Last week I was running a few errands with my daughter and we popped into the local garden centre, and amid the ghosts and skeletons and Halloween candy was a full-on winter wonderland… fake snow, baubles and tinsel. Now, I love Christmas, I look forward to spending the holidays with my siblings and their families. The bigger the better. (I’m one of 5) But if you ask me, having decorations out and Christmas music on in November is just plain wrong.

        “Just be good!” my husband told our 5-year-old girl as she was messing around in the bathroom, singing, jumping, being silly…. Anything to NOT get in the bath. And not an uncommon thing for a parent to say.  Easily said and quickly forgotten.

What every parent needs to know when their child is acting up. Her cheeks red, kicking out at anyone who dared come close. “You can’t make me…” she howled. And she was right! This was my life and my daughter’s defiance, rudeness and disrespect were pushing my buttons. No. End.

    Question: Hi Camilla, I wonder if you can advise me on how to deal with my bickering sons, aged 6 and 9.  The summer holidays means that they are spending more time than ever together. Although they are often best friends, they have such different characters that clash. Their bickering makes me feel ill and I need to survive 6 more weeks with them at home without resorting to screens all the time to give me some peace. Michelle, parent of 2.

        Guest blog by Michelle Mapstone from Word Academy. An epic English tutor, who really brings out the best in your child and supports them every step of the way to exam success. And she shares my passion for reading.     

      Question: What can I do to stop my toddler running off? It’s completely stressing me out. She’s nearly 3. I don’t mind her walking as long as she holds my hand crossing the road, but she is refusing and tries to run away. I have giving her options of sitting in the buggy or walking and I’ve told her the dangers of traffic. Leaving the house is so stressful as I don’t feel confident, she won’t run away. She’s too heavy to carry and I’m worn out. Help!

    You’re about to find out how 3 simple steps will put an end to your child’s tantrums and help you to quickly regain calm. Ever feel that the tantrums and meltdowns are taking over family life? As if you’re walking on eggshells waiting for your child to kick off yet again? My daughter. She loves play dates. She loves nothing better than entertaining her friends. AND once an idea is set upon, she used to find it very hard to shift gears. Let’s just say “she knows what she wants”.

  QUESTION: Recently my son has been getting really worked up and upset about going into preschool, after some inconsistent attendance due to chicken pox and holidays etc. I feel really bad making him go when he is so upset about it. I have tried to talk it through with him to see what the issues are but it just seems to be that he would rather hang out with me and his brother for the day.  He calms down as soon as he can’t see me anymore and he is always very happy when I pick him up, but at drop off has to basically be pulled off me. Any advice appreciated!

    Toddlers are notorious for not sharing. they hold on tight to their toys and easily have a fit if someone wants what they're playing with, even if they haven’t set eyes on it for weeks. It’s how we teach them that makes all the difference.  

    My husband and I used to joke that the background noise of our life was my daughter’s whining. The toddler years for me were no easy feat. And I knew deep down there had to be another way. With all my years in teaching and my degree in primary education, Nothing prepared me for my toddler’s antics.

  I get it!  Parenting is hard work, sometimes it is a struggle just to make it through the day. Threats are easy, they roll off the tongue so quickly and to begin with, we might even think that they work.  However, the positive results we get from threatening our children with consequences are mostly short term. If you take a deep breath and step back, you can become aware that our own behaviour and reactive tools we use actually have a negative effect in the medium to long-term and makes parenting a whole lot more stressful than it needs to be.