We are seeking a new family home; a process that has reminded me of both the anxiety-inducing aspects of upheaval and of all the exciting and life-enhancing opportunities it can ignite.

A friend of mine recently asked me a question using terms I haven’t heard since I was at school. “Now that you’ve had two children,” she asked, “do you believe in nature or nurture?” It’s a question all parents must ask themselves at least once a week: how do you explain why your children are the way they are? And once a sibling arrives it gets twice as complicated. Because these two children, both made from what you might assume are the same ingredients and raised by the same parents…why are they so different from each other?

School holidays… they can be tricky beasts. On the one hand, it’s lovely for the kids to have a break, catch up with friends, see relatives, enjoy some downtime, and have greater opportunity to spend family time together. On the other, when children are at home (perhaps hoping for some form of entertainment from you), but ‘normal life’ also carries on, it can, at times, feel like a real challenge to keep all of the required plates spinning.

Whilst listening to the radio over the Easter weekend, I happened to tune into a conversation about smartphone usage hosted by British journalist Matt Frei. The topic of conversation was around whether phones were entirely to blame for the current mental health crisis affecting children and young people.

As parents, our focus is on raising our children so that they can survive and thrive in adulthood. Throughout the parenting journey, we attune to who they are, nurture their interests, provide them with love and support as well as the necessary resources to cope with the inevitable challenges that will come their way.

Here in the UK, it’s National Sleep Awareness Week. Recently, I went to a timely two-day conference organised by The Sleep Charity, a UK organisation which campaigns to improve sleep support and raise awareness of the value of a good night’s sleep.

Last weekend, I decided to do what I rarely do, and spend it watching school hockey matches. I realised that both of my children would be playing on adjacent pitches for the first time ever, in an away game, so decided to hop in the car to go and see them play.

Over half term my family and I experienced a clash of cultures. Not the sort you might encounter on a trip abroad, caused by a foreign language, unfamiliar food or Mediterranean driving techniques. This was the culture clash of a family of four moving in for a week with a 70-year-old grandparent who lives alone.

Cherry cola. Banana ice. Watermelon. Apple peach. Pink lemonade. You might think I’m talking about a range of soft drinks? Ice pops? Penny sweets, even? Something designed with the young in mind? Well, actually, these are just a few of numerous flavours of vapes (otherwise known as e-cigarettes) that are available in UK shops.

So here we are, it is Children’s Mental Health Week in the UK. I could write about so many different aspects of this theme, but I have chosen to write about anxiety. Why? Well, it is the largest mental health disorder affecting children and young people and it is also often misunderstood. Is it really the enemy per se?