How to help a child with a fear of dogs

How to help a child with a fear of dogs

Toby has been scared of dogs since he was not much over two, probably since he started walking further outside and encountered a lot of dogs – and some of them were bigger than him! His fear seems to have phases where it gets better and worse. At the moment we’re going through a fairly good patch but I thought it might be useful to share some of the ways we have helped Toby with his fear of dogs. Read more

Why I love reading (and hope my children will too)

Malory Towers books - favourite books I loved to read as a child

I can clearly remember the first reading book I was given at school – it said ‘Look’ on every page and I was outraged that I had been given something so easy to read. I don’t know if it was because I had an older brother, or because my mum loved to read (and still does) but she taught me to read before I started school. Read more

The other men in my life // Ben & Jerry’s

I can’t quite remember when I fell in love with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I know at university I was definitely a Häagen-Dazs girl. When I worked in France I was all about Carte D’Or and plenty of Soleros. It must have been when I moved to Scotland. Perhaps it was because Ben & Jerry’s was the ice cream you could get in the cinema.  Read more

Life goals // Is it OK not to dream?

Life goals - is it OK not to dream?

I wrote a post at the start of the year about my goals, plans and hopes for 2017. Some were blogging goals, some were personal goals and some were just general hopes for the year and the future. Today’s #Blogtober prompt was ‘goals’ and I thought about writing an update to my last post. But then I thought I might write about something a little different. Read more

Finding the balance between atheism and a C of E school

Books about alternatives to Christian teachings

Toby has now been going to our local school for five weeks. It’s a Church of England school but my husband and I are both atheists. In just five short weeks there have already been a few tricky situations to negotiate and to be honest we are still working out how to deal with things in the best way we can. Read more