Recently I attended yet another parenting seminar, in the ongoing quest, I suppose, for anything that may assist with the challenging role we face as parents. This seminar…
Fathers… It is fifteen years since my father passed away, just six weeks after our first son was born. My husband John’s father passed way before he was…
Talk to your children about the Important Stuff. Taking the time to talk… and not lecture your children about the important issues is sometimes really hard. More often…
Much has been said lately about wrapping your kids up in cotton wool. I have been as guilty as most about being over protective, however the more kids…
I spoke at a function the other night to raise money for a wonderful woman who has Her2 breast cancer. I don’t know the woman or her friends…
This month our eldest son turned 15. Everyone I know has an opinion on whether he should or shouldn’t get his learners drivers license; everyone that is apart…
It appears that the topic of the moment is the ever increasing “cost of living “ particularly the basic necessities such as food. You can imagine that with…
Only 3 more weeks left of Term 1. I seem to have just recovered from the last holidays. As much as I enjoy the break from routine, the…
Our Super Mum Susan has recently been in Europe with her boys on the “trip of a lifetime”. This article tracks her trip home to NZ Thankfully my…
Our Super Mum Susan is currently in Europe with her boys on the “trip of a lifetime”. Over the next four months we will follow Susan on her…
As I sit in some dingy cafe in Portobello Rd in London trying to figure out how to use these internet cafes I am trying to decide if…
I live in a world surrounded by males. With six brothers and no sisters, four sons and no daughters and a husband, you could say that I have…
I was deeply disturbed when I heard that another child had been abused and was in a serious condition in Starship hospital. I can’t bear to think of…
I was trying to recall how and when I learnt about the birds and the bees. I know for sure there was never any mother-daughter, or for that…
In September our family is taking the trip of a lifetime or at least I am hoping it will be. When we talked about the possibility last year…
Often I wonder if I’m a good Mum? Perhaps the only real measure is reflected in what sort of young men and women our children become, and whether…
The catalyst for my column this month was provided by a Member who wrote in with concerns regarding her all-boy family and their intense sibling rivalry. I’m not…
Having four children contributes to a heavy workload and I often say that I have too many children and not enough husbands. Or, as someone corrected me recently,…
I enjoy the holidays but with 4 boys at home I have definitely run out of ideas to keep them busy and active without depleting all our financial…
I sense my 8 and 10 year old sons are struggling to believe that Santa Claus is really real. This year there have been no requests for Santa’s…
I have succumbed to the “but everybody else has” argument in allowing my two eldest sons to have mobile phones. According to them, every child eleven years and…