Why is Self-harm on the rise?

| Sally O'Reilly
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I’ve taken up running again (grateful nod to the best physio in the world), and to keep me company I’ve downloaded hours of nerdy sciencey podcasts – and it’s brilliant!

My current addiction is “You Are Not So Smart” – it’s super informative and one doesn’t have to be a scientist or academic to ‘get’ it. And it has this way of helping you to understand that a lot of what you thought you knew is wrong – or at least has been improved upon. If only I could force all the world leaders to subscribe … AND it’s free! ( As I’m here I also recommend 99% Invisible and The infinite Monkey Cage which is very funny as well as fascinating).

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Fidget Spinners: Fix or Fad?

| Sally O'Reilly
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The lovely people at parenting site Voiceboks.com invited me to write an opinion piece on the latest craze ( As I type though I wonder is it already dying out??) –

You know them, you’ve seen them everywhere if you’re a parent – Fidget Spinners

Dizzying array…ch-ching!€€€££££$$$$$$

 

If you’ve been pestered/advised/guilted into buying one or a million of these there may a few things to consider first.

 

 

 

 

[bctt tweet=”The problem is that there is no evidence of effectiveness for the treatment of ADHD. In fact, to my knowledge, no proper research has been done at all.” prompt=”share with a fellow parent” username=”psychosal”]

PS: This dog gif IS pretty great though:

via GIPHY

Manchester: Parenting in the Aftermath

| Sally O'Reilly
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You’ve heard about Manchester of course. 22 dead as I type, including kids. Kids for God’s sake. At a concert, having fun, then literally – boom.
What.The.Hell.
Pray-For-Manchester
You may have teared up like I did when you saw the photo of the first victim identified – a sparkly happy photo taken of her with her idol Arianna, the same idol she watched last night. How I hope she enjoyed it.

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On staying together for the sake of the kids

| Sally O'Reilly
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“What caught him off guard though was that at some level he felt ‘programmed’ to bring conflict and drama into the relationship. Even where there was no evidence of cheating he suspected it. Even though he loved her free spirit he felt he should curtail it in case she ran off. Even though he admired her intelligence he found himself calling her stupid. When things were good he was waiting for something to go wrong – enjoying peace and fun felt alien and weird.
So if it didn’t ‘go’ wrong, he’d make it go wrong.”

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Trouble Saying No?

| Sally O'Reilly
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It’s a teeny weeny little word and yet it can be so hard to say! (unless you’re a toddler..)

I used to have a lot of trouble with this one – sometimes I still have trouble, truth be told. Why is it so hard?

For most of us saying “no” means riddling ourselves with guilt and being terrified of judgement. People who habitually say “yes” are approvingly described as “selfless” – like that’s a good thing. But is it really a good thing? Continue reading →

Is it ever OK to argue in front of kids?

| Sally O'Reilly
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Sulking = NOT arguing well...
Sulking = NOT arguing well…

I think so yes. Because there are ways to argue ‘well’.

(Hint – sulking isn’t one of them – but we’ve probably all done it!)

 

And not only do I think it’s OK, I think it’s important.

 

 

This is the subject of my latest piece for the lovely folk over at Family Friendly HQ and you can  read more by clicking the green button:

CLICK-HERE-BUTTON

I hope you find it helpful and as always I am interesting in feedback and further suggestions!

 

 

 

 

 

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