This is Small family fun

  Working as part of a team is something that most people are familiar with. There are times when things get in the way of cohesive working for those of us who are team leaders or some of us may be managers of larger groups. I will discuss four strategies: conflict resolution, having difficult conversations, simple problem-solving plans, and introducing change. Conflict resolution We can't always get along with everyone, so when someone annoys us, we have an emotional reaction that results in behaviour. These emotional or angry reactions are counterproductive and can lead to situations such as relationship breakdown. Anger and resentment can fester beneath the surface for years, causing friction. This can make it difficult to form healthy relationships. This resentment causes arguments at home and can harm spousal relationships. This can impact other associations, such as those with children, parents, or grandparents. This may imply that good ideas and best practices are not shared

  I travelled alone for the first time to Ipswich for the Children and Childhoods Conference, hosted by the University of Suffolk. The Open University provided me with a scholarship to attend. This post will provide a synopsis of Professor Helen Lomax's and Professor Alison Clark's keynote addresses for each day. Playful arts-based methods for child-centred research and knowledge exchange during times of global crisis Professor Helen Lomax's presentation, 'Playful arts-based methods for child-centred research and knowledge exchange during times of global crisis,' was discussed. Morgan Jones et al. (2020) suggested that policymaking is limited when children are excluded. When researching this topic, Helen came to the conclusion that using a creative method would allow children to express themselves and that their voices would be plural rather than singular, and that these voices would contain the experiences of those around them. Given the covid-19 pandemic, the ques

 The aim of this work is to outline why community is important to children and young people by discussing the idea of community and how it has evolved over time. It will look at how adults view children and the spaces they occupy, and how this makes children and young people feel. It will discuss social capital and how relationships are intertwined with communities. It also looks at the skills and values that practitioners will need when working in multi-agency settings. When thinking about why community is important to children, we need to first assess what a community means to children and their lives. Community To begin with, the idea of community has changed over time. Changes in the social structure over time have meant that children’s opinions and voices are being sought out in regard to policymaking; however, this has not always been the case. In the past, children were usually "seen but not heard." This has meant that children have specific spaces they are allowed to

  Research with children and young people has a varied history across the centuries. Approaches and methods have changed as the concept of childhood have grown and expanded due to the influences of societies and cultures, how adults viewed children would dictate the extent to which children were allowed to take part in research, if at all. The challenges to children taking part in research will be discussed within this essay and will include the topics of voice and whether children who do take part in research are truly heard, agency and how research methods have been adapted to allow children more choice to participate, and ethics, how researchers deal with the issues of children consenting to participation. Children can give researchers unique views of their lives that are critical to understanding their worlds. An important feature of childhood studies is the recognition of children and young people as valuable partners in research. Using the example of looked-after children, it can

This post in inspired by the recent news of MP Stella Creasy bringing her baby with her for a debate. Being a mother is hard, being a working mother is harder. The struggle between wanting to continue your job and still being a present parent is a dilemma most mothers feel. Many jobs offer paid and covered maternity leave so the mother can take that initial time to bond with her baby and usually hire someone else to cover the workload during that time. But what if you do not have the employment rights for that maternity leave? Unfortunately for Labour MP Stella Creasy, she has had to bring her baby to work due to lack of employment rights.   Stella in parliament with her son @itv.com Politics  On Tuesday, the MP had brought her three-month-old son with her to a debate in Westminster. Without adequate maternity cover Stella has been trying to balance working after giving birth, to continue representing her constituents who she says, 'still have a right to be heard.’ MPs are entitled

  When Rosie was younger she had to wear a Pavlik harness. This is usually put on babies if they have developmental dysplasia. This is when the 'ball and socket' joint of the hip doesn't form properly and so they have dislocated hips. It is congenital and usually affects girls more so than boys. Rosie's cousin had this happen with both of his hips.  The health visitor first noticed that Rosie's dimples on her lower back were slightly misaligned. We were referred to Musgrave Park hospital and the baby hip clinic. As she was so little her hips were scanned in the ultrasound rather than x-rayed. This showed that her right hip was unaffected but that her left hip was borderline. We agreed on the Pavlik harness rather than leaving her hip to potentially get worse, better safe than sorry. She had to wear it for twelve weeks, going back for readjustments every four weeks.  What is the Pavlik harness?  A Pavlik harness is made of fabric and is essentially a splin

Home Education Making the decision to home educating your child can be a huge step for parents. The reasons can vary from family to family. with my own family, we got a taste of home education during the covid-19 lockdown and I found it to be fantastic and stressful at varying times. It was fantastic as I could monitor what my son learnt and could fully see the extent of his own knowledge. It was great seeing how he absorbed anything put in front of him, however, it was also stressful when work needed to be completed for the teacher by a certain deadline and Jamie didn't want to do it.  What is great about home education is that there are no deadlines you and your child can learn at your own pace and base your curriculum around their developing interests. This concept of following the child's interests is in line with the Montessori Method. What is the Montessori Method? The aim of the method is to enable you to raise your child as a whole person, not to develop one specific pa