Lifestyle

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  A British baby boy has become the first child in Europe to be born free from a list of devastating genetic disorders thanks to groundbreaking IVF treatment. Five-month-old Lucas Neagu had a high chance of inheriting a muscle weakening disease which runs in his family. But his parents underwent pioneering embryo screening treatment meaning he will never suffer from the condition and 200 other genetic disorders. Mum Carmen Neagu, 27, saw her father suffer with Charcot-Marie-Tooth(CMT) disease and was worried Lucas would inherit...

By Jasmine Stephens, Family Editor Let's face it, we've all done it; encouraged the kids to embrace some screentime to get half an hour's peace, but a new survey has discovered that 70% of parents think that their children spend too much time on smartphones and tablets while on holiday. The survey of 2000 people by floridatix.com found that staying inside to play on their gadgets had also meant that 50% of children had missed out on enjoying a sunny day,...

By Jasmine Stephens, Family Editor Like most mums I generally approach a family holiday with a mixture of excitement, endless checklists and yes, perhaps, sometimes a bit of apprehension as well. I was more than embarrassed, therefore, to be worried about traffic jams and forgetting the sun cream when I heard about the turmoil of sadness, fears and hopes that recently-widowed Nikki Scott faced when she decided to take her children on a holiday alone for the first time since...

By Alice Weightman, Founder and Managing Director of Hanson Search and The Work Crowd More and more of us are now deciding to leave the security of a permanent job behind, opting instead for the freedom of freelancing, self-employment or contract work. However, these feelings of independence can suddenly feel very restrictive when it comes to planning a family. This needn’t be the case: freelancing and family really can go hand in hand. Working on a project basis can help...

By Amy Sharpe Over the last eight years I have veered between two hairstyles: overly-straightened, and a Russell Brand bird nest. Despite many a woman telling me they ‘would kill for curly hair’ all my life, I’ve yet to embrace my curls. Mainly because I haven’t got a clue what to do with them. But, sitting in Lee Stafford’s apartment as he flexed his fingers through my spirals, I sensed I was about to be made to embrace them. “Do...

By Zoe Sinclair The new offer of shared parental leave looks simple enough. New mums take the first two weeks off after the birth, but the remaining 50 weeks can be shared between mum and dad. Finally the UK has caught up with Scandinavia, where shared leave has been working well for decades. But what does it really mean for you, your partner and your jobs? Despite all the supportive noises from employers, a major worry is what their real...

Justin Bieber prepares his Blue Steel Presumably, by now, you’ll have seen that Zoolander is making its return soon. This was announced in excellent fashion (deliberate pun) at the end of the Valentino Autumn/Winter 2015 show, which was closed by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in character from the movie, complete with resolute Blue Steel gaze at the end of the catwalk. The original Zoolander movie has, rightly, amassed a huge following since its release in 2001 and its return...

by Jasmine Stephens, Family Editor The general election is now only weeks away and the parties have all been clamouring for your votes. The economy, welfare, housing, immigration, the NHS; all have featured heavily in the debate. However, when they want to attract the female vote, top of the list for discussion through the window of a pink bus is that old chestnut; childcare. Yes, childcare is a key concern. It’s hideously expensive, inflexibility can cause huge problems particularly for...

The decision to relocate to another country for work and take on the life of an ex-pat is unlikely to be a straightforward one for anyone, but it’s particularly nerve-wracking when you have children to consider. Annabel Kantaria, author of novel Coming Home, gives us some tips to make the move as smooth as possible for your kids; both when relocating abroad and when the time comes to move back home. By Annabel Kantaria While moving abroad – or back...