What's your question about any aspect of life as a parent? Our experienced life coach Joanne Mallon is here to help. Send your questions in here and say if you'd like your name to be changed.

Sarah writes with a question about her toddler:

My two-year-old is having terrible tantrums. If I say no to him, he bangs his head in temper. He will not concentrate or listen to me at all. He will repeatedly do things over and over knowing that it is wrong. It's so frustrating as I also have a four-year-old and an 11-month old. I am finding it really hard to cope with him. Help!

Here's life coach Joanne's reply:

Isn't it funny how all those celebs seem to ping right back into shape after giving birth? Especially when most of us have a hard time beating the bulge. Although, I guess I should stop blaming my love handles on pregnancy, now that my youngest child is nearly seven. Perhaps it was the pies after all.

New mums feel the pressure to become yummy mummies almost instantly after giving birth! In reality we don't have access to surgeons, daily personal trainers or personal chefs. So here some top health and exercise tips for getting in shape after giving birth from personal trainer and fitness expert Jackie Diss.

Jackie says:

Remember...
Your body has just been through one of the biggest challenges you can naturally place on it, so be patient, listen to your doctor and also yourself. Your hormone and energy levels will rise and fall with sleepless nights, breastfeeding and physical and emotional demands. Understand your body is doing 101 things at the same time.

Little and often
7 days a week and 60 minutes a day is just not possible, practical or safe after giving birth. So try to work to the principle of achieving 15-20 minutes a day of an activity that will get your heart and body pumping. Time is precious as a new mum so put a little more effort into your daily activities such as housework or going up and down the stairs.

Trying to figure out which is the best childcare solution can leave you feeling lost and frustrated. Here are some expert tips from Fi Star-Stone. Fi is a mum and nanny who's twice been nominated for the Professional Nanny of the Year Award. She also runs the Childcare is Fun! website.

Fi says:

There are so many different types of childcare options available to parents these days, such as family, childminder, qualified nanny, nursery or workplace crèche, that it's difficult to know if you're choosing the right one!

There are no wrong or right choices of childcare, it's a matter of personal choice. It is important however, that whatever you decide to choose, you follow certain guidelines to ensure your child is receiving quality, professional care suited to his/her developmental needs.

When choosing childcare, take into consideration the age of your child. Young infants thrive on physical interaction and cuddles, so you may choose to have a one-on-one carer such as a professional qualified nanny, or a similar home setting such as a qualified Ofsted registered childminder. For an older child, social, intellectual and physical development should be considered, so you may choose a larger setting, such as a nursery.

Hello and welcome to our Friday roundup of the best of the UK parent blogging scene. Regular as prunes but much more tasty.

So last week's whiney nag little pep talk seemed to do the trick and the mummy and daddy bloggers were out in force this week, posting like there's no tomorrow and commenting like they just don't care.

Dad's Nursery was feeling a bit out of practice, but has jumped right back in the game – by breaking stuff.

And this week Crummy Mummy (who drinks) aimed for the gold medal in pockling. What's pockling? I'll give you a clue – most of us do it, would rather we didn't, but will probably still be doing it till the day we die

Yummy Mummy No 1 welcomed a guest interviewee to her blog – one tough cookie who knows how to answer a tough question with unflinching and hilarious honesty.

Home Office Mum has reached the tipping point of parenthood – when your social life becomes their social life, and mum and dad's taxi service is always on call. Multiply this by the next 15 years of your life and that's the future mapped out right there.

Meanwhile, over here on ParentDish, commenters shared their stories of giving birth – both with midwives and without. That's only the start of the adventure.

And finally, a round of applause for Beetroot and Gherkins for raising an exceptionally creative child. Everyone's got their own special talent, and B&G's offspring has discovered his – he can poo in the shape of animals. How marvellous. You must be very proud.


Like to see your blog in this slot? Leave a comment below and tell us about it.

It's the tenth annual National Storytelling Week this week, so what better time to take a look at some of the latest releases in the world of children's books.

Children tend to approach books differently to adults – whilst we are on the lookout for something new, children enjoy re-reading the same books repeatedly. And even if your child is a confident reader, they will still enjoy it if you take the time to read to them. Bedtime stories don't have to stop just because your child can now do it themselves.

Here are some new stories you and your child might enjoy:

What's your question about life as a parent? Our experienced life coach Joanne Mallon is here to help. Send your email in here and say if you'd like your name changed.

Saz writes:

My 10-year-old son behaves in the most selfish ways. He refuses to take part in any activities that he did not suggest. He will not do anything when asked, always with a reason such as ...in a minute or when I have finished my game, tv programme etc. Even at dinner times, when called to the table, he replies, "I'll come when it's cooled down". I see this as very controlling and find it more than difficult not to become angry. Very ordinary situations are becoming minefields. He is not an only child, nor are we push-overs with behaviour. What can you suggest, Any ideas would be welcome?

Here's our life coach's reply:

It's vitally important that children understand how to spend and save money for them to have a financially secure future – and they need to be given time to practise these skills before they are adults.

There are lots of steps you can take to teach your children to see the value of money and how to use it wisely. And in our currently credit crunched economy, these are vital life skills for all.

Here are some expert tips from Julie Hedge, contributor to Radio 4's Moneybox programme and author of The Pocket Money Plan: A Practical Guide to Teaching Your Children About Money. Julie trained as a lawyer before starting her own financial services company, and now lives with her young family near London.

Imagine being in an enormous room filled with the latest toys – but no children. Actually make that one child, and he's the offspring of X Factor finalist Stacey Solomon.

That was the slightly surreal sight that greeted your ParentDish correspondent a few days ago when I visited Toy Fair 2010. This is a trade event to showcase the latest toys that our kids can look forward to this year. I went along because... well, I'm just a bit nosy about that sort of thing.

I can report that Stacey seemed very nice, looking super glam in mummy chic cardie, Ugg boots and BIG hair. Really very, very big hair. Her son Zach was amazingly well behaved, considering that he was virtually the only child surrounded by wall to wall toys. He waited patiently whilst his mum posed for photographers and didn't have the kind of meltdown you'd expect from most toddlers in that situation. Zach is clearly a little star already.

And what about the toys? Here are some of the highlights your children may be playing with later in the year:

Smoothies and juices are a brilliant way to get your child eating more fruit and veg. Plus they are super easy to make because all you need to do is bung the ingredients into a blender, whizz it up and it's done. You really can't go wrong.

If you let your child choose which ingredients go into the mix, they will feel much more in control of the process and hopefully more open to trying something new and healthy.

You can make smoothies with whatever you've got to hand in the kitchen. It's a great way to use up over-ripe bananas, though be aware that their strong flavour can sometimes swamp the mix. Feel free to experiment with extra ingredients like yoghurt, honey or ginger.

Here's a yummy recipe from smoothie specialists Crussh It's similar to the Strawberry Cool drink available in their stores. They also do a Detox Cactus Smoothie, but I think that one's best not tried at home!

Understanding of bipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression) has grown in the UK in recent years. Stephen Fry made a well received TV documentary about living with the condition, and a major storyline in EastEnders has shown Stacey and her mum Jean coping with it.

Now new research from the US has attempted to shed more light on what it means to be a bipolar parent, and how likely it is that the condition will be inherited by their children.

The study, published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry concludes that young children with a bipolar parent are eight times more likely than other children to develop ADHD and six times more likely to develop two or more mental disorders.