School Holiday Jigsaw: Surviving the Summer Holidays as a Working Parent

For school children, the six-week break is a magical expanse of unstructured freedom. For working parents, it marks the beginning of a military-grade logistical operation. Between the skyrocketing costs of summer camps, tag-teaming annual leave with partners, and attempting the ultimate high-wire act of working from home with a laptop on your knee, the math of July and August simply doesn’t add up. We dive deep into the reality of trying to fit a 19th-century agricultural school calendar into a 21st-century digital economy—and explore the progressive workplace shifts needed to save our sanity.

Parents want their little ones to adopt healthy habits as soon as they can walk, and nowhere is there greater emphasis than personal hygiene.

This month, I’m thrilled to share two of our all-time favourite bakes: our homemade Hob Nobs and nostalgic Wagon Wheels. These recipes are more than just sweet treats—they’re time capsules. The Hob Nobs came from a rainy weekend when we had oats, butter, and not much else in the cupboards. The kids loved rolling the dough into little biscuit balls and watching them flatten in the oven. Dipping them in chocolate was the final touch—well, that and licking the spoon clean!

When you run your own business alongside raising your brood, there can be many times where you feel guilty for ‘neglecting’ your children.

Talented Ashley James is a TV presenter, model, DJ and Mum of two. Ashley is a familiar face on TV, but she is perhaps most well known at the moment for her presenting role on This Morning and her inspirational, honest and relatable content on social media which has led to Ashley gaining a large social media following of loyal fans.

While it’s lovely to have more time with the kids, the constant questions of “Mum, what are we doing today?” or “Dad, can we play Fifa?” can get overwhelming fast.
At Happy Little Owls, we know how important it is to keep little minds and bodies active during the school holidays without exhausting yourself, or your bank account. So, we’ve rounded up some creative, budget-friendly ideas to help you make the most of the summer break at home. These are easy to set up, full of fun and perfect for creating lasting memories.

It is estimated between 10% – 30% of UK adults may have a suboptimal magnesium status, where serum levels are low enough to impair function even without overt symptoms.

In this edition of Auntie Cath Cooks, Catherine Tyldesley shares two fresh, flavour-packed recipes perfect for busy family life — a chilled honey chicken poke bowl and a hot soy beef poke bowl. Simple, satisfying and full of goodness, they’re ideal for an easy lunch or midweek dinner.

Mum-of-two Megan Ford shares how family life, late nights, and a passion for purposeful play sparked the beginnings of Ellor & Co — proving that big dreams really can start at the kitchen table.

Anna is formidable in her pursuit for equality in the workplace, fuelled by her passion to ensure that her girls, or any girls, don’t face a future where you can have your career snatched away from you just because you dared to have a baby; sadly this is something that Anna experienced first hand.

Inspirational Dad of three Steve Oliver co-founded the globally renowned business musicMagpie in 2007, following the collapse of Music Zone (the business he was Managing Director of at the time). musicMagpie is a leader in the re-commerce of consumer technology (including smartphones, tablets, consoles and wearables), disc media (including CDs, DVDs and games) and books, with sustainability running to the very heart of its operations.

As we hit the Autumn months, we asked our resident chef and food editor Simon Wood to share a mouth watering recipe: Rib of Beef, Celeriac Puree, & Pommes Anna

“IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT COUPLES IN SOCIETY DO, IF THEY AGREE TO ROLLING AROUND IN THEIR HIPPY BED, LETTING THEIR BABY SUCK ON THEIR T**S UNTIL YOU’RE BOTH 60, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT – NO ONE SHOULD JUDGE ANYONE, I JUST THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO AGREE ON HOW YOU WANT TO RAISE YOUR KID BEFOREHAND.”

A lot of people still think wills are only for the wealthy or the elderly. I hear this all the time. In reality, wills are about far more than dividing up money.