Bryan Burk
: To Boldly Serve - How 'Star Trek' Aligned With Post-9/11 Vets
Ed Miliband
: A Distant and Distracted Cameron Cannot Tackle Tax Avoidance
Chrissie Hynde
: Don't Get Me Wrong: I Won't Stand For Cruelty to Geese
Andy Burnham
: Jeremy Hunt Is Playing a Dangerous Game
Alistair Darling
: Salmond's Default Position Bankrupts His Credibility
At the end of last week I was delighted that Tesco Magazine published a review article I had written for them, all about a weekend away in the New For...
During a brief stint teaching, my shoes were captured and held to ransom by students. I don't remember the detail of their demands, just that I was h...
The faster one travels, the slower time moves. We know this from Einstein's theory of relativity. So if something is moving incredibly slowly - a todd...
"What was the most memorable experience from your childhood?" is a question that is often asked of us and I think that no matter what the answer is it is usually something which we did for the first time which pushed us into the unknown in some way and gave us our first adrenaline rush.
In recent weeks, the debate around reducing childcare costs and improving quality has been confused. This has been most evident in the More Great Childcare proposals to increase adult:child ratios in nurseries and to change them in childminding settings. This is the clearest indication yet that for the Coalition government, cost is the biggest driver for change, not quality.
I thought it might be a good time to share one of our team's "Day in the Life of..." blogs. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did, and I hope that it also highlights the positive experience that the right person, with the correct attitude, knowledge, experience and training, can bring to a child's day at nursery.
The saying "Big bubbles, no troubles" may have been true of Hubba Bubba - but it doesn't appear to be the case for this poor little girl. Because t...
It is written: travelling (alone) with a young child will inevitably lead to trauma. Turns out that's bunkum. It's a far greater strain to have your world shrink suddenly at the point of giving birth than to witness toddler meltdown on the Eurostar. Even when it's rammed.
While some media might have us believe that most single parents are shunning work in favour of a 'lifestyle' on out-of-work benefits, the reality is starkly different. Single parents are highly motivated to work. After all, they're the sole breadwinners for their families - families which face twice the risk of living in poverty than those headed up by a couple.
There is, I hear, a thing called 'extreme reading'. From what I can tell, this involves being photographed wielding a book in an odd - preferably unco...
Kids! They do the funniest things. Such as: shut kitchen cabinet doors when you tell them too. Suckers! And this video shows one adorable toddler b...
For the benefit of those without children or cable, here's a quick primer on what the kids are watching these days. (Kids under three years old, I mean. Not teenage 'kids'. I genuinely have no idea what they're doing. Just planking and sexting each other, as best I can tell.)
Being a parent is hard. In fact, let's just be honest about it, it's really hard sometimes. We often don't admit it, except to our closest friends and family, but it's probably the most challenging part of our lives. A recent survey by the NSPCC reported that in the first eight weeks after birth around three in five mothers felt isolated with no one to turn to, and two in five mothers even admitted to 'getting angry' with their baby. And this is before they've even started walking and talking!
Having children with a French wife, I have experienced the childcare provided in France, and am happy to see the proposal bring us closer in line with other European countries. It's not about reinventing the wheel but learning from those who are already there, and making it work for us.
As someone who is responsible for running four nurseries - between them registered to look after over 290 children under the age of four - I can honestly say that plans to increase the amount of children that staff can look after gives me great concern.
Parenting is hard work and the issue that holds many parents back from altering their parenting styles is that it's hard to know where to start.
I believe strongly that high quality childcare is something which should be accessible to all, particularly as research shows that children who attend an excellent setting (nursery), followed by receiving a high standard of teaching in a primary school, have a significant boost in their development.
Now, what fun-loving toddler can walk past a puddle without stopping for a little splash? Not this one! Little Arthur was out for a stroll with his...
A toddler has died after being hit by a truck on a farm. The emergency services were called to the scene in Kenninghall, Norfolk, on Thursday after...
Every teacher dreads school trips, especially when the outing involves transporting almost 20 toddlers from one place to another. But this teacher ...
I don't know about you, but I did not find the terrible twos to be quite so terrible. He's had his moments obviously, but mostly I have enjoyed this ...
Ministers have been accused of creating a childcare crisis, after a survey showed Sure Start centres in England are cutting back on places, reducing n...
How good is your baby at crawling? As good as 11-month-old Victor Kasparas Abromavicius here? We're guessing he (or she) probably isn't - though no of...
When you're just a couple of years old, your understanding of how society works is... limited, shall we say. Most grown-ups, for example, wouldn't get...
The family of a two-year-old boy who police suspect may have been murdered have paid tribute to a "loving son" who will be "greatly missed". Rio Sm...
