @moonandrue started with a few weaning videos! The @moonandrue community – keeping it real. Baby led weaning – how a child needs to be developmentally ready (and the fact that a baby can still choke on purees). Allergens and how Rue reacted to egg when she first tried it. How Rue choked on a piece of apple, what Sian did and her feelings afterwards. The baby (up to 1) and child first aid training that Sian did with...

What we want to do instinctively is to jump in and solve it for our children but they need to learn the skills to deal with it and this is what we talked about: Children can be cruel – it's hard to hear when someone says they don’t want to be your friend or don’t invite you to their birthday party, but as a parent what can you do / say when this happens? What do we do / say when it’s our child that isn’t being a nice friend? How it’s important to think carefully about how we talk about...

Doula Lou is a mum of 2 children – she originally trained as a nanny and worked with children and families for 8 years. Following the birth of her own children she stayed at home caring for them. Once they had both gone to school she decided to re-train as a post-natal Doula. We talked to Lou about: A Doula’s role and responsibilities. Lou’s training as a Doula and what’s involved. The difference between a Maternity Nurse and a Doula. The Fourth Trimester explained and Lou’s own...

How do you deal with it if you have a different parenting style from your partner, parent, friend etc. and how can we make sure that the way we parent is helping to promote our children’s independence? We chatted about: How different parenting approaches can impact on children’s resilience. The fact that we have become very risk averse and have started to always be there (in person or via technology) to make sure our children are OK. How our experiences of being parented can impact our...

Suzanne’s own experiences inspired her to set up the Parenting Mental Health charity – in 2015 when Suzanne’s daughter Issy was 14, she was severely bullied at school leading to a sharp decline in her mental health – she was depressed, anxious and suicidal.     We talked through many aspects of this story including:    Issy’s final trigger, her referral and her disclosure to the doctor that she was going to end her life – this was the moment Suzanne shared where the family reached absolute...

A bit of a different episode this week where we introduce you to our parent consultations and give you some information about what they actually involve, including... How to decide whether a parent consultation is for you. What a parent consultation can help with. The fact that each consultation is tailored to each individual family and their situation. The overwhelm parents feel with so many different types of information being given to them and the benefit of having someone...

This is one of our most read blogs on the website (see link to this below) and so we thought it would be a good thing to talk about! Why does this happen and isn’t it just the same as waking through the night? Some of the reasons this might happen – can naps have an impact for example? Do you need to bring bedtime forward? Having a check list as to what the cause might be (and what to put on the list). The bedtime routine and why it is so important. How to make changes and be...

We talked about: Why Jenny does what she does and how she supports working mums (and dads). What really thriving means as a working parent. How to bring yourself up in the priority list in order to bring the best of yourself to parenting. Where does the guilt come from in doing things for yourself? Remembering that you can have it all but you can’t do it all! The concept of self care and what does this really mean? For example, isn’t a relaxing bath just a basic need? Why it’s...

We talked about: How the pregnancies were for Stu and how he researched and prepared for each baby to come. How Stu doesn’t have any real experience with children – with his first child he was always learning and it was all a bit surreal! Having a second child and how this will change the dynamic from having a first baby. The key role that dad / the partner that isn’t carrying the baby plays. He couldn’t breastfeed, but contributed in other ways working as part of a family team! ...

This is a topic which lots of people told us they wanted more information about so we went on a deep dive (?!) into night time dryness! We talked about: The expectation that once days are dry that nights will automatically follow. The hormone we need to help us stay dry at night. What night time dryness really means. When you might need to visit your GP. How you know if your child is ready or not to be dry at night. The stats – how many children are wet through the night and at...

“We don’t go to a French class already speaking French” was how Sam @SPDTuitionandCoaching started the podcast and this was how she and Charlotte want all parents to approach preparations for school. They feel that children need to be learning ready – not from what they know already but how they are prepared using emotional balance and communication. Sam and Charlotte are both mums of children under 5, with Charlotte’s little one preparing to go to school for the first time in September. ...

In this episode we talked about everything you need to know to help you make a decision that is right for you and your children including all of the different types of childcare, financial considerations, the hours you need covered, location, facilities and more! We also covered: Planning ahead – how far and what to consider Different types of childcare and how they operate. Dealing with sickness (including a couple of lovely anecdotes 🤢) What to look for and how to decide. Blogs:...

For the first time in a while Claire posed a question in Challenge Becks – what would she do when faced with a monumental meltdown??! How did she answer..? We also talked about: Why a tantrum might escalate. Looking at our own triggers - how it is never easy in the moment especially with so many things are going on for both of you. Some ideas for strategies to use to help regulate ourselves (which we need to do, to be able to help regulate our children). How there are days when you...