What’s wrong with Granny? Talking to your children about Dementia

My husband is in Ireland visiting his Mum’s grave with his 94 year old Dad. Judy died during the pandemic , not due to Covid but due to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. My father in law Arthur looked after her at home for 10 years and after her funeral we all went to Ireland to […]

Teaching Tolerance

  I’m reading Barack Obama’s autobiography at the moment and as a former teacher it’s got me thinking about prejudice, discrimination and tolerance. I think kids are born with wide-eyed curiosity and an instinctive sense of justice. While they certainly notice differences among people, they don’t typically attach stereotypes to what they see when they […]

Topic of the Month – 10 Things to Do Each Day

  Ten simple things to do every single day as a parent Parenting is a 24 hour, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year job so it can be tiring, frustrating and challenging. But, bringing up a child can also be hugely rewarding, uplifting, fun and a great privilege. Building a happy home takes […]

How Can I Keep My Children Safe Using Social Media?

  I’m being interviewed for The Daily Mail podcast today about how to help your teenagers manage social media, specifically in the light of the permanence of what they post and the impact this might have on their futures. There has been a great deal of debate around the Ollie Robinson posts on Twitter 8 […]

The Mental Health Crisis Among Girls.

  We live in a world of growing perfectionism. From selfies to photo shop, young people are under pressure.  They are under pressure at school to perform due to our obsession with data driven learning. They are under pressure on social media – mocked, scorned and ridiculed for looking a certain way or acting a certain […]

Brexit, Family Fall Out and Moving Forward

        I’ve just been interviewed about my thoughts on healing and helping families move on from the Brexit Referendum as some families are really split over the decision to leave Europe. I have likened it to the grieving process during a Divorce. For some it was a shock, for others it was […]

The Sue Atkins Weekly Parenting Question.

 I have been pondering tolerance and how we teach that important value to our children in an angry world. But just for this week I want you to ponder how you teach your children to be tolerant, respectful  and empathic to others.  Children are constantly watching, listening and learning from you so this week notice […]

A Long Walk To Freedom – Teaching Tolerance, Empathy & Forgiveness

  I have been asked to give a talk to a group of parents on teaching tolerance so children can learn empathy, kindness and forgiveness and I felt the poignancy of the invitation as I  have just come back this evening from watching  the wonderful film “Long Walk To Freedom”  – about Nelson Mandela’s life. I found […]

Today is a good day to teach TOLERANCE.

  The Importance Of Teaching Your Kids TOLERANCE I was in a school on Friday and the assembly was incredibly moving as it inspired awe, wonder, reverence and dignity. It was about teaching the children about tolerance and learning from the past, and it was based around Holocaust Memorial Day. The teacher’s father had been […]

The Sue Atkins Wednesday Story To Ponder

 Here is a lovely story from my never ending notebook and everlasting coloured pencil from my new friends http://www.ParentingExtra.com  that I met on Twitter http://twitter.com/ParentingExtra The Colour of Friendship “This story teaches us to recognise that we are different, and that it is our differences that give us the ability to take on different jobs. Each […]

Topic of the month – Family Talk Time

As a Parent Coach and mum of two grown up children I am often  shocked, distressed and searching for ways to help our society move towards a better future where children can grow up safe, well balanced and with a purpose in life. Free from despair, anger, drugs and hopelessness. I am not a politician and it […]

Teaching Tolerance

We’ve just come back after spending time exploring, learning and seeing where Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in a cell on Robben island just off the coast of Cape Town and I was pleased to discover that Nelson shares the same birthday as myself 18th July!! It made me ponder tolerance I’m also reading Barack […]