Read our posts about Relationships

23Dec

How to Have a Harmonious Family Christmas

Linda Blair

Christmas, family

Relationships

We all look forward to Christmas, to the chance to catch up with friends and family, to share good food, to sit beside warm fires, and to enjoy a well-deserved break from our hectic schedules. Often, however, the longed for harmony and bonhomie doesn’t last. The lack of light in December means many of us suffer bouts of low mood, and the demands made on us socially and at work mean that, by the time we get to Christmas itself, we’re feeling tired and grumpy—and often anything but sociable! So how can you rescue this situation? What can you do to ensure that...
» Read More

22Dec

5 TIPS FOR DIVORCED AND BLENDED FAMILIES AT CHRISTMAS

Louise Chunn

Christmas, divorce, family, tips

Relationships

Christmas is a notoriously difficult time for families who are no longer living together as a unit. Sometimes children go from one parent’s house to the other on the day; others take it in turns to spend Christmas day with their children; some celebrate on consecutive days with each parent; and there are some who get together for the day, even with new partners and children born post-the breakup. Whatever the way you decide to handle this situation, there is no doubt that it is complicated, and things can go badly wrong. In the run-up to the festive...
» Read More

18Dec

Off To The Hotel of Mum and Dad

Anonymous

family, home, self

Relationships

Going home for Christmas from Uni can lead to an interesting couple of weeks. Often a toxic mix of December exams and end of term parties will have left you exhausted and yearning for your bed at home and some home cooked food. For the first few days all is well. Talking to my friend Becky this morning, she says hers is a three-day threshold (mine personally is a two-day) wherein being home is the most relaxing and enjoyable time, mostly spent catching up on sleep and eating. But after the honeymoon, oftentimes home can become the last place you want...
» Read More

08Dec

Can I Adopt? 9 Common Misconceptions about Adoption

Jadwiga Ball

adoption, couple, family, society

Relationships

Jadwiga Ball, CEO of Clifton Children’s Society (CCS) Adoption explains the impact of the new Government changes which are being brought in to make the adoption process easier, and dispels some of the myths around adoption. The Government Action Plan In response to the length of time that children were waiting in the care system for a new home, the government set up an expert working group in December 2011, comprising key partners from across the adoption sector to help redesign and speed up the process from initial enquiry through to assessment, with a view to...
» Read More

05Dec

Sex: Have You Ever Regretted The Night Before?

Terri Apter

men, sex, single, society, women

Relationships

Is there a topic more emotive, fraught and confused than sex and consent, versus sex and coercion? Impaled on the shameful histories of silencing women and violence against women, many solutions are value driven but goal blind.  How far will the recent call for explicit consent go in protecting women from being victims of rape and men from being perpetrators of rape? One in seven students who responded said that they had experienced serious physical or sexual assault at University. In an NUS survey conducted four years ago, one in seven students who...
» Read More

02Dec

Breaking Up With A Sociopath

Jane McGregor

couple, divorce, sociopath

Relationships

The end of a relationship presents challenges in most circumstances, let alone if you're breaking up with a sociopath.
» Read More

25Nov

Adopting Siblings: Our New Family

Rebecca

adoption, couple, family

Relationships

My husband and I have been together for nearly 17 years and married 11 years ago. Since marrying we had tried for a family but when it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to have biological children we both (separately) came to the conclusion that we would like to be considered as adoptive parents. I read information on the adoptive process and we approached our local authority and Clifton Children's Society, an adoption service who specialise in adopting siblings, for further information. After attending information sessions by both organizations we asked CCS to...
» Read More

23Nov

Becoming a Grandparent

Angela Neustatter

elderly, family, love

Relationships

I was pleased when my son and daughter-in-law announced they were expecting, but I had no idea what a transformational rite of passage it would be when she became part of our family. How much love would be unleashed, how it is to see her little personality shaping itself and to have a soft dough hand thrust trustingly into mine and The Old Man's as we stride down the street with her, pausing to examine dogs, doorways, shop, windows at her command. In fact I fear I've become a sentimental old bore whipping out my smart phone if someone as much as enquires...
» Read More

10Sep

Cheating - Should You Confess?

Kate Figes

couple, love, marriage, sex

Relationships

Is honesty the best policy if you have been caught cheating on your partner? Kate Figes weighs up the pros and cons
» Read More

03Sep

We All Use Sexist Language, Women Too

Terri Apter

men, society, women

Relationships

Adjectives have now become the scapegoat for a sexist culture - these naughty words are seen to be drenched in misogyny.  First “bossy” came under fire; now “feisty” is targeted. Forget feisty's positive meaning - apparently the fact that it is commonly used to describe women provides sufficient proof of bias and bad intent. When I went through the list of additional 'women only' words presented in The Telegraph Wonder Woman, I felt the frisson of easy recognition that often accompanies what psychologists call the 'confirmation bias': it is much easier to think...
» Read More