Parenting

Much to the children’s delight, their father and I are prone to outbreaks of ridiculous behaviour.  Entire afternoons pass where one may communicate only in song, or with a balloon up one’s jumper.  The family ‘team chant’ is one such element of this farce, the origins of which are long-forgotten but may well have stemmed […]

Some time ago the nanny was struggling for inspiration during a particularly wet week.  I suggested she make jewellery with the children and duly provided her with half the contents of Hobbycraft to ensure her creativity was not stifled.  Boxes of buttons, ribbons, brightly coloured beads and shells spilled out from the craft box and […]

My son asks me if he can walk to nursery on his own today. “I’m a big boy now” he says.  He will be four next month.  I look at his earnest face and see how important this is to him.  “Of course you can.  I’ll just walk behind you in case you need anything.” […]

Yesterday I wore a Jack Wills dress over skinny jeans. Today I’m wearing my husband’s tracksuit bottoms and a pyjama top. Yesterday my hair was blow-dryed and styled into sexy flicks. Today it is standing on end as though I’ve spent the entire morning rubbing myself with a polyester cardigan. Yesterday I wore kitten heels. […]

I’m quite sure it’s terribly bad form to declare your child to be Satan’s spawn, but that’s precisely how I felt when my daughters were small.  From the outset G was charming and compliant, whilst her twin sister E was anything but.  Her high-pitched scream curdled blood across a five mile radius, causing several complaints […]

My son has his first best friend.  It’s not that he’s spent the last three years in solitary confinement, you understand, just that up until now I have always chosen his friends for him.  (My husband points out this trait of mine is not solely directed at the children).  When your babies are tiny they play with […]