Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Parenting”
Welcome to the first instalment of our new Q&A mini-series as part of World Autism Awareness Week. Over the next few days, we’ll delve into the travelling habits of SEND families and answer the question: How do other people do it? First up is Kate Blackledge who microblogs on Facebook and Instagram as The Passable Parent. Kate lives in …
Christmas had only just finished when Big Bear started asking about his birthday, which was six months away. Celebrating birthdays with additional needs can be a tricky process. Until the age of four he hated opening presents. He found it too overwhelming and every time someone handed him a gift he would either throw it or cry. I’m not sure …
I am THAT mum. You know the one. THAT mum with the child having a meltdown in the supermarket. The one you’re glad is not you, whilst silently thinking their child is incredibly spoilt. The one whose child is lying on the floor, blocking the aisle so you have no choice but to step over them to get to the …
I was eight months pregnant with Little Bear when a work contact I was having a telephone conversation with said: “Oh, you’re having another boy? You’ll be wanting a third then.” He wasn’t even born yet and someone I barely knew had dismissed him because of his gender. This is quite common with two of the same, particularly with boys. People …
Sometimes you accidentally stumble across someone or something amazing that completely changes your life. Last year I attended a black-tie awards ceremony for work. I’ve been to loads of them and they tend to follow a very similar format. Dinner. Speaker. Awards. Home. This particular annual event is attended by about 1,000 people, mainly men, who can get very raucous …
At 4 o’clock this morning, I awoke to find Big Bear standing next to my bed in full Santa costume minus one vital part. “I don’t know where the beard is mummy,” he said. “Can you help me find it?” While I was impressed that he’d managed to locate the plastic packet (hidden deep within his wardrobe), open it and …
This was a question we asked ourselves a lot in the year before Big Bear went to school. Do we need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)? EHCPs are for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support. Written by your local council, they identify educational, health …
Over the last six years I have become an expert in waiting. If it was an Olympic event, I reckon I could go pro. The extent of Big Bear’s medical problems and his countless investigations for one thing and another have meant we have spent a good proportion of his life waiting for appointments. Add Little Bear’s issues into the …
It’s quite difficult to play the piano when you’re hypermobile. I know that now but I didn’t when I was five and practising ‘flying to middle c’ with my finger. I could never quite hit it properly because the tip of my finger kept bending back when it landed. I didn’t really question it at the time because I didn’t …
I love a list and my phone is full of them. Two of my favourites are my ‘safe’ places for family days out – one for dry days and the other for wet. They have been carefully compiled and honed over the last few years from experience. These are places I know I can rely on for a less stressful …