Love, Relationships & Marriage
Sarah on The Challenges of Single Parenting
As part of Child Contact Centre Awareness Week (22-26 April), Guest bloggerSarah from Glasgow Mummy shares her moving experience as a single parent. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had never imagined that I’d be in my current situation… separated with a two year old boy & bouncing baby girl at the…
Read MoreLifelines: Pauline Nimmo on European Child Contact Centre Awareness Week
This Lifelines problem page written by local Child Contact Centre Manager Pauline Nimmo originally appeared in Scotland on Sunday (21/04/13). I HAVE two children aged ten and seven. My ex-partner and I had an acrimonious separation and I had to go to court to see my children. My ex made allegations that I was…
Read MoreAre Aberdeen Men Really The UK’s Valentine’s Day Cheapskates?
While Valentine’s Day spending in 2013 is likely to be at its highest since the recession began in 2008, not all parts of the country will be spending equally. New figures from Travelodge show that the men of Sheffield will be splashing the cash on their partners this February, while Aberdeen’s men folk will spend…
Read MoreVive la Romance!
Christmas brings out the bah humbugs in some people. Valentine’s Day can get a similar response, with people saying: “It’s a waste of time!”, “I ignore it because it’s so commercialised” or “The only people who like Valentine’s Day are the florists and the card manufacturers and sellers.” But are they reasons to avoid Valentine’s,…
Read MoreValentine’s Day: How It All Began
Having been asked to contribute a piece on Valentine’s Day, my initial reaction was: “Oh no – not another commercially driven ‘celebration’!” So I did a quick and completely unscientific poll of male and female friends of different ages and stages. The results are in. No one over the age of 21 seems to take…
Read MoreHow Divorcées can Survive Valentine’s Day
This is a special guest post from Maggie Currie. Going through divorce often leaves you feeling that you have nobody to rely on, other than yourself. So take advantage of you and really look after yourself on this day. Turn the focus of your attention to you. Buy yourself something special, something you will really…
Read MoreHow to avoid a Christmas crime scene
The idea of an extended family get-together can be absolutely the best thing about Christmas for many people, but for some, we have to acknowledge, it can be the most stressful. Even in intact families problems can arise if in-laws don’t get along: I’m lucky with my own in-laws so I asked a counsellor colleague,…
Read More10 Christmas survival tips for couples
Gill O’Connell of Relationship Counselling Highland offers some sound advice on getting through the festive season. The story goes: Christmas is about joy, harmony and love. The reality is, though, that it is hard for even the most relaxed people to get through to Boxing Day without some crisis in their family or relationship. When there…
Read MoreJangle bells?
This December, several thousand families across Scotland will be facing their first Christmas separated or divorced. It is hard for even the most relaxed family to get through to Boxing Day without some crisis, tantrum or disaster, but when there is the added pressure of a family living apart because of separation or divorce, the…
Read MoreParenting in Scotland: what do our children really need?
The Scottish Government launches its national parenting strategy on 3 October 2012. I am delighted that there is to be a National Parenting Strategy and thinking about this has caused me to reflect on what children in Scotland – and indeed worldwide – actually need in order to thrive. I am a parent, I worked…
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