The great thing about brain training is that it doesn’t require anything fancy, it’s more about building small habits that challenge your mind in different ways. Reading a book, even for just a few minutes a day, helps your brain stay engaged. Solving puzzles, like crosswords or Sudoku, also gives your brain a workout, pushing it to think critically and solve problems. It’s not about doing these things perfectly. It’s about keeping the brain active and flexible, like any other muscle.

IS GUILT A GIVEN WHEN YOU ARE A WORKING PARENT?
Is guilt a given when you are a working parent?
I talk to so many parents about trying to manage the ever changing and ever growing guilt around trying to be all things to all people. It can often be a difficult and challenging juggle when you have a job to do, the house needs sorting and your children need taking care of 24/7. This doesn’t even include contemplating what your individual needs are, and that its important to have time and space for yourselves, whether that be to rest and reset or to spend time socialising and having fun with friends.
It may feel familiar, as so many of us do this, that you put yourself at the bottom of that list, and then may actually find yourself occasionally resenting your life, wishing you could find more hours in a day, and wondering how other people and families seem to manage and have it all! Now when we do make the time and effort to put ourselves first occasionally, this is where it can lead to feeling guilty, as there is always something else we ‘could’ or ‘should’ be doing. I don’t think I have met a parent yet who doesn’t find themselves trying to manage everything as best they can and yet still feel guilty in and amongst everything else, its almost like we can’t win.
A number of years ago I was able to understand guilt and see it for what it really is, and I want to share that with you now as it was a great relief for me. Guilt is a feeling just like any other, and feelings always come from our thinking, not our external circumstances, but our thoughts about our external circumstances. We can often be tricked into thinking that we feel guilt because its an indicator that we need to do better, that we are not enough, and we need to make some changes or improvements. However, guilt comes from our thoughts about ourselves and our situation, so the feelings of guilt come from thoughts such as, I need to do more, I should be spending more time with my kids, I am not on top of my work and so on.
When I started to really see that my feelings of guilt came from the thoughts I had about myself, I started to see guilt as a wonderful alarm and indicator for me to actually lower my expectations of myself, relieve the pressure and be much more patient and compassionate with myself! It is simply and indicator that our thoughts have gone off in an unhelpful direction. When we see thoughts for what they are, thoughts and not facts, we can much more easily let them come and go, creating much more space for thoughts around how amazing we are at managing the juggle even when we lose sight of that. If you can do one thing for yourself today, remember you are only ever doing your best and that is more than good enough!


Simple Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp Every Day

Navigating Vitamin Choices: Supporting Your Family’s Health
For working parents and self-starters, maintaining peak performance while ensuring your own and your family’s well-being is paramount. Enter the wellness world’s best kept secret, liposomal supplements. An innovative approach to nutrition that’s transforming how we support our health, energy and overall vitality.

Self-Care Sundays: Hair and Pamper Routine for the Whole Family
With all of this lovely warm weather recently, your hair and skin need some extra care. Why not enjoy a relaxing self-care Sunday with the whole family?
Here’s a simple way to keep your family’s hair and skin looking healthy while spending quality time together.

Sepsis: The Silent Killer That Can Strike Anyone
Real stories from Danielle Nicholls and Sophie Austin, plus expert insight from Dr Andrew Conway Morris

Interview with Mother Pukka – AKA Anna Whitehouse
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.

innocent is making a splash with its new kids juicy water, just in time for Easter hols!
Innocent, the UK’s number 1 chilled juice brand, has announced the launch of a brand new offering – innocent kids juicy water. By Guest Contributor _ innocent kids juicy water is a deliciously refreshing blend of real fruit, water and natural flavours, giving kids a...

School Attendance at an all time low, but what’s the reason?
School attendance is at a crisis level, but the key issue is not a cheaper couple of days at Center Parcs, but the very serious issue educational settings not being able to meet children’s needs be that for children with SEN needs, or the who are experiencing bullying and experiencing anxiety, especially post-Covid and the experience of lockdowns on children and young people.

Simple Tips for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy Every Day
Parents want their little ones to adopt healthy habits as soon as they can walk, and nowhere is there greater emphasis than personal hygiene.

How to Handle Sleep Regressions Without Losing Your Sanity
Just when it finally feels like sleep is under control thanks to a rigid bedtime routine you made, everything falls apart. The baby who used to sleep through the night is now waking up every hour. Naps are a battle. The bedtime routine that once worked like magic suddenly does nothing. Plus, exhaustion takes over, patience runs thin, and suddenly, drinking coffee feels like a personality trait.

HOW TO MANAGE THE CLOCKS SPRINGING FORWARD
Twice a year when the clocks change, we are inundated with questions and parents asking what they can do. Although the spring clock change can play havoc with our bodies (an increase in heart attacks and strokes the day after this happen) but it can really help you if you have a little one who likes waking before 5am!