Parenting Features

Life-Coaching for Parents: 'I feel like a stranger in my own home' - a father's perspective By Maria Sweetman: Maria looks at the feelings of a new father when the new baby arrives.
Mary Questions the Health Visitor By Sophie Hannah: This lovely poem by the poet Sophie Hannah is guaranteed to raise a smile to your face.
Life Coaching for Parents: Reasons To Be Cheerful by Maria Sweetman: Maria encourages parents to enjoy the wonderful things their child has achieved rather than worrying about what they ought to be doing.
Mind the Age-Gap by Christina Hopkinson: Although most babies come along when they are ready, and can be hard to plan, the issue of the ideal age gap is often a concern among parents who nevertheless try to plan the spaces between children. This feature takes a look at the issues involved in planning age-gaps between births, and discovers there is no single answer.
Leaving Your Baby Behind for the First Time by Annabel Falcon: Annabel is a firm believer in the benefits of some time away with her husband, despite her initial misgivings, and writes about her experience of leaving her nine-month-old baby to stay with grandparents for the first time.
An Activity a Day Keeps Boredom Away: 31 Ways to Have Fun this Month by Briony Jenkins: If you need to entertain toddlers, read Briony's 31 excellent suggestions of things to do!
Education and Early Years Questions and Answers by Lizzy D'Anna: Lizzy D'Anna is an experienced Primary and Early Years teacher who will answer questions concerning education and early years' welfare. This month she looks at how to encourage a three-and-a-half-year-old to show an interest in books, whether or not to teach a three-year-old to read and coping with homework.
Exotic Travel with Children by Kate Quarry: If you are thinking of planning a holiday, and wondering about taking little ones to distant locations, take a look at Kate's feature which has many useful tips.
The Importance of playing with your child by Elizabeth Collins: Elizabeth discusses the importance of adult playtime with children. In this article she also provides some pointers on appropriate playthings for children at various stages.
No! Doesn't Mean Have a Go! By Briony Jenkins: If you are feeling at your wit's end with a challenging little one, and are weary of saying 'No' to your toddler, you will appreciate Briony Jenkins' feature, which will remind you of the power of positive reinforcement for your children.
Autumn Days in the Garden By Sarah Bloom-Davis: Our gardening expert, Sarah Bloom-Davis, has some lovely suggestions for ways to involve little ones in the garden in the Autumn, as well as some fun indoor gardening ideas.
Cloth Nappies By Chloe Longley : Chloe is a co-ordinator for the Cloth Nappy Network. Her informative feature will encourage many

parents to give them a try. You would certainly be doing the earth a huge favour by switching to this more environmentally-friendly option.
How far would you go to get your child into the primary school of your choice? by Kate Brian : Kate's article should be very useful if your little one hasn't quite reached school age, but perhaps you are beginning to think about schools in your area.
Babies, Children and Weddings - a Survival Guide By Annabel Falcon: Annabel's feature gives you lots of useful advice on surviving weddings with children, based on her own experiences with her four small children.
Flying long-haul with a baby or toddler by Kate Quarry: Kate Quarry is a new contributor to Contentedbaby.com. Kate has travelled extensively with her twin
daughters and in this article on long-haul travel with small children she share her experiences and tips.

Grandparents Are Great by Briony Jenkins: Grandparents can be a marvellous part of children’s lives and Briony's article truly celebrates their value.

Gardening Fun with your ‘Little Petals’ By Sarah Bloom-Davis: Sarah Bloom-Davies, garden designer, has written a lovely feature on how to encourage children to become keen gardeners from an early age. Even if you have only a kitchen windowsill to spare, Sarah has some super ideas for getting those green fingers in action.

Life Coaching for Parents: Being a Contented Working Mother by Maria Sweetman: Juggling work, motherhood and home is not an easy task, but Maria’s suggestions can help make it an enjoyable and fulfilling combination.

Springtime and Easter fun – Creating Happy Moments to Cherish by Kate Bouverie: Kate Bouverie is a new member of the Contentedbaby.com team. In this article, Kate has come up with a variety of activities you may like to do with your children at this time of year, looking back at her own childhood for inspiration.

Mother Talk: Celebrating Motherhood by Briony Jenkins: To celebrate Mothering Sunday, Briony Jenkins has put together a charming collection of thoughts from many different mothers.

Valentine Gifts Your Child Can Make To Say ‘I Love You’ by Briony Jenkins : Briony shows us a wealth of wonderful ideas of things to make for Valentines Day with your little ones.

Parenting: Mind, Body – and Spirit by Dawn Fozard: In this beautiful article, Dawn discusses the spiritual and moral side of parenting.

Rainy Days and Mondays by Briony Jenkins: Briony Jenkins’ lovely article is full of suggestions on how to bust boredom when you and the children are cooped up inside together.

Shared Parenting by Christina Hopkinson: Christina Hopkinson talks about co-parenting and whether it’s really possible to share everything equally with your partner.

Best Days of Your Life by Dawn Fozard: Our editor, Dawn Fozard, reflects on letting go as children move into the world of school in her piece The Best Days of Your Life?

Prepare your child for school by Helen Likierman and Valerie Muter: Psychologists Helen Likierman and Valerie Muter, have brought out a wonderful book called: Prepare Your Child for School: How to make sure your child gets off to a flying start. This article is based on their excellent book and is a very useful read for many parents of school-age children.

Is three a crowd? by Dawn Fozard: Our editor and contented mother of two, Dawn Fozard, wonders about another baby in “Is Three a Crowd?”

Top Tips from the Contented Baby Community: In this feature, we have extracted some of our members’ best tips on travel, housework and a variety of baby issues for members to read again and benefit from.

Tots Bots - The revenge of the 'real' nappy by Gina Ford: In this piece, Gina focuses on a Scottish company called Tots Bots, whose reusable nappies have proved extremely popular with the Contentedbaby.com community.

Choosing Childcare - safe in their hands? by Briony Jenkins: Briony examines the different types of childcare on offer and takes a detailed look at the questions you, as parents, should be asking before making any childcare decisions.

Home Truths: a tale of two births by Dawn Fozard: Dawn Fozard tells of the very different birth experiences she had with each of her boys.

Seven Steps to Sanity by Briony Jenkins: Briony Jenkins summarises how to juggle more than one child, while still remaining sane and happy. She offers some excellent and down-to-earth advice, which anyone can follow.

Attachment Parenting by Briony Jenkins: In this interesting article, Briony examines the concepts behind Attachment Parenting and what makes AP so different from the CLB approach. Briony also makes a case for respecting the many different and valid approaches to parenting.

Smacking by Gill Macaulay: Gill considers the controversial issue of smacking children. This feature should be interesting to read, whatever your view may be on this contentious subject.

Violent Behaviour in Children by Dr Richard Woolfson: Dr Richard Woolfson has tackled the problem of violent behaviour in young children. This is not an easy subject to either deal with or talk about, and many parents are at a loss as to how to solve their child’s biting or kicking. But Dr Woolfson has a calm and pragmatic approach to the problem; so whether or not this is an issue that directly affects you, do take a look at his valuable advice.

Discipline - The Practical Approach by Pauline Kell: Taking a more practical approach to the whole question of discipline, Pauline Kell, mother of four, reveals her tried and tested methods and offers a wealth of practical tips if you feel discipline is going awry in your family.

The importance of reading by Dawn Fozard: In her article, Dawn shares her own happy memories of reading as a child and reveals how she has passed on her love of books to her two boys. Reading can be a lifelong pleasure, so be inspired by Dawn’s words of advice.

Baby Massage and Baby Yoga by Laura Hinde: Laura explains the benefits of physical activity for babies.

Living on the edge by Briony Jenkins: Briony has gathered together some wonderful tips and ideas from mothers around the world on how to cope with the stress of children and focus again on the joy that they bring.

Baby Shopping by Caroline Cosgrove: Baby shopping specialist, Caroline Cosgrove, mum of two and founder of Baby Concierge leads us through the minefield that is buying for your baby.

What to Buy and When by Caroline Cosgrove: Caroline answers some questions on purchasing for the new arrival.

When Two is Better than One by Dawn Fozard: Dawn discusses the development of social skills and the ability to form friendships.

Top Tips by Yamini Franzini : Yamini, mother of three and a member of the Contentedbaby.com team, offers some of her handy tips.

My Experiences as a Mother by Yamini Franzini: Yamini tells how she coped with a toddler and twins.

On Holiday with a Baby by Christina Hopkinson: Christina offers some advice and top tips for travelling with a baby.

Your Questions by Frances Howard-Brown: Expert maternity nurse Frances Howard-Brown answers your questions on how to care for babies and young children.

Dark Days and Magic Moments by Gill Macaulay: This heartfelt article discusses the ups and downs of parenting and the importance of being positive.

Birthday Parties (For the Faint-Hearted) by Gill Macaulay: Gill discusses the minefield of organizing a birthday party by yourself. Every side of having a successful party is dealt with, which makes this article very useful indeed.

Green Parenting by Christina Robert: This article has been written especially for parents who wish to go eco-friendly.

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