When my sons used to ask me to play with them, I’d say, “Yes, after I’ve finished this.” Most of the time that time never came, not because I didn’t want to play with them, but because there were things that needed to get done.

Ok, I have a confession to make, I don’t always know what I’m doing. If fact there are many parenting moments where I have no idea what to do next.

It is common to have parenting highs and parenting lows. It’s also common to have parenting seasons.

Ever heard the phrase, take care of the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves (I’m English born!)?

My son graduates from primary school this year. It’s an exciting time for him as he enjoys the strong friendships he has formed over the past 7 years and carves out his next steps for high school.

Parents get told on a regular basis to look after themselves. That they can’t look after their children unless they are looking after themselves.

One the the most frequent frustrations we experience as parents is children not listening. We repeat the same thing 5 times, or we repeat the same thing everyday, it just doesn’t seem to get through….

Bec is a conscientious, involved mum. She is self-aware, a go-getter with a positive attitude and empathy in spades.

Yesterday I ran a workshop as part of a mum’s camp at a hospice. It was a privilege and an incredibly humbling experience. Each of these mums have a child that is dying or a child that has recently passed away. No-one can really understand what these mums go through without having a similar direct experience. They have a unique set of joys and a unique set of challenges. However, during the workshop what came through strongly was, whilst most of us could not even begin to fathom what they are going through each day, they really understood each other.

It is easy to compare yourself to other parents.