Competitive parents are spending as much as £150 on luxury items to make sure their child is the best dressed Mary or wise man in the school nativity play. Gone are the old tea towels and bits of tinsel wrapped around the head, as department stores group Debenhams reveals that parents are increasingly asking its personal shoppers for advice on how to glam up their kids’ costumes.
According to the retailer, some of the items bought include arctic fur throws for children playing sheep and an ivor…
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Added by Dave Roberts on December 4, 2009 at 11:06am —
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Dads are working long hours, struggling to balance work and family life and four in ten say they don't spend enough time with their children, according to a report published today from the Equality and Human Rights Commission which you can download here. Forty five per cent of fathers don't take the two weeks paternity leave that they're entitled to, most because they can't afford to - it's paid at a statutory rate of £123.06 a week. And forty per cent don't ask for flexible work arrangements th…
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Added by Dave Roberts on November 4, 2009 at 3:04pm —
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Christians from around the world have gathered for the opening of the fifth World Congress of Families in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, on Monday.
Scores of Christian leaders from more than 50 countries are participating. Organisers say the response to the Congress has been "overwhelming".
In the run up to the event Larry Jacobs, Managing Director of the World Congress of Families, commented: " Delegates will be coming from 11 African states, and from as far away as Venezuela, South Africa, M…
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Added by Dave Roberts on August 14, 2009 at 6:00am —
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CWR has launched two daily devotional books for children six years of age and under. The Jesus and Me Every Day volumes are brightly illustrated and easy to understand, giving young children a fun yet meaningful entry into daily Bible study. They also offer Christian families a creative way to talk about the Bible with their children and introduce them to regular prayer. The volumes each explore 10 much-loved Bible stories and themes over 60 days of devotionals, talking points and prayers.…
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Added by Dave Roberts on July 8, 2009 at 8:57am —
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Children whose fathers have mental health disorders are likely to have psychiatric or behavioural disorders themselves, researchers warn. University of Oxford experts reviewed existing evidence and said, in the Lancet, there had been too much focus on mothers' mental health issues. They said boys in particular could be affected if their father had depression or was an alcoholic. Mental health campaigners said men often had problems seeking help.…
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Added by Dave Roberts on May 4, 2009 at 10:46pm —
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The Fair Sex Movement is calling for a public consultation on the Government’s controversial proposals to make sex and relationship education a statutory requirement for children five years old and over in all England's schools. "People are too young to understand what the consequences are,” says 17-year-old Coronation Street actress Sacha Parkinson, who stars as a pregnant young teenager in the forthcoming film “A Boy Called Dad”.
"If people are just being taught about sex, then they'll think…
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Added by Dave Roberts on April 1, 2009 at 3:35pm —
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The annual survey from insurance and investment group LV= on the Cost of a Child, now in its sixth year, shows that parents could spend £193,772 on raising a child from birth to the age of 21. This is equivalent to £9,227 a year, £769 a month or £25 a day.
The survey by the UK's largest friendly society(1) shows that the cost of raising a child has increased by 4% since the last survey in December 2007 and is up 38% over the five years since the survey began in 2003(2). Childcare and education…
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Added by Dave Roberts on February 12, 2009 at 11:11am —
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Urban Saints are offering a resource to help parents explore the changing nature of the internet and keep their children and young people safe when online. ‘Totally Wired’ is a DVD recorded during the 2008 national tour of the same name and it features an evening led by Chris Curtis, from Luton Churches Education Trust.
Chris guides the audience through the history of online communication and community, including some hints as to what is to come next. The second half of the evening deals with i…
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Added by Dave Roberts on February 3, 2009 at 4:15pm —
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A landmark report out today from The Children’s Society has claimed that the aggressive pursuit of personal success by adults is now the “greatest threat” to the nation’s children.
The “A Good Childhood” report claims that many of the problems affecting young people today have their roots in “excessive individualism” and “the belief among adults that the prime duty of the individual is to make the most of their own life, rather than contribute to the good of others”.
Such problems include a hi…
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Added by Dave Roberts on February 3, 2009 at 4:03pm —
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The campaign aims to dispel the myth across children's professions that fathers are an invisible parent. The summit will help shape the campaign and look at areas such as spreading good practice, online support and how organisations can better engage with fathers.
The Fatherhood Institute will be invited as well as agony aunts who attended a similar summit late last year on how to support children facing family breakdown.
A DCSF spokeswoman said: "The aim is to have this summit before the end…
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Added by Dave Roberts on January 9, 2009 at 9:16am —
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The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a new report exploring the influence of faith and different religions on family life. The report, published on Friday, questions the negative link commonly made in the media between religious beliefs and parenting practices, warning that “the positive benefits of a religious upbringing are in danger of at best becoming minimised and at worst being ignored”. It also noted that religious beliefs and practices “do not appear to be disappearing as predict…
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Added by Dave Roberts on November 30, 2008 at 5:47pm —
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The nation's most heroic role is that of a parent, according to a national poll of children run by the Church of England and The Children's Society. The Rt Rev Mark Davies, Bishop of Middleton, revealed the results on Monday of an online poll to find the most heroic job in the UK at a ceremony in Manchester Cathedral.
Out of the 25 jobs nominated by a selection of school children, the poll revealed that the UK’s most heroic jobs were parents with 25% of the vote, firefighters with 13% of the vo…
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Added by Dave Roberts on November 1, 2008 at 11:43pm —
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No. It's such a simple word -- yet so much more.
"It's a parenting strategy," psychologist and author David Walsh says.
Compared with previous generations, parents today have a more difficult time telling their child no "because we're surrounded by a culture that says 'yes,' " says Walsh, whose most recent book is No: Why Kids -- of All Ages-- Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It.
Whether it's through print, radio, TV, movies or video games, the media are conduits for advertisers to "m…
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Added by Dave Roberts on October 29, 2008 at 8:30am —
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This Care for the Family day offers understanding, encouragement and support to parents who have suffered the death of a son or daughter in any circumstance and at any age.
The worst loss a parent ever has to face is the death of a son or daughter. Children are ‘not supposed to die’. But sometimes they do – and the extent of pain and devastation, even isolation, experienced by parents when a child dies is unimaginable.
At this special day, you'll discover:
* How men and women grieve differentl…
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Added by Dave Roberts on October 14, 2008 at 9:30am —
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Children's Secretary Ed Balls has voiced his opposition to a ban on smacking children and said the majority of MPs would not support a ban if there was ever a free vote in Parliament on the matter.
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Added by Dave Roberts on September 24, 2008 at 3:30pm —
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Emerging Parents is a safe place for those involved in the emerging church conversation to explore holistic parenting ideas. We seek to discuss how we can follow Christ as parents, integrating our emerging faith and practices in with how we raise our kids. This is a place to explore, to suggest, to share, to question, and to support. All are welcome (non-parents included!) to join the conversation here.
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Added by Dave Roberts on September 23, 2008 at 9:17am —
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New research published in the Archives of Diseases in Childhood looked at more than 13,000 mothers and their children. Researchers from the US found one in four of the mothers who were not depressed or exposed to violence smacked their children.
But one in three of those who were either depressed or exposed to violence smacked their children. This figure rose to one in two for those who experienced both depression and violence. Mothers who had violent arguments with their partners were nearly 5…
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Added by Dave Roberts on September 23, 2008 at 6:07am —
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Studies show that children who grow up in homes where they're surrounded by music develop all of their senses, build their brain power, and have more fun. Of course, as any mother knows, "music" can take any number of forms when it comes to young children: singing nursery rhymes, plunking piano keys, even banging on pots and pans. This week, MOPS president Naomi Cramer Overton shares how she filled her home with "happy noise" and how it made her a better—and more joyful—mom.…
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Added by Dave Roberts on August 29, 2008 at 3:33pm —
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Children's Secretary Ed Balls has said parents must support schools in disciplining children. Speaking at the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) conference, he said parents and head teachers should be working together to improve behaviour in schools. "Some heads talk of giving detentions to pupils only for the parent to come in and demand the child is let off," he said. "Whilst the vast majority of parents work really well with schools, a small minority are not supporting heads to mai…
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Added by Dave Roberts on June 20, 2008 at 9:17am —
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The money, announced today (18 June) by children's minister Beverley Hughes, will give projects supported by the government's Parenting Fund more time to get long-term funding from local authorities. The transition cash will allow projects funded through the second round of the Parenting Fund to continue until March 2009.
The projects help parents with drug and alcohol problems, mental health issues and in reducing conflict. They also provide sports sessions and advice for teenage parents.
Ini…
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Added by Dave Roberts on June 18, 2008 at 2:40pm —
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Parents splash out for nativity costumes
