Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. It has been a long 12 months, but we are just starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel (keeping everything crossed) and the thought of being able to do things and see people again is a really exciting one. However, for our babies and children (and even some adults) this new phase is something that we need to adjust to, and this might not just be a case of ‘getting back to normal…’ in some cases we will need a plan to gradually re-introduce other people back into our lives.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Hitting, like biting, can be a very normal part of a child’s behaviour. However, just because it’s normal it doesn’t make it right, but it’s important to understand that your child is not doing this to be unkind or to hurt anyone, it is often linked to how they are feeling or what they are experiencing at the time.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. As I am writing this blog we are in lockdown 3.0 - back to home schooling and trying to come up with ways to keep our children entertained all day long! Even before lockdown I think we were all coming to accept that screens are a part of our everyday lives. They aren’t going anywhere, and I think we would all agree that they’ve been really valuable through lockdown in keeping us all connected with friends, family and with work or school.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Co-parenting or shared parenting are terms used when two people who have been in a relationship, have had children together but then separated. The important thing to remember about co-parenting is that you don’t stop being a parent, you just stop being in a relationship with the person that you have had children with. You both still have a responsibility to your children to provide them with a stable and secure environment in which they can grow and develop.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. In recent weeks this is a question that I have been asked several times and so I thought that I would write a blog on the topic! Headbanging is a behaviour which often causes adults great distress - seeing a child repeatedly banging their head is very hard to watch and to understand.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. A question I often hear being asked, particularly around this time of year, is “Why don’t my children appreciate what they have?”. Naturally children ‘expect’ to receive gifts and presents around Christmas, Birthdays or perhaps when on days out etc., but some children appear to never be fully grateful or appreciative of the gift, the thought that went in to getting it or sometimes the cost of the gift.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Introducing a new baby to a family is something that we all hope will be like we see on TV, arriving home with the other children who are so excited waiting to welcome their new brother or sister into the family. However, for some families this picture of family bliss is not always what happens. In my time working with families, I have experienced children asking when the baby is going back to the hospital, suggesting that the baby is sent back where it came from and I’ve even seen one little one pulling the bin over to his mummy and telling her to put the baby in it because he didn’t like him!

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. When looking at behaviour related issues, one of the most common strategies or ideas that is given as a solution is a reward system of some kind. This might be a reward chart, a star chart, marbles or pasta in a jar (etc.) - these are all related to encouraging ‘good behaviour’ and, in some situations, these might work.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Sharing is often something that we want our children to be able to do from a young age. It is of course much more socially acceptable for a child to share things with other children than to snatch or refuse to let them near their possessions. Getting a child to understand that they need to share can sometimes feel like a long and difficult process. It can cause frustration for a child, who has these expectations on them when they might not fully understand, and also for the adults who want so much for their child to share!

By Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. The word sorry is often a word which is overused and not always in the correct context. An apology can mean a lot when you have been hurt, upset, annoyed etc and having someone acknowledge when they have done something wrong does often help to repair the situation. However, we do also have a very strong need for the apology to have meaning and sentiment – we don’t want to think that someone is just saying it for the sake of it or because they think that will get them out of the situation. If as adults we have a very strong sense of what a genuine apology feels like, then this is no different for our children.