Helen

Colourful midlife mum to two teens. Determined not to do as she's told and slide off into invisible old age. Much cooler at 50 than she was at 15. Host of the Teenage Kicks podcast, about mental health for teenagers.

Beautiful Summer Wine Glasses

*Giveaway ended. Occasionally I try to give up wine. I know, it’s a crazy ambition, but I like to think my cranky old body will miraculously shed pounds and aches, acquiring glitter and pizazz instead if I succeed. Of course, it rarely works for long. I’ll manage a couple of days, then along comes Mr Sunshine and invites me out into the garden for an evening rendezvous with Sir Sauvignon, and I feel instantly so much better! Last week I had an added distraction, in the form of some rather glamorous new wine glasses which were just begging to be …

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School Shoes that Cope well with Playground Antics

I am rocking at parenting today. Today, I sorted out my son’s school shoes for next year. And they look tough enough to withstand 9 months of kicking around the playground as top dog in year 6. Provided he doesn’t grow in the next 9 weeks. School shoes that can handle the worst school run I’m actually thinking of putting a complaint in to his headteacher. In five years, he has never had to wear school shoes. He’s had to own them, but he’s never actually had to wear them. They’ve had this indoor:outdoor shoe policy, whereby they change from their outdoor …

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What’s all the Fuss about 13 Reasons Why?

Everyone is talking about 13 Reasons Why. Have you seen it? Have you deliberately avoided it, not wanting to go to that place where your child is 17 and no longer tells you anything? Has your 12 year old seen it? Did you ban her from watching it? 13 Reasons Why – the take-home message for parents If you don’t know what I’m talking about here, chances are you don’t have a child somewhere between the ages of 11 and 18. 13 Reasons is the Netflix drama about a girl who commits suicide, and the 13 tapes she records to …

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10 Holiday Tips for a Stress-Free Vacation

When you have children to consider, travelling can be more complex than it was when you only had yourself to think about. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy a family trip. Ensuring a stress-free holiday is all in the planning. Here are ten top tips for avoiding stress when you’re travelling. 1. Private Internet Browsing When searching the web for flights and accommodation, enable private browsing to stop websites recognising that you have visited them before. Many sites have algorithms that automatically raise prices on a second or subsequent visit. 2. Insurance matters Travel insurance is a must-have. There are …

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Diabetes: Running without Jelly Babies

You know when someone in the office leaves for pastures new, or when a mum in your group has a new baby, and you want to buy them a gift? Someone starts a group text, someone else has a search on Amazon or Etsy and comes up with the perfect suggestion. Then someone offers to pay, and 25 people all Paypal each other £3.76 each to contribute. It gets messy, right? Well I’ve found another way of doing it. Leetchi.com is a personal crowdfunding website that helps you manage the finances on group projects. Basically, you log on, create a personalised ‘money …

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Travel: Embers Camping and Tips on Picking the Right Campsite for your Family

A couple of weeks ago we decided to go camping. We’re not brilliant campers – we don’t own fold-out tables or shelves; when it rains we seek refuge in the pub; and in the mornings we’re more keen to find a decent coffee shop than we are to boil a collapsible kettle (who even knew there was such a thing?)! But we do like to camp. As a family, there’s nothing more magical than snuggling up together under canvas, telling stories by torchlight, and waking up to the smell of (someone else’s) bacon sizzling over a log fire. Embers kindly …

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Travel: A Weekend in Guernsey

Just look at that view. Spectacular, isn’t it? This is Guernsey. The view in Guernsey You’ll see a lot of lanes like this one on the second largest of the Channel Islands, and most of them will lead to a similarly beautiful panorama. This is where I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend, because this is where my brother and sister-in-law live. Thirty-five years ago they holidayed on the island, never intending to make their home there. But my brother stumbled across a job vacancies board, and they’ve been there ever since. This weekend I visited on a rare …

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#TeenTalk: How to Talk Puberty with your Child

My best friend once confided in me that she’d recently asked her mum to get her some sanitary pads while she was at the supermarket. “The ones with wings please Mum.” she’d requested. Her mum was aghast. “They have wings??!” We collapsed in giggles at the thought of what was going through her poor mother’s mind at the thought of a flying period aid, and reminisced at buried memories of finding strange elastic belts and loops in our parent’s bathroom cabinets, next to the castor oil, and something called setting lotion. Though we laughed, it made us realise just how far women’s …

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Creating Confident Women through Football

Fancy one of those goosebump moments? You know, those posts you read that make your eyes leak, in a good way; or the films you watch that make you feel full of hope, excited for your children’s future. This is one of those. Watch this short video, then read on to find out why I’m sharing it: How playing football creates confident girls My daughter doesn’t play football. She used to, in primary school, when it was the only girls’ club that was really cool. And it was so cool. Those girls got together in all kinds of weather. I’ve …

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The harsh reality of 12 vs 50

Last school holiday, I did this to my daughter’s hair. Colour is the thing right now, and ‘dip-dye’ is the look. I can totally relate: from the age of 14, when I first added a daily streak of Sun-In to my mousy hair so I could look like Bananarama (in my dreams), I have coloured my crowning glory. I gazed with envy at friends who could manage to achieve something with Toners and Shaders, but they never worked for me. The most I ever managed was a “I suppose it’s not toooo bad” from my parents when they saw that all the purple foam …

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Shattered Illusions and the Sugar Tax

I’ve debated posting this for a good while. I realised recently that my love of a funny story has been buried somewhat in a rather more grumpy tone of voice. Many of you know that Maddie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two and a half years ago. I’ve posted a little about how tricky a condition diabetes is to manage, and how frustrating it can be when people make jokes about it. But I feel like for the most part I’ve had my say, people have listened, and now we just have to suck it up and get on …

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Why girls SHOULD be concerned about their appearance

Recently, I’ve overhauled my make-up bag. I’ve never been that big on cosmetics, and apart from a brief rebellious flirtation with blue mascara in the school toilets in Year 9, I’ve worn pretty much the same look for nearly 4 decades. But I have a twelve year old daughter, and she has an Instagram account. She knows exactly how to create the perfect eyebrow, and took me to task over my own straggly excuses until I gave in, and allowed her to do me a makeover. She was right. But I feel strangely uncomfortable. Strong women everywhere tell me that …

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Why you should plan ahead when travelling with kids

Family travel tips - choose your beach well

      How to plan a holiday with kids Planning a family holiday this summer? Sometimes the lure of a week away with the family can be enough to make you forget how challenging travelling with little ones can often be. There is nothing worse than getting to the airport and suddenly coming face to face with never ending queues, bored children and no changing facilities for your baby. A trip with the kids is exciting and incredibly rewarding but without planning ahead, the image of a great family holiday can seem like a distant memory when confronted with some …

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Last-minute Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day gift inspiration

Have you sorted your Mother’s Day gift yet? If not, don’t panic; you’re not alone, and I have a suggestion for you. Apparently, more than half a million Brits leave it until an hour before midday on the Sunday to shop for Mother’s Day gifts! As someone who has been victim of a ‘whatever’s at the petrol station’ present, I’m urging you not to leave it that late, but even if you do, help is at hand. Mother’s Day gift inspiration Supermarket giant Tesco have some research that suggests that 22 per cent of us have no idea what to …

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Climbing the O2 Dome – what to expect when you climb the millenium dome

We’ve had a couple of big birthdays in our family recently. Just before Christmas, I made a big song and dance about turning 50. Ok, so really it was all an attempt to justify the complete wardrobe haul spending spree I went on. Call it mid-life crisis, if you will. I don’t care. Once you’re 50 it’s ok to stop caring what others think, right? Anyway, it was great, we celebrated in New York – well, mid-flight en-route to the Big Apple, to be exact, but who’s counting? Oh yeah, right. That would be me. Anyway, again… my brother and I …

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Parenting: Why Teenage isn’t a number

Where to see bluebells in Hertfordshire

“She’s SUCH a Teenager!!” I’m betting every parent knows where that came from, even if their oldest child is only three. There’s even a term for it – threenager. Every exasperated mother who’s ever manhandled an obstinate toddler into a pushchair, or been struck speechless by her seven-year-old’s ability to hit a raw nerve understands the fear of what might come next. If she’s like this now, how bad is it going to be when she’s a teenager..? What exactly is a teenager? The thing is, teenaged isn’t really an age – it’s a process. Parenting society has come to use the word …

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Big screen, or cosy movie night – why choose?

  Which is better, do you think? The surround sound and big screen epic experience of the cinema, and a big night out? Or cosying up on a comfy sofa with your family and plate of your favourite food? I’ll admit that as I’ve got older, and now we have kids, I do love a Saturday night on the sofa, snuggling up together after home-cooked fajitas. The perfect TV dinner, the perfect company, and a great family movie. But there’s something about the atmosphere of the cinema that really makes a film, and delivers a more memorable evening. Such a …

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