Family Life

What Does It Take to be a Great Foster Carer?

Becoming a foster carer can be one of the most rewarding things you ever do. Opening up your home to care for vulnerable children in need provides them with stability, support and a nurturing family environment. However, fostering also comes with many challenges. It takes some special qualities and skills to be a great foster carer. Here’s an overview of what it takes.

Patience and Understanding

Children entering foster care may have come from traumatic backgrounds and have complex needs. They may act out, struggle to trust you initially and be slow to adapt to new routines. As a...

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Liv Butler

Liv Butler

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Survey reveals18-34 year-olds will cut back spending for Father’s Day this year

Authored by Val Watson
Posted: Mon, 06/05/2023 - 7:29am

It can be hard to find the perfect gift while still sticking to a budget, even more so when there’s a cost of living crisis. A recent survey conducted by Create Gift Love, a handmade personalised gifting company, revealed that 53% of 18 and 34-year-olds will be spending less this year.

Tony Carr (39) co-founder of Create Gift Love with wife Emily Carr (39) said: ‘A lot of our workforce fall into the 25-34 age category, and we know first-hand how the cost of living crisis has hit them and their gifting budgets.’

According to research by Gov.uk , 87% of adults reported an...

Parents helped by innovative baby development course

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 05/01/2023 - 10:52pm
Building Babies’ Brains course co-ordinators came together to look back at success of programme that’s helped parents and carers give under-twos in Devon the best start in life

Community champion volunteers from across Devon came together at Exeter Golf Club on Wednesday (26 April) to celebrate a ground-breaking course they’ve been successfully delivering in the county for over four years.

Funded by Devon County Council and delivered by the charity Action for Children, the Building Babies’ Brains 1001 Champions Course helps those who come into contact with under-twos to improve...

IKEA Exeter reopens free in-store creche, Småland

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 04/06/2023 - 5:13pm

IKEA Exeter has announced the reopening of its free in-store creche area, Småland, from Friday 7th April. It comes following the closure of the service in March 2020 due to the pandemic.

Rolling out the blue and yellow carpet, parents and guardians with children aged 3-10¹ can use the free service for 45 minutes when visiting the IKEA store. The wonderous world of Småland offers a fun and meaningful play experience for each child that visits. Featuring soft play, arts and crafts and toys and games, it provides a place for children to interact and play, whilst giving parents and...

Princesshay to host free family fun day in Easter holidays

On Saturday 15th April, 11am – 4pm, Princesshay Square will be transformed into a vibrant pop-up Family Fun Day with a range of free activities to keep visitors of all ages entertained during the Easter holidays.

Visitors to the event will be able to enjoy live music, a round of crazy golf, giant Jenga, balloon modelling, or get creative with giant colouring wall and free children’s Macramé crafting sessions, plus take part in the Golden Ticket Spring trail to be in with a chance of winning a Devon’s Top Attractions Golden Ticket, worth over £1500!

Princesshay will also...

Easter Family Fun Day in Exeter

Authored by KatieOV
Posted: Fri, 03/31/2023 - 11:22pm

Celebrate the arrival of Spring with Princesshay and be sure to join in with all the ‘fun of the fayre’ at our Family Funday in Princesshay Square on Saturday 15th April between 11am – 4pm.

Challenge the family to a round of Crazy Golf courtesy of The Fun Experts and test your skills with our Giant Jenga and Giant Connect 4 – perfect for all ages!

Get creative and leave your mark on the Pentagon; our wonderful wall of colour, bound to brighten up the square, and sign up to a FREE Easter Bunny Headband workshop with Macrame master Rachael Larsson-Carter. (Limited spaces...

Exeter divorce rate nears 11%

Authored by Val Watson
Posted: Mon, 03/20/2023 - 8:44pm

Over one in 10 Exeter adults have seen their marriage end in divorce, a new study has revealed.

New statistics from the ONS show that 10.73% of over 16s have divorced from their husband or wife.

The rate is above the national average, while 38.9% of Exeter residents have never married and 42.5% are currently married or in a civil partnership.

To view how Exeter’s divorce rate compares with the rest of the UK, click here .

A leading family law expert believes those people who are divorcing are completing the process in a more amicable way than in...

Mother’s Day and Divorce – how to tackle the topic with your ex

Exeter charity urges couples to embrace mediation ahead of Mother’s Day

National Family Mediation, an Exeter based family mediation provider, is preparing for an annual surge in enquiries from couples in conflict looking to discuss child arrangements over the Mother’s Day weekend, and ahead of the Easter Holidays.

Every March families across the country come together in celebration of all of the mums and mother figures for all of their hard work throughout the year, and to show their appreciation.

But according to National Family Mediation (NFM), for those who are...

Keeping your child safe on a school trip: Whats every parent should know

Authored by Val Watson
Posted: Wed, 03/15/2023 - 10:21am

As a parent, you want to do everything you can to keep your child safe. But what do you need to know when they're going on a school trip? We've got some tips to help you out.

Why school trips are so important for your child

School trips are an important part of a child's education, offering invaluable opportunities for learning, growth, and development. During a school trip, children can gain new experiences and knowledge that can’t be replicated in the classroom environment. They can learn about different places and people and explore new cultures and environments.

...

Register your child for free activities and hot meals this Easter

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 03/09/2023 - 11:28pm

Children and young people, eligible for benefit-related free school meals, have the chance to take part in four days of exciting activities over the Easter Holidays.

Once again parents and guardians have the chance to apply for their child to take part in Devon County Council's (DCC) government-funded Holiday Activities and Food programme.

The programme, for eligible five to 16-year-olds, provides free activities and healthy meals during school holidays.

This year DCC has teamed up with more than 50 activity providers across Devon to offer a very wide range of...

Charity calls for families with young disabled adults to seek support

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 02/28/2023 - 5:56pm

Families caring for young disabled adults at home are being offered help by a forward-thinking national charity to improve quality of life.

Faced with three times higher costs to bring up disabled children, the continuing cost-of-living crisis is placing families in financial jeopardy. It is therefore even harder to afford the things that improve their disabled young adult’s day-to-day living.

National charity Family Fund is now urging families with a disabled 18-24 year-old living at home to apply for wide-ranging grants through its Your Opportunity scheme.

Set...

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