After marrying a man with adolescent daughters, Dr Wednesday Martin discovered that creating a happy stepfamily takes more than kindness and good intentions. Her response was to write Stepmonster: A New Look At Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel And Act The Way We Do, exploring the stepmother/stepchild relationship. Here she tells Rebecca Alexander what she’s [...]
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Now that the stigma of mental illness is slowly lifting, it’s time to talk to the children, says Sarah Owen My sister Rebecca was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 17 years ago at the age of 22, and as mental illness goes she’s quite a way along the spectrum. Although she has had periods of stability, [...]
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Phil Reay-Smith talks to one dad about how he reacted when his son told him he was gay How do you react when your son tells you he thinks he might be gay? Someone who knows is Trevor Diamond. His son Sam first said he thought he might be bisexual when he was 14. And, unlike [...]
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It’s natural for parents to feel anxious about their children, but you’re doing them no favours in the long run, says Dr Rebecca Chicot Human beings are the most committed parents in the animal kingdom. Our babies are delivered immature and need help to feed, keep clean and move. Having such complete responsibility for another tiny [...]
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The festival season is just around the corner. While you’re not going to be able to recreate that midnight rave in a field, the rise of the family-friendly festival means you can enjoy them with the kids, says Piers Townley Radio 1 DJ and festival guru Rob da Bank runs Camp Bestival, the family-friendly spin-off [...]
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Sex education needs to become broader and more ‘human’ in its approach, says Jo Hemmings Given that the dictionary definition of the word abstinence is ‘self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure’, when used in a sex education context it seems like presenting the proverbial red rag to [...]
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The number of stay-at-home dads is on the up. Charlie Swinbourne finds out why more dads are opting to care for their children I still remember the shock my wife and I felt one day when, after our youngest child tripped over and started sobbing, she ran straight past her mum’s open arms, to me. [...]
Continue reading The rise and rise of the stay-at-home dad
