Category Archives: Preschoolers

How to Help Children Settle into School

Posted on May 11, 2020 by SarahOckwell-Smith

Some children take the transition in their stride and settle in with very few bumps, others do better than you would ever have expected. Some children however really struggle with the transition. Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Preschoolers | Tagged child not settling at school, how to help child settle school, how to prepare start school, new school starter, new starter school, prepare 4 year old start school, prepare child to start school, starting school expert, the starting school book

Baby & Child Sleep During Lockdown – Q&A

Posted on April 27, 2020 by SarahOckwell-Smith

I thought I would run a little Q&A answering some of the most common sleep questions that have been posed to me over the last couple of weeks while the world is in lockdown, due to Covid-19. Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Preschoolers, Toddlers | Tagged baby sleep lockdown, coronavirus baby sleep, coronavirus toddler sleep, covid baby sleep, covid toddler sleep, how to get baby to nap in lockdown, lockdown baby sleep, lockdown toddler sleep, sleep training lockdown

What To Do When You Disagree with School Discipline Policies

Posted on April 27, 2020 by SarahOckwell-Smith

Many parents (particularly those who follow gentle parenting principles) struggle with the discipline policies at their child’s school, but what should you do if you find yourself in this position? Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Preschoolers | Tagged gentle discipline school, gentle parenting school discipline, harsh school discipline, problems with school discipline, restorative justice school, school discipline

Why You Should Change The Way You Think, To Change the Way Your Child Behaves!

Posted on April 13, 2020 by SarahOckwell-Smith

I would say over 90% of the parenting dilemmas posed to me daily have one very simple answer; “you’re expecting too much of them”.
Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Mothering, Preschoolers, Teens, Toddlers, Tweens | Tagged gentle discipline, gentle parenting, how to make baby sleep, how to make toddler sleep, how to stop bad behaviour child, how to stop toddler tantrum

Talking to Children About ‘Stranger Danger’

Posted on March 16, 2020 by SarahOckwell-Smith

I’m often asked my opinion of talking to children about interactions with strangers and how I would best approach the topic. It may surprise you that I am really not a fan of the idea. Why? Continue reading →

Posted in Preschoolers, Teens, Toddlers, Tweens | Tagged how to keep children safe, how to tell children about stranger danger, parenting expert, parenting expert stranger danger, parenting expert UK, stranger danger, talking to children about strangers, teach children about stranger danger, tricky people

Talking to Children about Death

Posted on April 6, 2019 by SarahOckwell-Smith

Children often become interested in, and preoccupied with, death around the ages of three to five years and parents can really struggle with explaining it to them – the natural instinct is to down play it, so as not to scare them. I am firmly of the belief that we should expose children to death (ie they should attend funerals) and discuss it in a factual, honest way with them. In other cultures death (and birth) are a normal part of everyday life that children are not shielded from, I think we could do well to learn from these societies. Continue reading →

Posted in Preschoolers, Teens, Toddlers, Tweens | Tagged death gentle parenting, explaining death gentle parenting, explaining death parenting expert, explaining death to children, how to tell children about death, talking to children about death, telling child cat has died, telling child dog has died, telling child grandparent has died, telling child somebody has died

The Art of Saying ‘No’ to Children

Posted on March 11, 2019 by SarahOckwell-Smith

I hear many myths surrounding gentle parenting. Some of them are so absurd that I simply just laugh them off. There are one or two though that really bother me. In particular the myth that “gentle parents don’t say ‘no’ to their children”. Because, actually – that really isn’t true. NO is not a dirty word and it definitely has a place in my parenting vocabulary. Continue reading →

Posted in Preschoolers, Toddlers | Tagged alternatives to no for children, alternatives to saying no to children, gentle discipline, gentle parenting saying no, problem with saying no to children, saying no gentle parenting, why you shouldn't say no to children, yes spaces

Why Sibling Rivalry can be a GOOD Thing!

Posted on March 4, 2019 by SarahOckwell-Smith

With so many resources giving parents advice to stop sibling fighting, we lose sight of the positive side of these seemingly negative interactions. Parents are often so eager to stop any fighting that they don’t realise that actually, most sibling fights, provide wonderful communication education, personal growth and emotional literacy to both siblings. To aim to stop any sibling squabbles is not only naïve (because no families have siblings that don’t fight, often regularly!), but a lost learning opportunity for the children. Continue reading →

Posted in Mothering, Preschoolers, Teens, Toddlers, Tweens | Tagged how to stop siblings fighting, positives of sibling rivalry, reactions to new baby, second baby book, sibling book, sibling fights, sibling relationships, sibling rivalry, sibling rivalry gentle parenting

How to Help Children to Cope with the Death of a Pet

Posted on December 17, 2018 by SarahOckwell-Smith

Losing a pet can be a really tough time for children, it is however an incredibly important learning opportunity. For most children, the loss of a pet is their first encounter with death and grief, handling it well can really … Continue reading →

Posted in Preschoolers, Teens, Toddlers, Tweens | Tagged help child cope with death, how to help child grieve cat, how to help child grieve dog, how to help child grieve pet, how to help child with loss of a pet, how to tell child cat died, how to tell child dog died

Why Does Toddler Sleep Regress? (and what can you do to help?)

Posted on November 30, 2018 by SarahOckwell-Smith

….it is very common for children who have previously ‘slept through the night’ as babies to start waking up again as toddlers. If you are there right now, the first thing you should understand is that it’s normal. The second thing you should understand is that it is transient and the third thing you should understand is that it isn’t happening because of you! Continue reading →