Family and Relationships

Relationships with adult children are an aspect of parenting that is rarely discussed, yet they require thoughtfulness and empathy, and can bring many new challenges. 

All Grown Up draws on the personal experiences of parents, as well as advice from leading experts in the filed, to offer support and guidance on working through these common dilemmas to develop and maintain a close bond with your adult child. Discover how to create family harmony and a strong, enduring connection. 

BFF? will take a close look at society's most underappreciated relationship to interrogate what modern friendship means, how it can survive, why we need it and what we can do to get the most from it. Featuring interviews with brilliant women on what friendship means to them, Claire Cohen argues that, unlike romantic relationships, friendship is much harder to pin down and quantify - and shows how often our friendships are taken for granted.

An antidote to the idea that every woman must belong to a perfect girl gang, this book is a reassuring guide to help women answer for themselves, 'Have we lost it? Are we still friends? Is there too much to catch up on?'

'This is a moment to take stock. To think about who our friends really are, what that means to us, what they give us (and we give them) and what we have learnt about friendship. Because, when we get it right, there is nothing so important as having true friends. What a shame that it took a rampaging virus to make us appreciate the value of that.'

Life is all about relationships and the quality of those connections, whether that's with family, partners, friends, colleagues or most importantly yourself. If you can get those relationships on a functional and even keel, then the other tricky stuff that life throws your way becomes easier to manage. In this warm, practical and witty book, No.1 Sunday Times bestselling psychotherapist Philippa Perry shows you how to approach life's big problems.

How do you find and keep love? What can you do so that arguments don't feel torturous? How can you get unstuck and cope with change and loss? What does it mean to you to be content? Are other people just annoying or are you the problem? With a healthy dose of sanity, Philippa Perry's compassionate advice could help you become a happier, wiser person.

After years of feeling that love was always out of reach, journalist Natasha Lunn set out to understand how relationships work and evolve over a lifetime.

She turned to authors and experts to learn about their experiences, as well as drawing on her own, asking: How do we find love? How do we sustain it? And how do we survive when we lose it?

Every couple wants a happy relationship and a meaningful career but how do we balance both at the same time? In Couples that Work, Professor Jennifer Petriglieri shifts away from the language of sacrifice and trade-offs and focuses on how couples can successfully tackle the challenges they will face throughout their lives - together.

Identifying common triggers and traps working couples face, and offering resolution and reflection through tools and engaging exercises, this book will help every couple design their own unique way to combine love and work at every stage of their journey. Finding fulfilment in both love and work may just be easier than you think.

The Essential Family Guide to Caring for Older People is the ultimate source of information and help for families with care responsibilities.

Deborah Stone draws on her extensive experience working in elder care to offer practical advice on every aspect of the field in depth. Topics range from how to get help immediately, legal information, care funding options, a guide to useful technology and advice on the main physical and mental health issues that affect older people.

Plus guidance is given on dealing with social services and ensuring you choose the right care for your situations.

Crucially, the book also offers help on how to cope as a carer with practical advice on juggling family, work and your caring responsibilities while looking after yourself.

Relationships fundamentally influence our health and happiness -- and family is the only relationship that we cannot leave, however much we might like to. But we think too narrowly about the impact of our families on our lives.

Every Family Has A Story sees bestselling psychotherapist Julia Samuel turn from her work with individuals to sessions with a wide variety of families. Diving deep into eight case studies, with her usual storytelling panache and the latest academic research, she analyses a range of common issues including separation, step-relationships, leaving home, trauma and loss. In doing so, she reveals insightfully how deeply we are influenced by our families -- including the often under-appreciated impact of grandparents and siblings -- and offers universally applicable insights into how families can face challenges together. Her 12 touchstones for family wellbeing -- from fighting productively to making time for rituals, and from setting boundaries to allowing difference -- provide us with the tools to ultimately be better family members ourselves.

Revealing forgiveness and learning amidst trauma and hardship, this is an honest and compassionate meditation on what we inherit and how we can create the families we wish for.

This down to earth guide is for the silent army of unpaid carers who support people living with dementia. Whether you're just starting out, or already caring for a loved one, you'll find all the essential information you need. From dealing with challenging behaviour to sorting our financial and legal issues or searching for answers to tricky, ethical dilemmas, this book provides some long-awaited advice.

What is the allure of an institution grounded in patriarchy, in elitism, in white supremacy in the West, an institution that invalidated all but one kind of love till quite recently? Why do so many of us fight against these social ills while also posting pictures of proposals on Instagram? Is it possible to be married while subverting the institution by doing it one's own way, or is marriage having the last laugh after all?

Tom Rasmussen comes from a Northern, working class family, for whom marriage in the centrepiece of life. They are also a male-bodied, non-binary queer person in a relationship with a man. Journeying through wildly different weddings, visits to wedding planners, interviews with the much-married, those who have questioned their decision to marry, and those who would never consider matrimony, this is an incisive, witty and moving look at marriage.

Right now, it is undeniably a tough time to be a parent. With so many pressures on your time, your energy and your resources, it can be difficult to give your child everything they need emotionally, and even more so when you're faced with defiance, disruption or challenging behaviour. However, in this new book, Marie Gentles draws on decades of expertise supporting families to give you the toolkit you need to be the best parent you can be.

What do you do when your relationship suddenly ends? How do you cope when the cosy 'coupley' future you had planned disappears? Join comedian Helen Thorn from The Scummy Mummies as she haphazardly takes the plunge into single life for the first time in twenty-two years.

Helen shares her own roller coaster journey from the initial shock of a surprise separation, the messy months hanging out in her PJs through to the highs of rediscovering online dating, tiny pants, rock-solid female friendships and the glorious joy of just being by herself. With the help of relationship experts and an army of women "who know", Get Divorced, Be Happy will show you that going it alone isn't the end, it is just the beginning, and you will come out the other side, stronger, happier and goddamn sassier than ever before.

Raising kids is a tricky business. We all want to do the best for our little darlings, but what exactly is 'best'? As the parenting wars escalate, and politicians and childcare gurus lock horns over the right way to bring up our children, Mariella Frostrup provides some much-needed perspective. 

In these 11 episodes from the long-running BBC radio show Bringing Up Britain, she explores the dilemmas of 21st Century parenting, talking to ordinary families and a panel of guest experts to try and make sense of some big parenting questions.

From dealing with anxiety and aggression to helping kids make friends and become independent, Mariella and her guests have got the topic covered, offering advice, insight and a range of diverse views to guide you through the parenting labyrinth.

Why do:
· Dutch babies seem so content, and sleep so well?
· Dutch parents let their kids play outside on their own?
· The Dutch trust their children to bike to school?
· Dutch schools not set homework for the under-tens?
· Dutch teenagers not rebel?
· What is the secret of bringing up the happiest kids in the world?

In a recent UNICEF study of child well-being, Dutch children came out on top as the happiest all-round. Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison, both married to Dutchmen and bringing up their kids in Holland, examine the unique environment that enables the Dutch to turn out such contented, well-adjusted and healthy babies, children and teens.
Read this book if you want to find out what lessons you can learn from Dutch parents, to ensure your kids turn out happy!

Children take their lead from their friends: being 'cool' matters more than anything else. Shaping values, identity and codes of behaviour, peer groups are often far more influential than parents. But this situation is far from natural, and it can be dangerous - it undermines family cohesion, interferes with healthy development, and fosters a hostile and sexualized youth culture. Children end up becoming conformist, anxious and alienated.

In Hold on to Your Kids, acclaimed physician and bestselling author Gabor Maté joins forces with Gordon Neufeld, a psychologist with a reputation for penetrating to the heart of complex parenting. Together they pinpoint the causes of this breakdown and offer practical advice on how to 'reattach' to sons and daughters, establish the hierarchy at home, make children feel safe and understood, and earn back your children's loyalty and love. This updated edition also addresses the unprecedented parenting challenges posed by the rise of digital devices and social media. By helping to reawaken our instincts, Maté and Neufeld empower parents to be what nature intended: a true source of contact, security and warmth for their children.

It's time to share the motherload. A memoir culminating in a manifesto Holding the Baby sets out to understand why we still treat early parenthood as an individual slog rather than a shared cultural responsibility. Tracing her own journey to the nadir of sleeplessness via social retreat and murderous rage Frizzell draws on the latest research to explore: - What effect does parenting have on your career? - How can we make childcare affordable and fit for purpose? - If parenting is so hard why does anyone ever do it more than once? Funny reassuring and radically ambitious Holding the Baby sheds light on the ways in which we fail new parents and offers a rallying crying that we fight for a better alternative.

I know you care about children. Whether you've got your own kids or you look after other people's, you have a deep love for these little humans.

You want them to grow up in a world where people are basically kind to each other and kind to the planet. But when you look at the world now - a mental health crisis, a global pandemic, climate change, war - you worry about the possible future your child is facing and how they will cope.

There are already countless parenting books, many of them very helpful. But few address the backdrop to our parenting - a world so full of change and uncertainty that it's getting harder to catch our breath, to find our feet on solid ground. The truth is that our children's minds are affected by this world, and we don't talk about this anywhere near enough.

Whatever your worries, I've created this book for us to explore these worries together. If there is one lesson we really need to learn in the twenty-first century, it is this: we are all in this together.

I'm not promising a quick-fix, instant enlightenment and eternal peace. What I can say for sure is that in this book you will find practical tools and perspectives that will help you find your own authentic answer to the question: how can we best prepare our children to live in these times?

You will learn to navigate uncomfortable truths and feelings, and I will guide you to bring a little more love and healing to the parts of your self, the parts of your child, and the parts of the world that cause you the most concern.

You might laugh, and you might cry, but whatever your experience, I guarantee you will learn at least one insight that could well be life-changing.

When I started out on this journey, it all seemed pretty simple: I thought that love would be enough to see me through. I had no idea what it would take to create a fully blended family - just how many factors and emotions would be involved or how deep it would all go. How To Build A Family is the nurturing handbook I wish I'd been given. In it you'll find my experiences, as well as those of other blended families (because every family is unique), along with advice and tips from the experts who have guided me.

Some key areas we'll look at are: Dealing with grief and divorce Helping the kids to accept you Moving into the family home and how to make changes Managing comparisons to previous partners Building positive relationships with the wider family I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers, but I will say that if you can just stick with it through the downs as well as the ups, being a stepparent can be one of the most rewarding things you'll ever do. My goal is to encourage, inspire and support families everywhere, and I really hope you find this book helpful.

We're fast approaching the 3rd decade of the 21st century and it's a very different world from the one in which parents (and teachers) grew up in. Challenging issues have come together - including cyber bullying, 'always-on' culture and ever increasing pressure to do well - to create a perfect storm. The result is that teenagers and young adults are now less prepared for a more challenging world - and if they don't develop the skills they need to help them thrive they can become easy prey to mental health problems.

In this book Dr Dominique Thompson, the UK's leading GP on student mental health and educational expert Fabienne Vailes, reveal what exactly parents need to do to help teenagers and young adults in this new world - and how to manage problems along the way.

Being a parent is complicated - but the trick to succeed is simpler than you think. Known as the Godmother of Silicon Valley, Esther Wojcicki's three daughters are all hugely successful in both their professional and personal lives. What's her parenting secret? As we face an epidemic of parental and childhood anxiety, Woj has the advice every parent wants to hear: climb out of that helicopter and relax. 

Her tried and tested TRICK approach will help you: Let your child discover their own passions. Move on from past parenting mistakes. Build rock-solid foundations for a lifelong relationship. Be brave enough to give your child freedom. Work with your children, not against them. Set healthy relationships with technology. Your children are the future. If you change your parenting, you can change the world.

How do we talk to our children about racism? How do we teach children to be antiracist? How are kids at different ages experiencing race? How are racist structures impacting children? How can we inspire our children to avoid our mistakes, to be better, to make the world better?

These are the questions Ibram X. Kendi found himself avoiding as he anticipated the birth of his first child. Like most parents or parents-to-be, he felt the reflex to not talk to his child about racism, which he feared would stain her innocence and steal away her joy. But research into the scientific literature, his experiences as a father and reflections on his own difficult experiences as a student ultimately changed his mind.

In the deeply accessible mode of his international bestseller How To Be an Antiracist, Kendi combines a century of scientific research with a vulnerable and compelling personal narrative to argue that it is only by teaching our children about the reality of racism and the myth of race from the earliest age that we can actually protect them and preserve their innocence and joy. Along the way, he shows that an antiracist society is one that safeguards all children. And building that society means all of us participating in the effort to raise young people as antiracists.

We're all familiar with self-talk, self-doubt, self-judgement - and yet many of us still believe we have one uniform mind. Dr Richard Schwartz's breakthrough model of therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), revealed that our minds are made up of distinct parts that form our 'internal family', from Protectors and Exiles to Managers and Firefighters.

Introduction to Internal Family Systems is the practical guide you need to understand how your mind works and uncover the life-changing power of IFS. Learn how to restore wholeness with the 8 Cs of 'Self' - confidence, calmness, creativity, clarity, courage, curiosity, compassion and connectedness - and unburden your mind with the compassionate and courageous within yourself.

How many times have you heard that family is sacred, even when your reality is different? It's Them, Not You smashes the false narrative that family is everything.

Equipping you with a deeper understanding of toxic family dynamics, resilience and wellbeing coach Josh Connolly will validate your experience and provide the tools you need to deal with emotionally immature parents and family members.

It's Them, Not You offers a pathway to heal your inner child and break free from past trauma. Whether your solution is to go 'no contact', place new boundaries or reconnect with community, this book is the ultimate handbook to help get unstuck and heal from the strongest wounds.

No one can prepare you for the sleep deprivation of having a newborn. The truth is, there is no magic wand - but there is straight-forward, actionable advice that will set your baby on a path towards a settled night's sleep. Baby sleep guru Rosey Davidson has been helping new parents with sleep for over a decade. She knows first-hand that every baby is different and that no parent needs to suffer with sleep struggles long term.

In this empowering and non judgemental book, Rosey sets out clear, practical solutions to help you make the right sleep decisions for your family. Covering every conceivable challenge that you may encounter in the first year, this is your nurturing guide to the methods that really work. Whether you are in a fog of sleepless nights or expecting your bundle of joy, let this book be your guiding light, helping you to calmly and confidently navigate your baby's first year.

In Knee Deep in Life Laura Belbin gives a fearless and filthy account of her transformation from no-responsibilities woman to being in demand 24/7, the heartaches and humiliations, and most importantly, her (definitely-pushed-to-the-limits-but-totally-indestructible) marriage to Steve, the man who helped her to hold it together when post-natal depression kicked in.

Full of heart and wit - not to mention swearing that would make a sailor blush - this is the beast of a book Laura intends on riding into the hands of those people who doubt themselves every single day: the ones who have struggled to accept the way they look; the mums-to-be about to find themselves taking their first step towards parenthood; and the women bossing it like badasses every single day but never getting the credit they deserve. You are more than enough.

Letters on Motherhood is a collection of heartfelt and deeply poignant letters written by Giovanna to her three young sons, her husband and the family and friends who have inspired and supported her to become the mother that she is today. 

Never one to glamorise the idea of a perfect family, Giovanna writes about the priceless highs and the challenging lows as she talks about the deeper universal truths of parenting including: coping with mum guilt, finding a work/family life balance, maintaining positive body image, rediscovering a sense of identity, and a parent's hopes, fears and expectations for their child. 

Honest, heartwarming and hilarious, Giovanna's musings on motherhood are both a joy and a comfort, paying testament to the power of family, even in difficult and challenging times.

Psychotherapist and mother of three, Anna Mathur, will support readers through the rollercoaster of feelings that come with being a new mum and provide expert advice based on her own professional and personal experiences. Whether you need some quick grounding, a note of compassion, or you want to untangle a feeling, flick to a page for a quick, uplifting moment of much-needed support.

There are quick takeaway mantras and action tips for those tight on time, and further reading should you want to explore topics more deeply. This comprehensive A-Z covers everything from baby blues and anxiety to guilt, insomnia, stress, your inner critic and maintaining friendships.

In Michele Hanson's bittersweet columns in the Guardian, collected here, she explores the physical deterioration of her spirited and resilient elderly mother. From bowel trouble to views on Camilla Parker-Bowles, life is never dull in the Household from Hell! Speaking with emotional candour and gentle poignancy, Michele tells it like it is: somewhere between anguish and hope, tragedy and comedy, tears and laughter.

I love being a Spice Girl, but what I am proudest of is being a mum. Even though I had all the real-life girl power of the actual Spice Girls on speed-dial, my incredible partner and my mum, I had so many worries and questions I couldn't always ask out loud. What I really, really wanted was one, easy-to-read, honest book that would give me support without judgement - that might even make me chuckle occasionally. 

So, I've written it for you! I've included all my stories about what that precious, exhausting first year was like for me, and I've also asked some brilliant experts for their help too, including a paediatric sleep consultant, a trusted NCT counsellor, a mindfulness coach, and no-less than five amazing midwives and doulas. I want you to feel like you've got this. Because guess what mama? You have!

Mindful Mamma is a reassuring and practical guide to help you to navigate the life-changing first year of motherhood. You'll learn quick and easy mindfulness and hypnosis techniques alongside mp3 downloads to create moments of calm wherever you need it - even at 4am with a restless baby! As well as this, you'll discover how to use these powerful tools to help with specific challenges along the way, such as fatigue, anxiety around breastfeeding, relationships, and the end of maternity leave. Whether this is your first or fourth baby, Mindful Mamma is an essential toolkit for every mum to feel confident and calm, and ready to manage the physical, emotional and joyful chaos that comes.

Being a mum is often anything but mindful. Having suffered from anxiety for much of her life, Izzy Judd has brought together a brilliant and inspiring collection of simple activities and exercises to help parents find their own piece of calm. 

Included are exercises both for you to do alone and with your children of all ages, giving them their own tools to help remain happy and peaceful too. Inside you'll discover: Ways of bringing mindfulness to your day. Your own self-care routine. Breathing exercises to do with children. How to prepare for a good night's sleep. One-minute mindfulness. Izzy Judd's beautiful and practical book will hold your hand through the challenging and exhausting days as well as the exciting and happy days. Most importantly, it will help you to create special memories for you to share with your children.

Whether you're preparing for your baby to arrive, have just welcomed your little one into the world, or are well into the fourth trimester, this nurturing guide will ensure you feel supported and informed throughout your baby's first year.

Following on from where The Modern Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond left off, this book will take you through the first 48 hours after birth up until your baby's first birthday. From postpartum recovery to establishing a routine and looking out for signs to start weaning, Marie Louise will guide you through each stage of your baby's development. Packed with interesting facts, the most up-to-date insights and bringing together a whole host of childcare experts, you'll find everything you need to feel calm and confident about the exciting months ahead.

Following on from the success of Your Baby, Your Birth, renowned birth and parenting coach Hollie de Cruz applies her much-loved approach to the first year of motherhood. This empowering and thought-provoking book will guide you through the ever-changing landscape of your baby's first year, month by month, and will help you feel assured that you know your baby best. Filled with mindfulness techniques, Hollie's award-winning yesmum affirmations, and game-changing exercises to help you feel more capable and relaxed, Motherhood Your Way shows you how to:

Understand your baby and respond to their needs. Develop your maternal instincts and turn down the noise of outside opinions. Build resilience and avoid comparisons. Find time for self-care and create a nurturing support network. Motherhood is full of ups and downs, but with this book as your companion, you'll soon realise that you are everything your baby needs and more.

Sandra Igwe shares her journey as a young Black mother, coping with sleepless nights, anxiety and loneliness after the birth of her first daughter. Burdened by cultural expectations of the 'good mother' and the 'strong Black woman' trope, her mental health struggles became an uphill battle.

Black women are at higher risk of developing postnatal depression but are the least likely to be identified as depressed. Sharing the voices of other mothers, Sandra examines how culture, racism, stigma and a lack of trust in services prevent women getting the help they need. Breaking open the conversation on motherhood, race, and mental health, she demands that Black women are listened to, believed, and understood.

There's always that moment as a parent when you feel like no matter how hard you're trying you just can't quite get it 'right'. But the fact is parenting is hard and once we know this and why we can forgive ourselves for finding it a struggle and start to look for the things that make parenting a joy. Parenting for Humans is a book first and foremost for parents. It explores what we bring to the parenting journey - our hopes values views circumstances relationships upbringing - and how we can gain confidence in ourselves not just as parents but as whole human beings.

As well as learning to parent ourselves it will show us how to parent the child we actually have not a textbook version but our complicated messy child with their own powerful needs. And by tuning into their language learning how to hold them not mould them we can really start enjoying them for the funny and unique human beings that they are. With the right support and guidance we can all totally do this parenting thing and grow a positive and loving relationship that will last forever.

We can only anchor, nurture, nourish and instill confidence in our children when we extend the same support to ourselves. After all, how can we effectively tend to our children's needs when our energy reserves are depleted? How can we lead by example and teach our children the importance of healthy self-esteem if we are struggling with these things ourselves? There are a thousand and one ways to parent, and only one way that's authentic for you.

Drawing on her work as a psychotherapist, alongside her own experiences as a mother, Anna shows that caring with our children begins with caring for ourselves, and it's time to replace exhaustion with empowerment. Far from being selfish, self-care is an essential quality of a happier mother good parent. The greatest gift you can give to to yourself and your children, is to give yourself permission to thrive.

Packed with tips, hints and reminders, case studies, at-a-glance charts and a daily journal to help you keep track of your baby's progress, The Sensational Baby Sleep Plan is a step-by-step, must-have manual to ensure sleep for you and your baby.

The Sensational Baby Sleep Plan gives parents: Realistic, easy to follow advice and guidance. Sensible feeding plans that can be tailored to suit the individual. Simple explanations of how to interpret different cries. Useful tips to encourage belief and trust in their parental instincts. Solutions to common issues and problems, as well as in-depth explanations on how to cope with reflux and dietary related colic. Happy babies that sleep through the night and have structured naps from around 2 months.

Baby care consultant Alison Scott-Wright takes the stress and tension out of those early weeks and offers the ultimate plan that will ensure your baby sleeps soundly during the day, and for a full 12 hours during the night from around 8-10 weeks, without the need for night feeds!