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A child leaving the house with mum for the first day of school

Starting School: Our Preparation Guide

It’s natural to want to build up excitement about your child’s first day at school and it’s an important milestone that’s worth celebrating. For many families that hopeful photo of their first day of school is treasured into adulthood. If your child is about to make the transition from nursery to school read our preparation guide for starting school…. Read more.

A child therapist helping a child through play therapy

How (and When) to Find a Therapist for Your Child

If it’s not your industry, finding a therapist (or counsellor) for your child can be a confusing and sometimes stressful business. Given that you may well be seeking a counsellor because you are feeling anxious anyway, making sense of the many different kinds of therapist qualifications, registering bodies and the huge variation in fees can be overwhelming. If you do think you’ve found just the right therapist, they may have long waiting lists or live miles away. Here we aim to make the process easier by giving some information on qualifications, approved databases and what Child in Time can do to help…. Read more.

Mum reading to children

Why do we Read Books to Children?

We are constantly told that reading to young children is a good thing, usually in terms of learning to read, expanding vocabulary and getting ahead educationally. But the truth is that books do so much more. During challenging times there can be nothing more comforting than a book that resonates, enlightens or just seems to understand…. Read more.

A parent hugging their child due to the loss of a loved one

Helping Children Cope with Grief

There are many ways to lose a loved one and many ways to grieve.  One commonality is that grieving is composed of two different processes, the need to deal with the loss and the need to restore ourselves. These experiences can look quite different and goes some way to explain the sense of feeling energised one minute and very low the next.  It’s natural and healthy for children to oscillate quite instinctively and often surprisingly quickly between the two…. Read more.

A child worrying and suffering with anxiety clutches her teddy

Helping Children Cope With Anxiety

Many children experience anxiety.  It may be in relation to a particular area of their lives such as school work or friendships, or it may be a generalised feeling of unease or worry that surfaces regularly. We’ve outlined strategies to help cope with anxiety…. Read more.

Sibling rivalry showing the happy times reading together

Helping Children With Sibling Rivalry

Sibling rivalry is a common and frustrating concern amongst families. It can put a huge strain on parents and cause much anxiety, especially if one child’s behaviour is overly aggressive or cruel towards another child or children. We’ve outlined strategies to help cope with sibling rivalry…. Read more.

Playing with your child to help with attachment and emotional regulation

Play for Attachment & Emotional Regulation

Engaging in child-led, one-to-one play on a regular basis is a key element of building attachment and supporting children’s development. This type of play is something that parents do naturally with pre verbal and very young children but do so less with older ages, however it continues to be hugely beneficial and a great tool for addressing a wide range of relational and behavioural concerns…. Read more.

A child feeling angry throwing their toy. Emotional regulation

Helping Children Cope with Angry Feelings

Feeling angry is a completely normal and healthy response to countless situations. It might be a reaction to being verbally or physically hurt, a response to a decision that feels unfair or a natural reaction to distressing situations in the wider world. As we get older, we learn to manage our angry reactions so that they don’t negatively impact our own lives or the lives of others. But children are not yet equipped to regulate this intense emotion and they need our help…. Read more.

The complexitites of eating disorders - A lady struggling with the Mental health illness. Teenager with a therapist

The Complexities of Eating Disorders

The National Eating Disorder Charity, Beat, estimates that around 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder. Read on for a better understanding of eating disorders and how to help as a parent…. Read more.

Testimonials

Karen was wonderful. It’s such a helpful service – our daughter is on the spectrum, so spending an hour talking about the impact on us was truly restorative.

Parent

Empathetic, professional, knowledgeable, personable counselling. Highly recommended on all fronts.

Parent

This was a massive help to me as a parent of a child with recently diagnosed ADHD and autism. The therapist was so easy to talk to. Talking through my concerns and my son’s behaviour, has definitely made a difference to both my understanding and how to help him regulate his emotions better. I’ll definitely be booking again.

Parent