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Parenting Support & Advice

Early Years Development child plating building blocks with mum

Support for Parents: Early Years to Adolescence

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding and most challenging jobs in the world. There’s no one size fits all when it comes to seeking advice and navigating its complexities. One day you’ll feel proud of your parenting decisions, and the next you’ll question every choice. Parenting is hard and parents often need extra support. Child in Time and our therapists are here to help.

Support for Parents

At Child in Time you’ll find a range of parenting support and advice online. Our website provides information for parents from early years through to primary school and adolescence. Each stage presents new challenges to parenting.

Read our latest parenting blogs. Peruse the list of book recommendations for both parent and child. View our recommended organisations and helplines for more urgent advice. Or if you would like to gain support through an online parent consultation with our family therapists, we’re here to help.

Alternatively sign up to our regular newsletter for advice, guidance, and latest offers delivered direct into your inbox.

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

Parent feedback

Talk to a Professional Therapist

Are you feeling overwhelmed by conflicting advice and need parenting support & guidance? Perhaps your family has experienced an unexpected or traumatic event. Or your young child is struggling with emotional regulation, establishing sleeping patterns, or eating is challenging.

By talking to one of our qualified child and adolescent therapists via an online parent consultation, we can help you find the right approach for your family to regain confidence in your parenting choices. Learn more.

Parenting support for early years development. Mother and son looking through a book

Latest Parent Advice Blogs

  • Meet Adriana Buzetto: Practical Parenting Support
    For Adriana, an experienced child and adolescent psychotherapist, this realisation changed the direction of her work and inspired her to train parents in therapeutic parenting skills. Here, Adriana shares what led her to Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT), why she believes parents can play such an important role in their child’s emotional wellbeing, and how therapeutic play can help transform family relationships…. Read more.
  • The New Fatherhood: Trying to be a Superhero?
    Today’s fathers are expected to be more involved, emotionally available and present than ever before. But while expectations have changed, traditional pressures haven’t disappeared. We explore the challenges of modern fatherhood, the emotional toll it can take and why asking for support shouldn’t mean waiting until breaking point…. Read more.
  • Thinking About Adoption? What You Need to Know Before You Begin
    Thinking about adoption can be exciting, emotional and sometimes overwhelming. From choosing the right adoption agency and going through the assessment and matching process to understanding trauma, attachment, loss and therapeutic parenting, there is a great deal to consider before taking that first step. This guide explores what prospective adoptive parents need to know, the questions worth asking and why preparing for the realities of adoptive family life is just as important as understanding the adoption process itself…. Read more.

Parenting Blog

Each month we share ideas, research and strategies to help parents on their journey to becoming a confident parent. We base our content on the many different concerns that parents bring to our online parent consultations. Here you’ll find tips and resources on a range of topics such as early years development, neurodiversity, loss & bereavement, emotional regulation, and much more.

Learn more

Book Recommendations

During challenging times there is nothing more comforting than a book that enlightens or seems to understand. As a parent it can be hard for to find the ‘right’ words for painful situations or intense feelings. It is such a relief to find that someone out there has found them, and woven them into a story. We hope that among these books, there are some that connect with you and your child’s story.

Learn more

Helplines & Organisations

It’s important to always find the best support and guidance for your own circumnstances. We’ve compiled a list of helplines and organisations which are available 24/7. If you feel things have become to much and you desperately need to talk about your own wellbeing or someone else, these are our recommendations. If you require urgent medical attention please call 999.

Learn more

“It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.”

L.R. Knost

How & 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. 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. Learn more.

A child therapist helping a child through play therapy

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