Trigger warning – in today’s episode we discuss suicide, mental health struggles, cancer and depression with Grace. You might not feel up to listening to this episode right now – if not, please take care and come back when you feel ready.

Grace is a therapist and best-selling author of children’s books, which are all based on Grace's therapy sheep who inspire her and those she helps. Grace’s aim is to spread messages of hope and positivity to children (aged 5-10) through her books; she wants to help them navigate complex emotions and help them to understand themselves better, all while giving parents a way of talking to their children about their feelings. Grace is an animal lover and has been featured on Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet.

We spoke with Grace about:

• Her background and the work she does with her horses and sheep (TV stars of The Yorkshire vet!).
• The stories behind her books about her magical sheep - Merlin, Galahad and Berel.
• Her animals, their personalities (favourite biscuits!) and their healing power.
• The therapy work that Grace does with adults and children and how it happened.
• How horses cured Grace’s post-natal depression.
• How Grace wants to help children and teenagers through mental health struggles and how she herself had struggled from a very young age.
• The instant gratification and constant dopamine hits provided by it and how easily accessible information is.
• How children and adults are helped with regulation and a sense of calm by animals and being outside.
• How Grace works with the Yorkshire vet (and sheep agility!!)

Grace’s website - https://www.graceolsonauthor.com/

Instagram @bespokefamily / @grace_olson_author

Facebook @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative

The holidays are approaching, and we are talking about jet lag and motion sickness!

We spoke about:

The challenges of travelling with children.

Jet lag / time differences – what jet lag is and how to prepare for it.

Flight times / length – what's best?

Routines when travelling.

What to take that will help.

Travel sickness and why we get it.

Vehicle motion cues on the iphone / ipad! Check out our reel to set this up for your journey.

Signs of motions sickness in children.

Triggers for motions sickness – smells etc.

Tips for how to help prevent motion sickness.

Things to take with you when travelling!

Getting rid of the smell (baking soda and white vinegar are life savers!).

Our jet lag blog – How do I help my baby / child with jet lag?

Our motion sickness blog – Travel or motion sickness

Facebook @bespokefamily

Instagram @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative

Louisa, our lovely listener, got in touch to ask us to record a podcast on how best to support children and young people who are preparing for exams and so here it is!

We spoke with Will Petty from Bonas MacFarlane Education all about this. Will is so easy to listen to and had some fabulous stories and tips to help our young people manage exam stress.

Will has been with Bonas MacFarlane since 2009, advising countless families from around the world on gaining places at leading UK independent schools. His expertise has been sought after by prestigious firms including UBS, Coutts, and Sotheby’s. Will originally started as a tutor himself so has seen exam stress first hand with students and we felt very lucky that he agreed to share his extensive knowledge with us!

We talked with Will about:

• Not adding to the pressure your children are already feeling!
• Not going on holiday in the Easter holidays...(too late if you are there, but one for next year’s students!).
• Making sure there are time off days (especially if you have a really studious child) and how to plan this and the dreaded revision timetable.
• Not trying to be teacher and parent (be a parent as much as possible) and the benefits of a private tutor if budget permits.
• Focussing as a parent on your child/ren’s wellbeing and not putting your own emotions and pressures on to them – being the safe space they need.
• The importance of the last parent’s evening before the exams (and trying to make sure your child is as well).
• How having treats is really important to ‘take the lid off the pressure cooker’.
• Options for additional support.
• Ignoring the little Timmys..!!
• Wills top 3 tips for parenting during the exam periods.
• All about Bonas Macfarlane and how they support students and families with tuition and more.

Bonas MacFarlane’s website: https://bonasmacfarlane.co.uk/en/

Instagram @bespokefamily / @bonasmacfarlane_

Facebook @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative

Our lovely listener Jacqueline messaged us with the topic of only children as a podcast idea and here we are!

We talked about:

• One and done – why more families are choosing to have just one child or more than one child.
• Only child stats from Canada - https://www.bbc.co.uk/worklife/article/20230110-only-child-or-siblings-one-and-done
• Becks and Rich initially just wanting one child (and ending up with twins!).
• Other reasons families might make the decision to only have 1 child.
• Claire – the reason everyone should only have 1 child 😉
• An article about only children on BBC science - https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/only-children
• Our thoughts on whether only children are spoilt?
• Reasons people might think parents should have more than 1 child.

Jacqueline – next time someone asks you if you are going to have another child – get them to listen to our podcast!

Get in touch if you have a topic you’d like us to talk about!

Instagram @bespokefamily

Facebook @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative

We talked about:

• Davina’s background and how she came to write her book (details below)
• Davina’s own interest in allergies and her award-winning baking background!
• Whether we are seeing an increase in allergies in both adults and children and why this is.
• Parental anxieties around allergies and how to help with this.
• How it's important that children learn to advocate for themselves.
• How knowledge is key to help with parental anxiety around allergies and also to educate your child about their allergies.
• Allergy awareness when out and about and how trust in the restaurants etc is very important.
• Bullying and allergies and some things to do in order to help keep your child safe.
• The importance of support groups online.

Have you ever seen a bee with hives? A book about allergies for everyone from age 8 to 80!

Davina’s recommendation – Dr Helen Allergy

Instagram @bespokefamily

Facebook @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative

We talked about:

• Whether we remember having any nightmares or night terrors (Becks had quite the pre-sleep routine!)
• Claire’s dreams (poor James!!)
• The differences between nightmare and night terrors and what happens
• Why someone might have a night terror and why you shouldn’t wake them up
• Nightmares (what these look like and when they happen) and vivid dreams (Claire’s dad calling the cows in for example!!)
• When you would get night terrors checked by the GP
• Things you can do to help prevent nightmares / night terrors
• How nightmares can be caused by trauma
• When to talk with your children about worries

Our Amazon store (for books and worry / sleep things!) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/bespokefamily

Our blog – Is my child having a nightmare or a night terror?

I’m scared – another episode you might enjoy / find useful!

Instagram @bespokefamily

Facebook @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative

**In this episode we discuss suicide and depression - if these are tricky subjects for you then please do look after yourself and maybe skip today's episode or listen when you feel ready.**

This episode with Laura is very emotional and insightful one, with moments of humour - we hope you enjoy it. We spoke with Laura about:

• Her situation now as a single mum with 2 children, sharing their care with her ex-husband.
• What happened when Laura became pregnant with Arthur, the birth (by c-section) and coming home.
• The moment she decided she didn’t want to leave the house and a few days later when she decided the solution would be to end her life.
• How her feelings were towards Arthur and when she told her friend how she felt.
• The series of thoughts that went through her head and how she would live hour by hour.
• How she felt like a fraud when the doctor told her she needed help (and ongoing!).
• The round the clock care she received before being supported by the peri-natal mental health team, suicidal thoughts and then how she agreed to be admitted to a mother and baby unit.
• Laura’s experience of being in the unit (she was there for 3 months).
• The different types of postnatal depression and how dads can have post-natal depression too.
• Why Laura wrote the book and what post-natal depression looks like.
• The ongoing support Laura received.
• Getting pregnant the second time, what that meant and how it felt when she had Willow.
• Routine and how it can help.
• How important a support system is.

You can buy Laura’s book on Amazon here (and in all good bookshops) -

Places to get support - Association for Post-Natal Illness / PANDAS FOUNDATION UK

Instagram @cantylaura @bespokefamily

Facebook @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative

This episode is for parents and carers who are thinking about starting weaning. We talked about:

• When you should start weaning and the guidelines for this.
• What weaning is.
• The signs to look for to know if your baby is ready to start weaning.
• The fact that sleep changes and that this is more likely to be a 4 month sleep regression than that they are hungry and need to be weaned.
• What to start children on (baby rice is not necessarily the right answer!) and the different methods that can be followed to start weaning.
• Choking and the associated worries.
• The difference between gagging and choking (do a parent first aid course)- we have a podcast episode on this – First Aid Emergencies with Sian Stephanie
• The best sitting position for babies when weaning and beyond.
• The importance of role modelling.
• Things you need to buy or think about before starting weaning.
• The faces babies make!!
• Allergies and what to be aware of.
• Pouches, homemade food (and porridge!).
• What if you hate certain foods?? (spoiler alert – you need to put a brave face on!!)
• What shouldn’t you feed children under 12 months old?
• Following social media accounts (shout out to Charlotte @SRNurition !)

Instagram @bespokefamily

Facebook @bespokefamily

For information about a Bespoke Family Parent Consultation click here: https://www.bespokefamily.co.uk/parent-consultations

‘Your Guide to...’ (our downloadable webinars including behaviour, toilet training, sleep and more)

This podcast is produced by Decibelle Creative