Family

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Social media was born on ideals of friendship, but new research has found it could be doing more to dismantle our relationships than bolster it. A study in to modern friendship, commissioned by Thomas J Fudge’s Remarkable Bakery, revealed the majority of Brits (58 per cent) think that social media has a negative impact on their friendships, with nearly two thirds fearing their friendships are becoming more superficial. Researchers found 45 per cent fear they are ‘addicted’ to checking their social media...

By Emma Waight With summer looming it’s time to think about travel, or more specifically, travelling with kids. If the nightmare of Easter travel chaos is fresh in your mind, you should be looking for ways to ease the drama for the half term and summer holidays. Travelling with kids can turn what should be a relaxing holiday into a stressful affair. Even relatively short car journeys can test your patience in the (traffic) jam-packed summer season but with a...

By Vanessa Cameron, Founder of Qwiddle It may sound an odd concept, teaching children how to spend – we hear a lot about saving, child ISA’s have just been launched and there’s a whole plethora of savings facilities for kids; but how often do we actually talk to our children about spending money? Clearly spending and saving are intrinsically linked, but how on earth are we to encourage our children to save if they don’t know the first thing about...

By Jasmine Stephens, Family Editor If there’s one thing I remember like clockwork at 9am on the first Monday of every single school break, it’s that I need to get much better at planning our holiday activities in advance and not rely on googling ‘Help me!’ to find things to occupy our time. There is a huge range of family-friendly festivals and events all across the country this summer; some free, some requiring tickets, some in a city centre and...

By Jasmine Stephens, Family Editor Like most parents, particularly cynical and sarcastic stay-at-home ones, I absolutely adore cleaning. I spend hours every day debating whether I prefer the postprandial wiping ceremony (encompassing hands, faces, table, floor, chairs, walls…) or the fragrant delight that is scrubbing the bathroom of a household with three children under the age of seven. Oh, the joys of getting my exercise by chasing the kids around the house with the vacuum cleaner as Cheerios are flung...

By Elaine Roche, partner, JMW Solicitors (www.jmw.co.uk) Parents have a lot to consider when starting a family; from birthing plans to primary school choices, university funds and everything in between. One consideration that is often overlooked is the creation of a will, yet this is arguably one of the most important tasks parents will ever complete and can be a quick process that saves a great deal of time, money and upset in the long run. It might not be...

By Jasmine Stephens, Family Editor Firstly, let’s make one thing clear. Your mummy loves the park, why else would she take you there day in day out, whatever the weather? The sun-cream and the ice-cream van in summer and the mud and twenty layers of clothes in winter; she may complain to her friends, but like an addict, she can’t stay away. If you want to maximise her enjoyment, follow these easy steps: Use the Scattergun Approach You know the...

By Carey Ann Dodah, Head of Curriculum at Explore Learning Here are my top tips on how to inspire your child to love writing: Start young It is very important for children to start writing from a young age, and I don’t mean just writing stories but writing anything at all! It doesn’t matter if they don’t finish writing the stories, as long as they’re practicing their own stories as much as they possibly can and creating something unique. Give...

By Juliet Turnbull, CEO of 2to3days.com Having worked in business for over 20 years, it feels like there is a revolution afoot in working practices. With less focus on “presenteesism” and more attention given to outcomes; less assumptions about a job being full time and more curiosity about agile and flexible working. This is an exciting, new world of work that I can see shaking up some of the old problems that we used to face. For example, as someone...