Welcome to my Lifestyle Parenting Blog, where I explore topics related to chronic illnesses such as ME/CFS, chronic pain, and fibromyalgia while embracing a passion for yoga, books, and blogging.
Managing Post Exertional Malaise After Family Holidays with ME/CFS
Family holidays can create lasting memories, but for those of us living with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia they can also trigger post exertional malaise long after the trip ends. In this personal reflection, I share how I manage PEM after family holidays, pace my recovery, reduce guilt, and protect my health while still making room for meaningful experiences.
Helping Children Feel Safe Enough to Sleep: Neurodivergence, Trauma, and Bedtime Routines
Sleep is often viewed as a simple matter of tiredness, but for many neurodivergent children and those who have experienced trauma, it is far more complex. Sensory needs, feelings of safety, predictable routines, and emotional regulation can all play a significant role in helping a child settle and rest. In this article, I share the bedtime strategies our family has discovered through trial and error, and why creating a calm, secure environment before sleep can make all the difference.
My First Cruise with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia: What I Expected Versus What Actually Happened
For years, I had been curious about cruises.
The idea always sounded appealing to me. A floating hotel that takes you from place to place without the hassle of constantly packing and unpacking, long travel days, or navigating unfamiliar transport systems. Living with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia means I have to think carefully about how I travel, and a cruise seemed like it might offer a gentler way to see different places while still allowing me plenty of opportunities to rest.
At the same time, I was nervous.
Why Hot Weather Makes My Chronic Illness Symptoms Worse (And What Helps Me Cope)
When the weather forecast predicts sunshine and soaring temperatures, most people seem excited.
My social media feeds quickly fill with pictures of beach trips, family barbecues, picnics in the park and people making the most of the longer days.
A few years ago, I would probably have felt exactly the same.
The Reality of Life After a Special Guardianship Order
When people think about Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs), they often focus on the court process itself.
What many don’t realise is that once the Special Guardianship Order is granted, the support you’ve relied on throughout the assessment process can suddenly disappear.
That was certainly our experience.
How to Help Your Child Revise for GCSEs: What I’d Do Differently Seven Years Later
It hardly seems possible that more than seven years have passed since my older boys sat their GCSEs. At the time, it felt as though our lives revolved around revision timetables, past papers, flashcards and endless cups of tea. Like many parents, I wanted to help, but I also knew there was only so much I could do. Ultimately, the revision had to come from them.
10 Low Energy Hobbies You Can Do Without Leaving Bed When Living With ME/CFS or Fibromyalgia
There are days when even sitting up feels like climbing a mountain.
Before becoming ill, I never imagined that something as simple as getting out of bed could require so much thought and planning. Now, living with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, I know that some days my body makes the decision for me before I’ve even opened my eyes.
Those are the days when my world becomes much smaller.
Chronic Illness, Body Image and Online Eating Disorder Support That Fits Real Life
Living with chronic illness changes so much more than just your body.
That sounds obvious, I know, but it is something I do not think people fully understand unless they are living it. When your body stops moving the way it used to, when pain becomes part of the background noise of your day, and when medication starts solving one problem while creating another, it can really affect how you feel about yourself.
My Neurodivergent Teen's Reaction to the Upcoming Social Media Ban
When news of the upcoming social media restrictions for under 16s started appearing in headlines, I did not expect it to have quite such a profound effect on my teenager.
As a parent, I had read about the proposed changes, including restrictions around social media access, AI tools, live streaming for 16 and 17 year olds, and increased controls around online activity. My initial reaction was fairly positive. Anything that helps keep children safer online has to be worth considering.
Chronic Illness and Affirmations: Finding Words That Support Me Instead of Shame Me
When I first came across affirmations, I will admit I was sceptical.
At the time, I was struggling to come to terms with life with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. My world had become smaller, my energy was unpredictable, and I was carrying a level of grief that I did not yet have words for. Everywhere I looked online, affirmations seemed to focus on positivity, success, abundance, and becoming the best version of yourself.
We Are Not Villains: Living With Chronic Illness, And The Weight Of Public Judgment
There has been a real shift in the way disabled people, chronically ill people, and benefit claimants are being spoken about online, in the media, and sometimes even in everyday conversations. It is harsher. Colder. Like there is this growing anger directed at people who are already struggling just to get through the day.
I keep seeing words like “scroungers”, “lazy”,
Heatwaves And Chronic Illness: Surviving When Your Body Already Struggles
Every year, the moment the weather starts warming up, people get excited. Social media fills with pub gardens, beach trips, barbecues, iced coffees, and endless comments about “finally getting some proper sunshine.”
Honestly, I get it.
But living with chronic illness during a heatwave feels like existing in a completely different version of summer than everyone else.
While other people are enjoying the heat, my body is fighting it constantly.
The Heartbreak Of Medication And Chronic Illness
You know, there's this whole emotional side to taking medication that I feel like we don't really get to talk about enough.
Sure, folks discuss side effects, doctors go over dosages, pharmacists remind you about timing or interactions. But the actual feeling of looking at a pile of pills and realising, 'Okay, this is my everyday now,' that's what often gets left out of the conversation.
And honestly, lately, that's what's been hitting me hardest.
Blue Badge Abuse and Disability Harassment: What To Do If You Are Attacked
There is something deeply unsettling happening at the moment around disability in the UK. You can feel it online, in newspaper headlines, in comment sections, and sometimes even standing in a supermarket car park trying to mind your own business.
Ever since all the recent conversations around PIP, benefit cuts, disability assessments, mobility cars, and
Why It Is Important That Children Experience Being Bored Often
If you are reading this, you are likely part of the unique and often challenging world of kinship care, special guardianship, or parenting neurodiverse children. You know the daily juggle, the emotional load, and the constant need to be everything to your child all at once. It is a role that requires immense patience, resilience, and love, but it also comes with its own specific set of pressures and anxieties.
My Pointless Ramblings: Why I Forget What I Picked My Phone Up For
I do not know exactly when phones stopped being tools and started becoming little attention traps we carry around in our pockets, but lately I have become so aware of how much mental energy mine quietly steals from me every single day.
It usually starts innocently.
I unlock my phone for one simple reason.
5 Affordable Family Activities Outside the House for Low Energy Days
Living with ME CFS and fibromyalgia has completely changed the way I think about family days out.
There was a time when I believed outings had to be busy, exciting, and packed with activities to feel meaningful. Full day adventures. Endless walking. Busy attractions. Trying to fit as much as possible into one day because that was what family life was supposed to look like.
Now I know differently.
13 Aid Items I Pack for a Holiday Living with ME CFS and Fibromyalgia
Holidays now come with planning, pacing, and a fair amount of trial and error.
When you live with ME CFS and fibromyalgia, you do not just pack clothes and toiletries. You pack for energy management, pain relief, sensory regulation, and the unpredictability that comes with chronic illness. Over the years, I have refined what I bring, and these are the items I now consider essential.
Why Neurodiverse Kids Do It: Breaking Rules And Sneaking Explained
So what do you do instead? You have to change how you approach things. You have to stop seeing it as bad behaviour and start seeing it as unmet needs or developmental delay. You have to find consequences that actually make sense to their way of thinking.
Recently I tried something that actually seemed to click. My daughter had been sneaking her phone and staying up for hours and hours. We added it up and realised she had spent eighteen hours during the night that week on her device when she should have been sleeping.
My TMJ Journey: From Gum Pain to Jaw Lock and Surgery
I still remember writing that post back in 2013. “Ouch, my gums.” At the time, it felt like a very specific problem. Painful, frustrating, but contained. Something I thought would pass, or at least settle into the background of my life like so many other health niggles had before.
Looking back now, I can see it for what it really was. The beginning of my TMJ journey.