Our Blog

Helen's blog: Musings on being a stepparent

Last week was Alternative Family Week ( http://www.alternativeparenting.co.uk/alternative-family-week.html ), which aims to raise awareness about the many different family structures that exist. &n... Read More

Ellen's blog: Change and the difficulty of managing uncertai...

Today I cried at work. It’s been a very challenging week, with a huge amount of change in the organisation, and against a back-drop of hopeless uncertainty, and with everyone in a bad mood, the... Read More

Julia's blog: The lessons begin

My children are still small (just 1 and 3) but I am already grappling with the hectic ‘back to school’ transition many parents have faced in the last week or so. My daughter attends the p... Read More

Antonia's blog: My Wife Won’t Get A Job While I Work Myself...

Earlier in the summer, a middle aged husband, lets call him Mr X, wrote an anonymous letter to one of our leading newspapers lamenting his wife for refusing to entertain the possibility of a ret... Read More

Rebecca's blog: Summer holidays

As a break from the expensive clubs and far-flung activities I usually book for the summer holidays, this year I had arranged to send my tween and two teenagers to my parents’ home in the count... Read More

Lawrence's blog: In-Law behaviours.

Our working parent household is one that has, after three and a half years started to function with a certain degree of normality. I seem to be able to bundle the child out of the door for nursery a ... Read More

Rosie's blog: Next Steps

This July saw my eldest son’s last day at our lovely village primary school. In September he is heading to secondary school and so begins a new and exciting chapter in his life. It is extraordi... Read More

Dolly's blog: Sports Day

I bloody hate sports day. It's a month since this year's ordeal and I'm still experiencing symptoms of trauma. I attend religiously, contorting myself to accommodate it alongsid... Read More

Maria's blog: Mental health and stigma

I have been thinking long and hard about what is the best way to start a conversation about mental health but I think it is best to just dive in and talk about my own experience. So please allow me t... Read More

Esther’s blog: Women ahead – a cause for celebration?

"We have two women here who have got on and had a very constructive discussion. Two women who, if I may say so, get on with the job and want to deliver the best results for the people of the UK ... Read More

Helen's blog: Being curious

‘Mummy, what does Brexit mean?’  No doubt I am not the only parent to be asked this question by their child in recent weeks. Our 4 year old daughter loves listening to the news, main... Read More

Ellen’s Blog: Sleep Trials

Our three-year old son is not a very good sleeper. Actually, that’s not quite true - he is an excellent sleeper, but generally does not wake up in the same bed in which he went to sleep&hell... Read More

Laura Carstensen's blog: WorkLife Central 2016 survey

I had my first child in 1988, a one year qualified solicitor at Slaughter and May. It felt like pretty uncharted territory. I was ambitious to become a partner and I also knew that, at that time, no ... Read More

Freddy's blog: Supporting the move back to work

In the 13 months since my daughter joined the family I feel like we’ve been through more than 13 new, different phases of our lifestyle. None of them last long, but such is the warped experienc... Read More

Dolly's blog: The commute

It's 6.45am and I'm shivering slightly in a station car park whilst the man I love nearly as much as my husband makes me a skinny latte. Phil has a mobile coffee van and without him my qualit... Read More

James's blog: Spreadsheets

Shortly after Christmas I handed my notice in to move to a smaller City firm.  My old employers were fairly sanguine about my resignation.  They knew that I had struggled with the conflicti... Read More

Catherine's blog: Bullying...

Bullying has arrived at our door. And I have to admit that it caught us off guard which meant a delayed reaction from us too. At this stage I could probably write a book about the misconceptions... Read More

City Dad's blog: The British obsession with schools.

I think we have all had our own share of excitement regarding getting our kids into the "right" schools, but does it really make so much of a difference in the long run, especially in the e... Read More

Esther’s blog: Pushing the boundaries at Bond Street

I’ve been thinking about personal values recently, and how they contribute to people making sense of their lives.  A bit fundamental to deal with in a short blog, but here are a few somewh... Read More

Julia's blog: Unpicking my unconscious gender bias

I consider myself to be an incredibly lucky parent of a little girl and a baby boy. Perhaps it's having 'one of each' that has led me to ponder the sometimes subtle, but often blatant iss... Read More

Louisa's blog: In search of a better balance

"The future of work needs to change - we all know that. In spite of the huge advances made in the legislation and culture that embrace our workplaces, there is still a lot more to be done to ens... Read More

Bob's blog: Starting SPL

I am sitting writing this in a Tesco's Costa at Royston, North Herts, which is a little removed from the business glamour of Canary Wharf, my usual work place. Our little boy, who is fa... Read More

Ellen's blog: Act Quickly to Avoid Disappointment

Last week our 3-year old son brought home a teddy bear called Gulliver, along with a scrapbook labelled “Gulliver’s Travels” which was full of photos of Gulliver on his various week... Read More

Lawrence's blog: Gender stereotyping - the subconscious mess...

Our daughter like a majority of similar aged girls loves princesses; be it Elsa and Anna from Disney’s Frozen, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle from Beauty and the Beast or Ariel from the Little M... Read More

Dolly's blog: Easter Musings

Ahh, Easter. High point: a day spent screaming like an adolescent at Dreamland in Margate (anyone else remember the Enterprise ride from the 1980s?!). Low point: making my son cry when I accidentally... Read More

James's blog: Consistency

As I’m sure is the case with many professional couples working in the City, it is quite rare for our little family to spend much time with all three of us together.  My wife doesn’t ... Read More

Rosie's blog: Active Parenting

I am stealing a week with my two sons on the slopes in Austria and thoroughly enjoying their antics in the snow. I don’t want to impress upon them too strongly how fortunate they are to be here... Read More

City Dad's blog: To party or not to party....

March is a busy, expensive, month for us. My dad, daughter, son and then myself all have birthdays spaced a week apart.  The adult birthdays are quite easily handled - a nice card and a family l... Read More

Esther's blog: Shades of grey

Ok I’m going to deal with an extremely taboo subject today.  No not anything to do with a certain book and film.  Instead, I want to deal with the subject of ‘keeping up appeara... Read More

Uchenna's blog: Celebrate the Village

Surveying the toys strewn all over the floor in the living room, I am still asking: how did this coup happen? Although I struggle to confess it, I have (temporarily) relinquished power: my Commanders... Read More