Points mean prizes: when reward charts turn toxic.
21st October 2016 INSET day for three youngest. Planned to take children to country park in morning and return for lunch. Free time (art and craft, screens off) until we…
The man who made Caesarean section safe
For a small country, Scotland has produced more than its fair share of medical pioneers. My article on Murdoch Cameron was published earlier this month in the November/December issue…
Hot chocolate
Last week, my son invited me to take him out for a hot chocolate after school. My husband’s reaction was similar to mine: “Is this for his benefit, or yours?”…
Hypocrisy, addiction and excuses.
I hope it’s the thought that counts, because I’ve had so many ideas for blog posts since I last actually wrote one. I had my first experience with a fact…
So?
First week of term is over. For all my worries, my eldest has found his way home from secondary school, done his first piece of homework without fuss and not…
Season of sharpened pencils and mellow productivity
Decades after leaving school, September is still my favourite time of year. It means crisp air, clean skies, oversized uniform and the intention my homework will always be beautifully presented…
This week’s parenting crisis
This Tuesday, I took my children to our local country park. Unless it’s the sort of thing that requires Tesco vouchers (Longleat, Legoland…that sort of thing) it’s a rare day…
Beatrix Potter: sheep-farming scientist and author.
My article on Beatrix Potter’s Lake District is published today in Britain Magazine. Controlled by her mother, constricted by Victorian expectations of women, she worried she’d never find anything useful…
sophie beal 