Family

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Cheese and strawberry jam sandwiches, cold baked beans in a salad and tuna with salt & vinegar crisps form part of the top ten weird food combinations Brits actually enjoy eating. A new poll of 2,000 UK adults found more than one in ten Brits like to dip their toast into their tea and dip apples in peanut butter! Mayonnaise on toast and celery with a scoop of Nutella were also found to be unusual, yet...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Virgin Trains has launched a nationwide “Where’s Wally? Hunt” and is challenging families to find the much-loved character while they are out and about during the school summer holidays. One hundred of the ‘Where’s Wally?’ replicas have been scattered across the country. Wally, who is known to appear in train stations in the famous books created by Martin Hanford, is following suit in the real world with life size cut-outs and smaller transfers blending into real...

By Lucy Gill, Director: Apps & Technology Fundamentally Children Many of us are dreading long journeys with our children this summer, struggling to work out what will fit in the suitcase to entertain them when we get to our destination or simply wondering how to fill all those hours at home on a rainy day! Technology is certainly not the only solution to keep children entertained, far from it, but there is no doubt it can help! For many of...

The summer holidays are here, and that can mean weeks of trying to meet cries of “I’m bored!” with inspired suggestions. But the best ideas don't have to be expensive, and don't take hours of preparation - all you really need is some felt, fabric, card and their imagination. We asked two designers on Folksy.com who specialise in crafts for kids to share their super simple tips for unplugging children from screens and getting them crafting. Ruth Bagnall, A is...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent Music is the most powerful memory generator among Brits – with two thirds of us believing that it evokes more memories than the smell of mum’s cooking, the taste of school dinners and toys we played with when we were young. New research to mark the launch of the Nick Jr. Sing-Along Summer reveals that nine in 10 UK adults say music they enjoyed during childhood evokes strong positive memories, taking them back to happy...

By Sarah Beeson MBE, Health Visitor and Author After four decades working with babies, children and their families as a nurse and health visitor, I can honestly say that this is the best generation of parents there has ever been. One of the biggest reasons is that mums and dads work as a team; putting their Little One’s needs at the centre of family life. Today’s parents often intuitively meet the needs of their baby in a natural way. Even...

By Tracey Taylor, British Red Cross First Aid Spokesman Being a parent means you never quite know what’s around the corner. Children are naturally inquisitive which means lots of exploring and discovering is normal. Of course with that comes the inevitable little bumps, bangs, trips and tumbles. While most of the time that quivering bottom lip can be vanquished with a hug and appearance of their favourite cuddly toy, it’s always important to have a little first aid know-how. That...

By Jasmine Stephens, family editor Learning to swim is one of those critical childhood rights of passage. Like riding a bike and learning to read it opens up a whole new world of memorable experiences from holiday pools to super-fast flumes to ice-cold lakes. Not only that, swimming is a fantastic way to stay fit at any age and of course it's a skill that could one day save your life. The National Curriculum requires Primary schools to teach children...

By Mike Wragg Take one house, bought 15 years ago by David and Claire when their girls were just off to senior school and Claire’s parents lived nearby to help with childcare. Fast forward to now, with university done and dusted, elder daughter Sophie lives and works in Europe, but 22-year-old Rebecca has just arrived back home with a degree in hand and is struggling to find anywhere to rent, let alone buy. In the meantime, Claire’s parents have become...