Parent Mental Health and Burnout
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Have the clocks ever been normal?
Living with parenting exhaustion—sleep struggles, school pressures, and the reality of raising a neurodivergent child when time never feels like your own. Have the clocks ever been normal? Continue reading
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Just Relax
‘Just Relax’ is our family motto — said often, rarely achieved. A story about good intentions, Christmas plans, a dying guinea pig, and learning that sometimes relaxing just isn’t possible… and that’s ok Continue reading
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Who Even Am I?
I changed everything to help my PDA son thrive — but somewhere in that process, I disappeared. This is the rawest thing I’ve written yet. Continue reading
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How do you say No?
Managing co-parenting, boundaries, and PDA parenting — one ‘no’ at a time. No. Two letters.Easy to write.Easy to say.Yet one of the most powerful words in any language. And right now, it’s the word I’m struggling with the most. I’ve never been an assertive person. I’m a people pleaser. If someone asks me to do… Continue reading
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How old is the maths tutor?
A Parenting Story of Calm Chaos and GCSEs with my neurodivergent child. This post follows on quite nicely from my one last week about my son and his no filter and the fact he talks loudly. Not only does this story capture the essence of what I was talking about last week, it also captures… Continue reading
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Why?
This is a question I’ve asked myself over and over again while navigating SEND professionals, indeed any professional, throughout this journey. Throughout this journey, I’ve dealt with a selection of professionals, and I’ve been completely shocked by the incompetence — and in some cases, the outright lies — I’ve encountered. This isn’t me being unfair.… Continue reading
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Does Tea Keep You Alive? A Birthday Reflection
I used to love birthdays but life has shifted in ways I never imagined, and special occasions often bring more emotional weight now than joy. Looking back at my birthday last year it was truly awful. They remind me of the gap between how things are and how I once thought they’d be. They bring… Continue reading
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Is being a parent hard?
We were in our living room and I was on the countdown to bedtime. It had been a good day, although my son had been a bundle of energy all day, flitting from one thing to another and I was tired…..it was a good tired. These days are long but I would take them over… Continue reading
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Coping with Stress in School Meetings: A Parent’s Perspective
I knew this was coming, but this letter arrived this week. This had been rumbling on for some time. That fateful phone call from the EWO (Am I Managing Stress and Anxiety, or Just Surviving?) had prompted me to write an email to her and the school, detailing everything I had done over the last two… Continue reading
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Am I Managing Stress and Anxiety, or Just Surviving?
I had another blog post written and ready to go, but this week took an unfortunate turn so I will save the other one for next week. What actually prompted me to write this was my boss at work—so thank you, Chris (I know you’re reading this, and sorry if there are any grammar mistakes!!).… Continue reading