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February 2020 Newsletter from the Positive Parenting Project
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Family time that everyone can enjoy

February 2020

Family time will always have its challenges. Kids will have their difficult moments and parents will sometimes get it wrong. But finding ways to spend time together that everyone enjoys is really important. And that can be especially hard in winter when the options are more limited.

So, this month's newsletter is full of inspiration for new ways to relax and have fun as a family. We have ideas for outdoor play when it's cold or wet, a fantastic book on using board games for family bonding, a personal piece on making family memories (which parents of teenagers will find especially amusing!) and some thoughts on Why Play is Good for Parents Too. Plus ideas for fun family activities with tweens.

All this plus exciting news from the Positive Parenting Project!

Outdoor play ideas when it's cold or wet
Children love the outdoors because it is always changing - every time you step outside is a little different. And the great thing about outdoor play is that it doesn't matter if you make a mess! So, avoid tidy up time, invest in waterproofs and a warm hat, and check out these great ideas for outdoor play whatever the weather. Read more...
How to be a Board Game Family
If you are looking for some quality indoor family time, then board games are a great option. But how do you go about engaging your kids in a board game when the lure of screens is so powerful? This great book by Ellie Dix has all the answers. Read more...
How (not) to make family memories
Happy memories are essential for good mental health. They strengthen our sense of identity and purpose and bond our relationships. When we are teenagers, we are doing so many things for the first time that we form very strong memories. Unfortunately, it seems that very few of my teenagers' memories include their mum! Read more... 
Why Play is Good for Parents Too
For stressed out parents stretched thin by too many tasks, playfulness is the ideal antidote. As long as we make room for it. Play is an essential ingredient in happy families. Children need it and adults need it. If you take the play out of parenting, all you are left with is drudgery.
 Read more...
Fun family actvities for tweens/teens
Are you stuck in a rut and looking for new ideas for family time? The kind of ideas that might tempt your teen off their tech or get your tween excited? Then check out this series of posts on fun family activities for older children. There are indoor ideas, high adrenaline ideas, low cost ideas and ideas that last a whole weekend!
 Read more...
Over on Facebook, our most popular shares this month were these Six Important Rules for Parenting Teenagers and these tips for helping a child with anxiety. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for daily doses of inspiration, updates on recent research and occasional humour!
News from the Positive Parenting Project
Most working parents feel like we are running just to stand still. We want to be good parents. We want to get parenting 'right'. But we have limited time, limited energy and too much to do. And we are seldom at our best at the end of a working day when the parenting shift kicks in.

Personally, I think it's time to move the goalposts. To think about doing less, rather than always trying to do more. That was my inspiration for writing a book specifically for working parents. To outline an approach to parenting that is good for children but which is also good for parents, which builds your happiness and well-being rather than stretching you to breaking point. Parenting smarter rather than harder, by understanding what children really need from us.

I am so excited to be sharing this philosophy via my upcoming book The Work/Parent Switch: How to parent smarter not harder. Just like my seminars and blog posts, you can expect lots of practical advice and tips, a deeper understanding of what makes your child tick, and a real empathy for the realities and challenges of being a working parent. The publication date has now been confirmed as 30th April - but it is already available to pre-order if you really can't wait that long!
 
It has been a long journey from original idea to publication and I am truly grateful to those of you who have chivvied and encouraged me along the way.
 

Anita
 

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Positive Parenting Project Ltd is a social enterprise that promotes positive long term outcomes for children by supporting parents/carers to use effective parenting strategies and create a family environment that meets everyone's needs.






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