Tooled Up Education

Dr Weston Talks with Dr Nikita Hayden: Siblings of Children with Autism

In this podcast, Dr Weston talks with Dr Nikita Hayden about the experiences of young people who have siblings with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Research into the outcomes of these children is extremely mixed. Dr Hayden unpacks the complexities of this, highlighting more complex family factors that also impact on young people’s outcomes. She asserts the need to target support to those young people who actually need it and discusses meaningful things that schools and families can do to help support siblings and foster good sibling relationships.

Supporting Siblings When Their Brother or Sister Has an Eating Disorder

Join Dr Kathy Weston and consultant clinical psychologist, Dr Sophie Nesbitt, for a discussion of the best ways to support the siblings of young people with eating disorders. The family-based nature of most eating disorder treatment approaches means that siblings are likely to be highly impacted when their brother or sister has an eating disorder. Dr Nesbitt shares advice on how to approach conversations with siblings, how to support them through worries and wobbles and how to consider responding to tricky questions.

Teen Party Planning and Problem Parties: A Lawyer’s Perspective

In this webinar, Dr Weston and experienced criminal defence lawyer, Harriett Mather, (herself a mum of three teens) discuss teen parties.
Post-pandemic, parties are understandably back in fashion, but it is essential that parents understand how to plan for them effectively and safely. Harriett understands all too well what can go wrong at parties and shares her top tips, so that teens and parents can enjoy festivities without fear of regret, harm or… liability!

Books that Support Children in Military Families

Children in military families face certain challenges that their friends might not encounter and can experience their childhood or adolescence quite differently from their peers. Having a parent in active service can entail unique events and transitions for children which might include frequent moves to new schools or homes, having a parent deployed away from home, frequent shifts between living with one parent and both parents and disruptions to friendship networks. This list of books featuring characters with these specific experiences might help any children in this scenario understand their experiences or encourage them to talk about how they feel.

Parenting Behaviours Audit

Consistent parenting with an agreed set of behavioural boundaries will help your child to flourish, so it’s something we should all be aiming for. If you co-parent, taking half an hour together to audit each other’s strengths and to consider the things that you agree and disagree on can be a fruitful way of developing a more cohesive parenting approach. Use this template to spark the conversation.

How to Feed Your Family Well and Save Money

Meal planner, Claire Gillies from Delicious and Real, gives us her top tips on making weekly food budgets go further and explains how meal planning can save both time and money.

Children’s Books about Loneliness or Isolation

This list of books for children and tweens all feature characters dealing with situations where they feel lonely or isolated and who deal with their emotions by going on adventures, finding new friends and expressing themselves in a variety of ingenious ways. If your child is lonely, or you think that they might be, these stories can help to kickstart conversations about how they are feeling and things they can do to help. They may also help them to understand that feeling lonely sometimes is very common and that they aren’t alone.

Researcher of the Month: Mishika Mehrotra Discusses the Importance of Dinnertime Conversation

Our researcher of the month, Mishika Mehrotra, talks to Dr Weston about the importance of mealtime conversation between parent and child. Join us to learn more about why mealtimes are so important, what Mishika will be investigating and how to encourage children to open up during family chat around the table. Mishika is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, and is definitely a researcher to watch out for in the future!

Dr Weston Talks with Laura Barrett about Cystic Fibrosis: A Parent’s Journey Through Their Child’s Diagnosis and Hospital Stays

In this podcast, Dr Weston is joined by Laura Barrett, author of a powerful and moving new book which chronicles her experiences when, shortly after birth, her third son was diagnosed with the life-limiting genetic condition, cystic fibrosis. It is a powerful and inspiring read, imparting a strong message of hope for any parent going through a similar situation. In this interview, published to coincide with Cystic Fibrosis Week (13th-19th June), Laura describes her coping mechanisms, gives us some insight into raising a child who has cystic fibrosis (her baby has grown into a fun-loving, sport mad young boy, raring to start school in September) and provides some general advice on coping with diagnoses and long hospital stays, regardless of the specific condition.