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Kids refuse to go out for a walk so Dad takes wifi router out instead!

This story in the Daily Mail made me smile today and I’m sure it will resonate with a lot of parents out there, especially now that so many of us are back in lockdown and with children being home-schooled again.

I’m sure many of us can understand the Dad’s level of frustration when, let’s face it, he’s simply trying to encourage healthy habits in his children and which resulted in, what some might consider, a rather extreme response on his part.

He unplugged the wifi router and took it out with him and his wife when they went for the walk in question.

His took a photo of himself out with the router and his social media post read: “Kids refused to come out and we gave up trying to drag them so took the WiFi for a walk instead.”

Chaos could have ensued but, in this case, it seems to have had a really positive effect. Continue reading “Kids refuse to go out for a walk so Dad takes wifi router out instead!” →

What is Your ‘Why’?

We’re into the season of Christmas films again now.

I wrote about why I enjoy watching these a couple of years ago.

Last week, I watched ‘Collateral Beauty’ – a 2016 film starring Will Smith that passed me by until now.

Strictly speaking, it’s probably not a Christmas film – it’s set at this time of year, but Christmas isn’t the main theme.

But, to me, it feels similar in nature to ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’ and, like them, has a slightly ‘magical’ quality woven in with some interesting and useful reflections. Continue reading “What is Your ‘Why’?” →

The Parable of the Long-Handled Spoons

I was chatting with a friend recently about how we’re all coping with living with restrictions at the moment because of the current pandemic.

Of course, whilst some of what we’re each doing is to protect ourselves, there’s also the aspect of protecting and caring for others.

Wearing masks is a good example.

This reminded me of The Parable of the Long-Handled Spoons – a very simple tale that illustrates how we can create harmony or misery for ourselves, depending on how much we help and support each other – or not.

If you’ve not heard of this and/or would like a quick reminder, this short video (just 4 minutes) gives you the gist:

Continue reading “The Parable of the Long-Handled Spoons” →

Hello! Will we ever shake hands again?

When we went into lockdown we all stopped doing this – some of us had stopped even before that.

It’s something we have tended to do here in the UK – in business and socially.

Maybe it’s a generational thing (I’m in my 60s) and perhaps it’s also more prevalent amongst men than women – although, in my experience, lots of women (in a work context, at least) used to shake hands, too.

A handshake seems like a small gesture, but maybe it represents quite a lot? Continue reading “Hello! Will we ever shake hands again?” →

Disrupted lives – what next?

Our lives and our world have been well and truly disrupted by coronavirus and all that it entails.

We have each been living our own ‘temporary normal’ in order to survive and cope.

Many are already talking about what our ‘new normal’ will look like afterwards.

All we do know, for sure, is that no-one is unaffected and that we can’t go back – we can only go forward. Continue reading “Disrupted lives – what next?” →

Sticks and stones – and the power of words…

I’m thinking today about this old adage which used to be chanted by children in the playground:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones

but words will never hurt me.”

I know differently now, of course – unkind words can really hurt a person.

And, by the same token, that a kind word or two can be really healing, too. Continue reading “Sticks and stones – and the power of words…” →

What is a Toy?

I was fascinated this week when I saw a report on BBC Breakfast about a ‘back to basics’ experiment in a UK nursery which, it’s reported, has stimulated creativity and improved communication amongst the children involved (especially the boys, apparently) – and decluttering the rooms in the process. I also found an article about it in the Mail Online (published back in March of this year).

Matt Caldwell, the Head of the nursery was, apparently, inspired by similar schemes in Germany which replaced plastic toys with everyday items and real size objects – so, for example, instead of a miniature/child-size/toy version of a musical instrument, they would have an adult-sized, real one to explore.egg-carton-575692_1280

lavender ovalOther items were day-to-day objects such as kettles, bottle tops, egg boxes, corks, pine cones, conkers, lavender and pots.

The backs were taken off electrical items so the children could see how they were constructed. Continue reading “What is a Toy?” →

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