Gill Hines – författare

One minute you are taking your child to school, the next they're turning into a young adult. It may seem like only months since you were first filling your child's lunch box, but the school career moves with such momentum that it isn't long before they are facing the challenges of further education, job hunting and living independently. This new book will help you to encourage self-reliance in your nearly grown children and prepare them for independence in the real world.It also shows how you can prepare for a time when your child's excitement at the prospect of leaving school, going to university or just living on their own leaves you feeling passed over and obsessed by detail they see as unimportant. How do you start to think about what to do with the rest of your life - picking up on ambitions, both personal and professional, and prioritising your own friends and interests?And how do you handle the situation when, as is increasingly common, children later decide to return home to live? This book addresses current issues such as boomerang kids, sofa syndrome and how to motivate, money management for a generation disinclined to save, the hotel of Mum and Dad, and much more.Later! is an empathetic guide to making sense of life at a time when all the ground rules need to be reconsidered, if not renegotiated. Packed with strategies, exercises and question-and-answer sections, Later! is user-friendly and entirely practical. It considers the hopes and plans of parents and children alike and, in the process, demonstrates how to 'move on' while sustaining a supportive, happy relationship.

Do you find bringing up teenagers more of a pain than a pleasure?Raising teenagers can test parental love to breaking point, particularly if you have previously enjoyed a close and loving relationship. The child whose every joy and sadness you shared has suddenly become taller than you, louder than you, with an inside knowledge of all your failings - and a sudden urge to point them out. What's more, this newly arrived creature may spend half their life glued to a gadget, talk and dress in a way you find alien and respond to all queries with a grunt or a dismissal - whilst expecting ever-greater financial hand-outs.Help is however at hand. This completely revised and updated edition of a parenting classic is full of advice to help teenagers, their parents and the rest of the family. It offers a wealth of sound advice plus tried and tested strategies for every aspect of life with a teen - from alcohol to cyberbullying, sexting to household chores - which you can put into practice immediately. You'll quickly wonder how you ever managed without this book.

'Home-educators want to provide a high quality learning experience for their children and this handbook is an excellent resource for making this aspiration a reality' - Dr Adam Boddison, Chief Executive of National Association of Special Educational NeedsIf you are thinking of home educating your child, your initial surprise may be at how easy it is to turn intention into reality. Once you have deregistered your child, you are largely left to get on with delivering education from home, as you see best. This book is full of practical guidance for parents, based on the authors' long experience of working with children and young people; their parents, teachers and schools. It will help you plan what is taught, as well as when and how. The authors not only consider how to benefit from the opportunities home education provides, but also suggest creative ways to fill the potential gaps that might arise from not being part of the traditional school system. The Home Education Handbook covers everything from the socialisation of home-educated children to advice on supporting the motivation and resilience of all involved. This is a book that every parent who is considering home education or flexi-schooling, or is simply keen to ensure that their child gets the best education possible, needs to read.