Category Archives: communicating with kids

Climate superheroes: 7 steps kids can take to become confident change-makers

I’m delighted today to welcome Stef Rozitis, one of my favourite parenting + politics thinkers, to help us help our kids tackle the climate crisis with calm confidence.  Stef is an early childhood teacher and academic, a climate change activist and a mother of some really thoughtful men who cared about the world even when […]

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56+ magic phrases to end food battles with picky eaters - and the science behind the magic words! | Sacraparental.com

Gentle Parenting Tips: 56+ Magic Phrases to End Food Battles with Picky Eaters, and the Science Behind Trusting Kids to Eat What they Need

There is a special kind of heartbreak a parent feels when the meal they have cooked is described as ‘yucky,’ or refused altogether. If you are struggling with the stress, sadness and discouragement of battling with picky eaters (of whatever age!), this post is here to reassure you and help you and your family relax and […]

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12 Reasons to welcome kids in church + tips for how to actually do it! | Sacraparental.com

12 Reasons to Welcome Kids in Church + Tips for Actually Doing It

Sure, kids don’t belong everywhere. They’re not a symphony orchestra’s target audience (except when they are). The tense whispers of snooker commentators suggest that toddlers wouldn’t be welcome at tournament finals. But babies and children are legally entitled to be all sorts of places that aren’t always built with them in mind, including, say, courthouses […]

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'Colours are for everyone!' - one of a great list of phrases for feminist parenting | Sacraparental.com

‘Colours are for Everyone’ + 38 More Phrases for Feminist Parenting

A little visitor came to our house for the first time recently. This was the conversation between the visitor and my four-year-old son, SBJ: Visitor: Whose bike is that? SBJ: Mine! V: It can’t be yours. It’s pink. Pink is a girl colour. SBJ: No, colours are for everyone. Pink is one of my favourite colours. […]

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Gentle Parenting Tips: 26 Things to Say to Kids Instead of ‘Stop’, ‘Don’t’ and Other Commands

Gentle parenting? I have a love/hate relationship with labels and jargon, in any field. I don’t like being put in a labelled box – who does? – but in a vast, Googleable world, knowing what keyword fits your life situation can be really handy for finding like-minded people or tailored advice. ‘Gentle parenting‘ is a natural […]

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Jamie Oliver and I Are Not on the Same Parenting Page

It seems that Jamie Oliver – cheeky television chef with the ‘beestung lips’ and the Essex accent – and I aren’t on the same page when it comes to our attitude to children. To put the differences between us starkly and bluntly, I’m not into assault, or punishment, or treating children as lesser humans. I […]

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Why Father Christmas Doesn’t Visit Our House

I grew up with Father Christmas visiting each December. We had a particularly awesome system, in fact, that involved pillowcases instead of stockings (primarily so a board game could fit, I think). As I got older, I became aware that Father Christmas from the adult point of view was part of our family history, too. My […]

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My Feminist Parenting Humiliation

Oh, the shame! I love the days when my 2.5 year old son gets mistaken for a girl (Yus! No arbitrary gendered fashion advice for us, thanks!), when he plays with a tea-set, or when he says his favourite colour is pink (just the once, and I’ve seen no actual evidence of this, but it’s […]

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