Raising R a i s i Children n g Raising Children C The Primary Years The Primary Years h i l d As any parent of a school-age child knows, daily life with a 4–11-year-old is never dull. The parenting trials come thick and r Everything parents need to know – e fast. Just as you think you’ve sorted out one thorny little issue, from homework and horrid habits n along comes another to test your wits and your patience. to screen time and sleepovers T These pages are packed full of useful advice and information on h a whole range of topics. You’ll discover what other parents have e done and benefit from the wisdom of child psychologists and P other experts, for issues such as: r i m l friendships, falling out and bullying a l horrid habits and bad behaviour r l bedtime battles and sleepovers y l homework and ‘how many hobbies’ Y l food fads and mealtime misbehaviour e l screen time and safety a l pocket money, presents and parties r l telling lies and dealing with fears s l growing up and going out L i a If you want to be prepared for anything and stay in control when t H behaviour becomes bothersome, this is the book for you. u g h e s Cover design by Julie Martin £10.99 J o Parenting s h i Liat Hughes Joshi with Dr Jemma Rosen-Webb and Dr Harriet Tenenbaum Visit us on the web www.pearson-books.com CVR_JOSH_0514_01_SE_CVR.indd 1 30/09/2010 16:29 Raising Children The Primary Years Prentice Hall LIFE If life is what you make it, then making it better starts here. What we learn today can change our lives tomorrow. It can change our goals or change our minds; open up new opportunities or simply inspire us to make a difference. That's why we have created a new breed of books that do more to help you make more of your life. Whether you want more confidence or less stress, a new skill or a different perspective, we've designed Prentice Hall Life books to help you to make a change for the better. Together with our authors we share a commitment to bring you the brightest ideas and best ways to manage your life, work and wealth. In these pages we hope you’ll find the ideas you need for the life you want. Go on, help yourself. It’s what you make it * * * Template prelims.indd 3 15/5/09 11:48:18 Raising Children The Primary Years Prentice Hall LIFE Everything parents need to know – If life is what you make it, then making it better starts here. from homework and horrid habits What we learn today can change our lives tomorrow. It can to screen time and sleepovers change our goals or change our minds; open up new opportunities or simply inspire us to make a difference. That's why we have created a new breed of books that do more to help you make more of your life. Whether you want more confidence or less stress, a new skill or a different perspective, we've designed Prentice Hall Life books to help you to make a change for the better. Liat Hughes Joshi Together with our authors we share a commitment to bring you the brightest ideas and best ways to manage your life, with Dr Jemma Rosen-Webb work and wealth. and Dr Harriet Tenenbaum In these pages we hope you’ll find the ideas you need for the life you want. Go on, help yourself. It’s what you make it * * * Template prelims.indd 3 15/5/09 11:48:18 Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow CM20 2JE Tel: 144 (0)1279 623623 Fax: 144 (0)1279 431059 Website: www.pearsoned.co.uk First published in Great Britain in 2011 © Pearson Education 2011 The right of Liat Hughes Joshi to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third party internet sites. ISBN: 978-0-273-73051-4 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Joshi, Liat Hughes. Raising children, the primary years : everything parents need to know--from homework and horrid habits to screen time and sleepovers / Liat Hughes Joshi, with Jemma Rosen-Webb and Harriet Tenenbaum. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-273-73051-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Child rearing. 2. Parenting. I. Rosen-Webb, Jemma. II. Tenenbaum, Harriet. III. Title. HQ769.J775 2011 649’.1--dc22 2010037976 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without the prior consent of the publisher. All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trade- mark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners. The publisher is grateful to Kidscape (www.kidscape.org.uk) for permission to reproduce the safety guidelines on page 121, taken from www.kidscape.org.uk/ assets/downloads/kskeepthemsafe.pdf 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 13 12 11 10 Typeset in 11/15.5pt Classical Garamond BT by 3 Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd, at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset Contents About the author vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction xi 1 General behaviour management for primary schoolers 1 2 Friends and foes 13 Friendship problems, sleepovers, bullying and playdates 3 School and after school 37 Homework hassles, school issues and after-school activities 4 Food, glorious food 63 There’s nothing quite like it . . . for creating a mealtime argument 5 Sleep 93 Bedtime battles and morning mania 6 Growing up fast 113 From them venturing out alone to bl**dy swearing v 7 Gadgets and games 139 Screen time, mobile phones and internet safety 8 Tricky questions 157 Sex and drugs (not rock and roll) 9 Financial matters 173 The price of being a parent: pocket money, presents and parties 10 Difficult times 189 Parenting through bereavement and divorce 11 Other little challenges 207 Lies, damned lies, bad habits and fears vi Raising Children: The Primary Years About the author Liat Hughes Joshi is a parenting journalist who contributes to national newspapers and magazines. Prior to her second career as a writer, Liat spent 9 long, exhausting years as a management consultant in the City (during which time she actually did about 15 years’ worth of work). She is also the author of What to Buy for Your Baby and lives in north London with her husband and son. About the child psychologists Our two main child psychologists have contributed to various chapters, depending on their research interests and experience. Dr Jemma Rosen-Webb trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of East London. She worked in the NHS for nine years before moving to the USA, where she currently lives and works. She specialises in helping children and families, ranging from one-off consultations on everyday issues, to regular meetings over a longer period, where there are more significant concerns. The issues discussed in this book often come up with the families she assists with. Dr Harriet Tenenbaum received a PhD in child devel- opmental psychology from the University of California, vii Santa Cruz and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a reader at Kingston University where she teaches and conducts research on aspects of child psychology. Harriet is a mother of one and lives in southwest London. viii Raising Children: The Primary Years Acknowledgements Special thanks to super psychologists Jemma and Harriet, and publishers Elie and Rachael. Thanks too to my long-suffering husband for enduring my rantings and being a fantastic unpaid editor. To Roni Jay, Niyati Keni, Lillian Wilkinson, Sarah Wild and Julia Nicholson for your ideas and input through the two years I worked on this book. To my own lovely primary schooler, Luca, for inadvert- ently being my inspiration. And finally, to my grandmother for her unconditional support since the days when it was me going to primary school, and before. ix