if You Forget Everything Else Remember This: Parenting in the Primary Years

From that first angelic role in the nativity play to that first playground love, from cut knees and scuffed shoes, school bullies and World Book Day costume design, life as a parent in the primary years is an emotional rollercoaster. Amid the practical chaos of finding swimming goggles, making packed lunches, cleaning out the rabbit and refereeing sibling squabbles over screen time, many of us long for some help – a little wisdom to get us through. Here is that help. Revised in light of the pandemic and complete with up-to-the-minute resources, this second edition is filled with memorable sayings, relatable stories and clever cartoons to help steer you through this challenging season of parenting, and to reassure you that you’re not alone – someone else struggles with feeling judged, with knowing how long to ‘count to ten’ for, and someone else also accidentally killed Finny the class goldfish over half-term … (they’ll never know the difference)! So put the kettle on, make a cup of tea, and if you forget everything else as a parent, remember this …

Table of Contents:
Introduction xi Fasten your seatbelts 1 Remember who you are 5 There’s no point trying to be a superhero 11 Lay down the guilt 15 Children will be as different as chalk and cheese 21 Don’t look sideways 25 Ask yourself: ‘What does a good job really look like?’ 29 Put your oxygen mask on first 33 Listening says: ‘You matter’ 39 It’s good to talk 43 Love them and let them know 49 Speak words of life 53 It’s quality and quantity time 57 Actions speak louder than words 61 Gifts are not just for birthdays 63 ‘Please hold me’ 65 Don’t leave them to their own devices 69 Laughter is the best medicine 77 We always… 81 Lay the table 85 Let them play 89 Sometimes ‘playing safe’ is dangerous 93 Boundaries give security 97 Choose your style 99 Choose your battles 105 Say what you mean and mean what you say 109 Remember the three Ds 113 Childish irresponsibility or disobedience? 117 Label the action, never the child 119 Consequences are the best teachers 121 Shoulder to shoulder 125 Enjoy the generation game 127 Be the first to say sorry 133 Take a walk in his moccasins 135 Slow down, you move too fast 139 It takes a village 143 Parent with elastic 147 Values are more often caught than taught 151 Take a second look 157 Snow leopard moments 161 Give them roots 165 Carpe diem 167

About the Author :
Katharine Hill LLB JP is UK Director at Care for the Family. She speaks and writes on family matters, is a regular author for The Huffington Post, and the author of several books. Katharine also leads on Care for the Family’s policy agenda representing the organisation at government level, and has practised as a family lawyer. She is married to Richard and they have four grown-up children and two grandchildren.