The Parents Show on Mix 92.6: Recent Episodes
Herts Mix 92.6
The Parents' Show was launched in October 2010 by local parents from St Albans with the aim of providing parents or anyone who cares for kids with up-to-date information and resources on the issues that matter to them.
The show is broadcast every Thursday evening from 7-8pm. Each week, we select a theme, as suggested by one of our listeners, and each week we get a top expert in the studio responding to listener questions and concerns. We also discuss local resources available to parents.
We have regular contributors giving us what's on guides for children and families, restaurant reviews for child-friendly establishments and advice on green parenting. To date, the show a whole host of topics - for example - eating disorders in children, autism, imaginative play for young children, adoption, puberty, school selection, weaning and family finances.
This week on The Parent’s Show, Alisa is joined by Emily Newell, owner of 6WeekSocial and Evie Grace Photography. Together ... Read more
This week on the Parent’s Show Alisa was joined again by Nicky and Maryam, the co-founders of Root & Bloom, ... Read more
This week on The Parent’s Show, Alisa is joined by Rebecca from Alban Osteopathy. Rebecca is an Osteopath, Cranial Osteopath ... Read more
This week on The Parent’s Show, Alisa is joined by Sophia Hermens, founder of Rising Sons – a St Albans ... Read more
This week on The Parent’s Show, Verena Dickson joins Alisa Khakhar for a fascinating and thought-provoking conversation around children’s nutrition, ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia is joined by the The Men of Fields from Garden Fields Cricket Club, who ... Read more
This week on The Parent’s Show, Alisa is joined by Grace from Centred Mums Pilates Together they dive into postnatal ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Becky talks to Sonia Beldom, who hosts the Mumbelievable Podcast, where she invites a special ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia is joined by Anne Peck, Director of Education for primary and early years at ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Alisa recently visited the beautiful Gorehambury House for a Fireside talk on ‘Screens & Childhood’, ... Read more
This week on The Parent’s Show on Mix 92.6, Alisa is joined by Dulce Alvarez, founder of Lexilume ✨ They ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia talks to Fergus Hay, CEO of The Hacking Games, a company who is creating ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia is again joined by Paul Jenkins of HFL Education, to complete the discussion about ... Read more
This week’s Parents’ Show features an in-depth interview with Lydia Paul Jenkins, Secondary Effectiveness Advisor at HFL Education. Drawing on ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show on Mix 92.6, Alisa sits down with former deputy headteacher Ruth Lue-Quee – also known ... Read more
This week on The Parents’ Show on Mix 92.6, Alisa is joined by Pasan and Damian – the dads behind ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, we’re joined by our resident Neurodivergence correspondent, who talks to Lydia about various matters including ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Alisa meets up with Vicky Lambley, a Mum Empowerment Coach who helps give new mums ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia is joined by Lehna Gardiner, a Partner at our show sponsors Rayden Solicitors, to ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, it’s another in the series of Talking Heads interviews, and this time Lydia asks Paul ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia meets Jack Simmonds, a local therapist who runs a one-to-one chat service for boys ... Read more
Junior members of the Green House Climate Club have been testing things again – this time the air. And they’ve ... Read more
Regular listeners to the Parents’ Show will know we always try to have local children speak to Father Christmas at ... Read more
Junior members of the Green House Climate Club have been putting another eco product to the test – this time ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia meets up with Kasia Truefitt and Tanya Byrne from Herts Inclusive Theatre about the ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, we talk to a Solicitor and a Barrister about their working relationship when it comes to taking the biggest possible step in divorce – litigation.Barrister Max Lewis of 29 Bedford Row Chambers joined Associate Solicitor Bhini Phagura of our sponsors Rayden Solicitors with Lydia to discuss at what point a Barrister might get involved in a divorce process, how the role of a Barrister differs from that of a solicitor, and how courts view divorce proceedings.If you’ve ever wondered what the role of a Barrister is, this is a great listen.The Parents’ Show is sponsored by Rayden Solicitors.
This week on The Parents’ Show, Lydia talks to Zoe Watson of Mam Baby UK about the pressure to be ... Read more
Hertfordshire County Council wants to know how kids in St Albans get to school – and what’s preventing them travelling ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia speaks to Nicole Green, who is the Fundraising and Engagement Manager at the Essex ... Read more
On This week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia meets up with Trusha Solankee, a birth and postpartum Doula. Trusha explains what a ... Read more
After our usual summer break (well, we are also parents, you know), we’re back and kicking off the new season ... Read more
It’s school summer holidays and, for a lot of us, that’s 6 weeks of trying to drag bored kids away ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Vivien is joined by Emma Fenn, Head of Redbourn Primary School for the second in ... Read more
This week’s Parents’ Show is all about fostering, and Hertfordshire, like the rest of the UK is in a fostering ... Read more
Energy has never been more important – or more contentious. But how much do we really understand it and the ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Vivien speaks to Kellie Brooks from the Blue Cross re-homing center in Hertfordshire, who talks ... Read more
This week on the Parents’ Show, the main subject is Respect. Steve Maker, head of Hertfordshire FA’s Football & Investment, ... Read more
This week’s Parents’ Show kicks off a new series we’re calling Talking Heads, where we interview the Headteachers from our ... Read more
To mark Deaf Awareness Week, May 5th-11th, The Parents’ Show speaks to Lesley Reeves-Costi, co-head at Heathlands School in St ... Read more
On The Parents’ Show this week, Vivien talks to Tamsin, the owner of Healing Hounds in Southdown in Harpenden, who offer hydrotherapy treatments for dogs and how they involve families in the work they do with pets. Tamsin explains how they work with Vets and what treatments they can provide to give our four-legged friends a bit more bounce in their life.In part two, we celebrate International Dance Day (29th April) on The Parents’ show this week, revisiting the time Lydia met with Becky Sherman from the Let’s Dance Academy in St Albans. Becky talked about how she got into dance, her dance history and how she became involved with the Let’s Dance Academy.
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia is joined by June O’Sullivan from the London Early Years Foundation. LEYF runs a number of nurseries around London, and June has been on the program several times.This week, June talks about our 2-year olds, why and how the ‘tantrums’ can appear and what we as parents can do.
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Vivien meets up with Dean, owner of Creature Comforts in Harpenden, a local pet supplies store which can cater for a range of animals extending from the normal domestic dogs and cats then ferrets, right through to the more exotic pets such as snakes, geckos and even maybe sugar gliders as pictured (yes, we had to look that one up too).Dean explains what parents should think about when their children ask for a tortoise, snake, or something more exotic, in terms of its maintenance costs, expected life span, feed costs, insurance and cages or in the case of reptiles, vivariums.In part 2, we welcome back our Duke of Edinburgh Silver students who are volunteering with the parents show, as they talk to Julius from the Super Soccer School. He tells the boys how team sport is good for fitness, self-confidence and social skills, as well as the mental and physical health benefits it brings.
April 6th is the UN International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, and so this week on The Parents’ ... Read more
To celebrate World Piano Day on 29th March (the 88th day of the year to match the 88 keys on ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, we are especially pleased to have Rebecca Duggan from The NSPCC talking to us about ... Read more
This week’s Parents’ Show has a focus on schools and children’s education. It was School Governors Awareness Day recently, so ... Read more
Please note that the first interview this week contains discussions of mental health and suicide, listener discretion is advised. If ... Read more
This week’s Parents’ Show is timed to coincide with Eating Disorders Awareness week First, Vivien speaks to Sharon Burke, a ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia meets up with Nevina Holland from Peekaboo Studios. Nevina specialises in Maternity and New-born ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, we acknowledge Children’s Mental Health week which has just finished with Iain Pritchard talking to ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia and Iain are joined by Bethan from St Albans Library, based in the Maltings, ... Read more
On the Parents’ show this week, Lydia meets Becky Sherman from the Let’s Dance Academy in St Albans. Becky talks ... Read more
The topic of this week’s Parents’ Show is all about learning and how to get help if it’s needed. Lydia ... Read more
On the Parents’s Show this week, Lydia will first be speaking to Dr Irene Daria about all things books and ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Jen meets with Kat Scott of Katherine Scott Coaching to discuss career coaching and how ... Read more
In the first part of our show this week, Jen Cockburn catches up with Hannah Maxwell from Night Nannies about ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Lydia meets with Elza and Chris from the Dogs and Birds Piano method to talk about how young children are learning to play the piano using animal references and puppets. They describe how using animal families alongside note letters makes learning easier and how puppets make the tasks easier.In the second part of the show, we’re joined by Charlotte Southworth, Legal Director at our sponsor Rayden Solicitors. Charlotte speaks to Lydia about how the company is embracing Neurodiversity both in its staffing and dealing with clients and the ways in which neurodiverse clients can best work alongside solicitors when dealing with family legal matters.The Parents’ Show is sponsored by Rayden Solicitors.
In this week’s episode of The Parents’ Show, Lydia meets Sarah Ziman, a local poet who specialises in children’s poetry. ... Read more
On this week’s Parents’ Show, Jen meets up with Kate Pattison and Lucy Sutton, producers of the AlphaBites podcast series. ... Read more
In this episode, Jen is joined by Becky of Becky’s Little Yogis. Becky tells Jen about her Yoga and Mindfullness classes and workshops for children aged from 6 to 13, how they help instill self-confidence in children and how appreciative their parents are. Becky’s workshops are part of the after-school club roster in several local ... Read more
Matt Clark, Programme Manager for Air Quality at Hertfordshire County Council, explains how pupils in 31 schools in Hertfordshire will benefit from the installation of air purifiers and air quality monitors and how this will help raise awareness of the issues around air pollution and our understanding of air quality in schools. For more on ... Read more
This week we look at boxing for women and teenagers. Jen is joined by Nadia Finer and Isabel Kelly, founders of the new Queen Bee Boxing club in St Albans. Nadia and Isobel tell Jen how it started, and how mums and daughters can visit and train together or separately, giving them fitness, strength and ... Read more
This week, Jen talks to Joanna Hughes of Joanna Hughes Interiors about how she approaches helping families to design their home living areas, from the arrival of a new-born baby through all the growing stages of the family and how to manage the costs by considering upcycling furniture. In part two, Lydia is joined by ... Read more
This week, Jen speaks to Natalie and Amy, founders of the ‘I’m Fine’ shop in Fleetville, St Albans. While it’s a shop, Natalie and Amy say it’s more of a community hub and very much caring for the wellness of the community. In part two, Jodie Moore, an Associate Solicitor from our sponsors Rayden Solicitors, ... Read more
Jen and Lydia are joined this week by one of our former presenters Trevor Merriden along with his colleague Nick, who tell us what the ‘Men of Fields’ group from the Garden Fields Cricket Club are up to next, with their sponsored 100km+ walk to support local charity Youth Talk. They’re joined by Jim Lewis ... Read more
If you’ve heard of a Doula but have no idea what one is or what they do, tune in to this week’s Parents’ Show, when Jen will be speaking to Holly Clark, a local Doula, who explains the support that Doulas can give at both the ante and post-natal stages of pregnancy and childbirth. Incidentally, ... Read more
Coming up in the second part of the Parents’ Show this week, Mix Morning’s Steve Simpson is joined by David Jenkins from Brilliant Theatre Arts who tells us all about the opportunities for young people to get into the theatre and film industries. They deliver high-quality performing arts training through both their weekly Performing Arts ... Read more
This week, we’re delighted to welcome a new presenter to The Parents’ Show, Jen Cockburn. Jen tells us about growing up and now living in Harpenden and her choice to be a solo mum of a now 3-year old son with the aid of a sperm donor. Jen tells us about the facilities for children ... Read more
Following last week’s show on real journalism and identifying fake news, Lydia meets Matt Adams, Editor and owner of St Albans Times, an online magazine for St Albans. Matt explains the Write Now project they have just launched, which aims to show the importance of allowing the young generation to have a voice by creating ... Read more
This week, The Parents’ Show is focussing on the issue of news and how we can help our young people navigate through fake news to discover real journalism in action. First, Lydia speaks to Dr Aralynn McMane, founding Executive Director at Global Youth & News Media, about how our children can be guided to source ... Read more
This week on The Parents’ Show on Mix 92.6, Andreea meets Richard Sved, who is one of the team behind the St Albans Parkrun and finds out who it’s for, how young can you be to take part and how you can volunteer to help. Then, Lydia caught up with some Spanish students who are over in ... Read more
This Sunday at 8pm, Lydia caught up with Olivier Cauberghs from Textgain about the recent Safer Internet Day. Based in Belgium, Textgain use AI to find and flag problems with all sorts of internet issues such as fake news, hate speech and general harmful content. Olivier guides Lydia through some of the things parents can do to ... Read more
This week’s Parents’ Show gives a round up of medical matters in Herts with Lydia and Dr Alison Cowan. Alison covers a range of subjects including eating disorders, mental health and advice on what to do in the current Measles scenario. In part two, Neil talks to Nicola MacKinnon from Herts Young Homeless about how ... Read more
This week, we were delighted to speak to Declan Linnane, Head Teacher at Nicholas Breakspear School about how innovation is embraced, the importance of nurturing schools and their recent Ofsted inspection which rightly awarded an Outstanding status. Congratulations!! We also had the pleasure of speaking to Ben Shapiro from St Albans Community Pantry about the ... Read more
First tonight, Tim Pelerin is a Project Manager with Rocket Graphics in Watford – but Tim’s real focus is his 2-year-old daughter River, who has Cystic Fibrosis. Rocket Graphics and others at the Croxley Business Park supported Tim and the CF Trust with a special event held at the Park today, Thursday 8th February. Mix ... Read more
On the Parents’ Show this week, Lydia is joined by Alexandra Collingbourne, who runs Sleep by Alexandra and is a Baby sleep consultant for infants, toddlers and young children. Alexandra talks about why we need sleep, how to gauge our children’s sleep patterns and how to encourage a bedtime and sleep routine. She talks about ... Read more
This week, we’re joined in the studio by Sian Wilson, a Paediatric Occupational Therapist based in St Albans at Milestones OT, who tells Lydia and Neil what she does and how it helps children, specialising in helping children and young people aged 4-18 with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Developmental Co-ordination Disorder with sensory integration, cognitive therapy, handwriting and life ... Read more
In an expanded interview that takes up the whole show this week, Lydia speaks to Lyndsey Hayes, a Pyschology Tutor from Justin Craig Education about preparing for those all-important exams and how it’s a marathon not a sprint when it comes to preparing and revision. Lyndsey shares some valuable tips and advice on revision, when to start, ... Read more
This weeks Parents’ Show features Antonia from Books on the Hill in St Albans talking to Lydia about what’s happening at the shop, what books are popular at the moment, how they are preparing for Christmas and finally Antonia reveals her favourite Christmas book. Then following on from last week’s chat with Beaumont School’s Ella Dixon on ... Read more
This week on the Parents’ Show, Lydia is joined by Martin Maylin from the Hornbeam Wood Hedgehog Sanctuary. Martin tells Lydia how the sanctuary came about, his plans to make it more of a wildlife area and how to help our spiny friends this autumn with shelter, food and water. Martin goes on to explain how ... Read more
This episode features an in-depth interview with Serena Baker, who works in children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the NHS. Lydia and Serena discuss ADHD diagnosis, at what age, and where to start looking for help. She relates the experiences she had with her own son and how they have adapted their parenting ... Read more
It’s all about languages this week on the Parents’ show as we discuss the importance and benefits of learning different languages for both children and adults and raising children in households that speak 2 or more languages. Firstly, Lydia hears from Rachel Bailey about of the Bailey Language Academy about how she teaches French, English ... Read more
Following on from last week’s talk with Jane Opie from Dyslexia Herts for Dyslexia Awareness Week, Lydia meets Eban, a local 14-year old schoolboy who has dyslexia, ADHD and Autism, who, along with his mother Helen, talks about how Eban copes both at school and at home. Then still on the subject of Neurodiveristy, Pippa ... Read more
This week, Andreea meets Jon Salinger from London Colney Youth Football Club, who talks about not only the benefits of exercise for our young people, but the team-building skills and new friendships they will acquire through football. Parents may also benefit from meeting new people. @londoncolneyyouthfc Next, Lydia joins Karen Hannan to hear about the ... Read more
This week, Andreea meets Jon Salinger from London Colney Youth Football Club, who talks about not only the benefits of exercise for our young people, but the team-building skills and new friendships they will acquire through football. Parents may also benefit from meeting new people. @londoncolneyyouthfc Next, Lydia joins Karen Hannan to hear about the ... Read more
In this week’s show, Neil meets Michelle Bolton, one of the founders of DS Achieve, a charity formed to help empower families and professionals to enable children and young people with Down Syndrome to fulfil their potential. Michelle’s son Tom was born with DS, and she speaks openly about how Tom’s diagnosis has changed them ... Read more
In this week’s show, Neil meets Michelle Bolton, one of the founders of DS Achieve, a charity formed to help empower families and professionals to enable children and young people with Down Syndrome to fulfil their potential. Michelle’s son Tom was born with DS, and she speaks openly about how Tom’s diagnosis has changed them ... Read more
This weeks Parents’ Show features an interview between Andreea and Regina Toop of St Albans Nutrition about helping our children prepare for exam-time with food choices. Neil meets Andy Kilvington and Kelly Watson from The Pioneer Club in St Albans, who tell Neil about its history, the rise of its skateboarding park and the latest events and ... Read more
This weeks Parents’ Show features an interview between Andreea and Regina Toop of St Albans Nutrition about helping our children prepare for exam-time with food choices. Neil meets Andy Kilvington and Kelly Watson from The Pioneer Club in St Albans, who tell Neil about its history, the rise of its skateboarding park and the latest events and ... Read more
Carole Salter from Talking Minds Counselling explains the various aspects surrounding young people and anxiety in this edition of our Mental Wellbeing series.
In this episode, we speak to Rachel Simkin from Youth Talk which has been providing a much-needed service for our local young people aged 13-25 years in St Albans and the surrounding areas for over 25 years. It is a place for young people to get one-on-one counselling support for a wide range of areas of concern including, for ... Read more
Enjoying play and movement are important for children and adults, so this week Lydia speaks to Nicola Wyeth from Playing Out St Albans, a branch of Sustainable St Albans, who help local people organise traffic-free street play for you and your neighbours. She’ll be telling us how you can apply for street closures (did you ... Read more
This week’s Parents’ Show features a moving interview from Andreea with Rob Johnstone about the challenges, ups and downs of caring for his son Callum who has special needs and how a support network is vital. Lydia catches up with Lehna Gardiner for our regular chat with Rayden Solicitors. This week, Lehna focusses on Domestic ... Read more
In this episode, Lydia speaks to Helen Brown from St Albans Menopause Wellness, a menopause wellness practitioner in St Albans about the latest research and practical steps to help women. Then, Lydia asks Josie Rosen of Yoga with Josie about the benefits of Yoga that the whole family can enjoy. Finally, Neil meets UK Network Scout Rosie Aldridge, ... Read more
Continuing our theme of ‘New Year, New You’, we are looking at ways in which we as parents can be good role models for our children by taking care of ourselves and finding some ‘me-time’ with hobbies and activities. First, Lydia we speak to Barrie from Greatin8, a St Albans-based fitness trainer who tells us ... Read more
Thinking of New Year’s Resolutions, this week’s Parents’ Show takes a look at the sort of habits we may need help with or signs we should be looking out for. Firstly, Lydia talks to Kate Cohen of Sleep Time Consulting about the sleep habits of our very young children, how much we should worry about ... Read more
On the first Parents Show of 2023, we mark World Braille Day on Jan 4th with an interview with Lydia and Charlotte Mellor and Luke Wakefield from VICTA, a national charity whose aim is to provide support to visually impaired children and young adults and their parents. After that, Neil speaks to Chris Gregory from LEAP about a ... Read more
In this podcast, Bhini Phagura from our sponsors Rayden Solicitors talks about taking a career break to become a new mum, and her subsequent return to work.
This week, we focus on the great work of all the homeless charities and the big St Albans Sleepout which is taking place in November. Lydia was joined by Rebecca, the Events Officer for Herts Young Homeless, Matthew Baxter, a trustee with Herts Young Homeless, Melanie O’Neil from Centre 33 and Lucy Gaygusuz from Open Door. They tell Lydia about ... Read more
Do you know how to learn? Have your children learned how to learn? With so much pressure on children to perform academically, it is important to reflect on whether they are actually using their time in the most efficient way. Do they need to learn by heart anymore? Has tech changed how children learn? Are ... Read more
Do you know how to learn? Have your children learned how to learn? With so much pressure on children to perform academically, it is important to reflect on whether they are actually using their time in the most efficient way. Do they need to learn by heart anymore? Has tech changed how children learn? Are ... Read more
With it being Cystic Fibrosis week from 13-19 June, it's very timely that this week we speak to Laura Barrett, the mother of Bailey who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.
In this episode, we speak to Nicola Mc Kinnon, Community Fundraiser at Herts Young Homeless, a wonderful local charity that puts huge time and energy into preventing homelessness among young people in our county. She speaks about upcoming opportunities to support their work through various Fundraising initiatives in the coming weeks. We also speak to ... Read more
It’s part 4 of the #ADHD special on the Thursday’s Parents’ Show. Lydia speaks to James Wenger about being diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, and how that is helping him relate his experiences growing up to his own son who also has ADHD, after recapping everything the show has covered about over the last few ... Read more
On this week’s parents show, we bring you part 3 of our February focus on #ADHD. We speak to Rachel Grant Waters from Abingdon House School and College. Rachel is an SEN teaching assistant and also has #ADHD so we’re really looking forward to learning from her professional and personal insights. We are also very ... Read more
As we continue with our February Focus on ADHD, we are really pleased to have the opportunity to interview Mel Peeke, ADHD and Autism Lead at ADD-vance – ADHD & Autism Trust. Mel will be answering questions on topics from the isolation young people and parents experience to medication and gender dysphoria, to the vital ... Read more
We have invited experts from around the UK to support us, provide best practice and help us promote greater understanding.
This week on the Parents’ Show we catch up with Claire Healey from Raring2go St Albans and Harpenden about some exciting upcoming developments. Keep an eye on those book bags for more! On a more serious note, we speak to Debi Roberts, CEO of The OLLIE Foundation about how some media have got it wrong covering recent suicides in ... Read more
Is reading more books on your list of New Year’s Resolutions?
Well, our show this week is for you. Listen to our informative line up of guests speaking about how important it is to read to and with your child even in secondary school!
This week’s show is buzzing with wonderful local guests.
We will be speaking to Ms. Jacquiline Bamfo and Ms Neela Mukhopadhaya from the Luton and Dunstable Hospital who will be giving us incredibly valuable advice and tips to pregnant women.
In the second half, we will speak to Mark Jackson Hancock and Sarah Coles from St Francis Hospice who will be giving us some excellent and worthwhile Christmas gifts, as will Danielle Jefferson from Jefferson Crafts, who are taking unused material and making them into wonderful gifts.
This week’s Parents’ Show continues the theme of last week’s show on Covid vaccination for 12-15 year-olds, as we speak to local GP Dr Alison Cowan about the myths currently circulating. We also speak to Jessica Smith from our sponsors Rayden Solicitors about how to progress a career in the Legal profession and recent changes ... Read more
This week, we’re talking about the covid vaccination.Vaccinations have opened up to 12–15-year-olds in the UK. How do our young people feel about that?Are they being sucked into anti-vaccination disinformation? We speak to Finn, Tara and Sarah from Verulam School, Beaumont School – St Albans and St George’s School respectively. They talk us through their ... Read more
It’s the last Parents’ Show this Thursday before we all spend the summer holidays with our children. In this episode we speak to Chris Gomez From TryTime Rugby St Albans about rugby for kids and Heather Birt from Baby College Mid-Herts about some of the key baby development insights they cover with parents at the Baby College, ... Read more
We spoke to David Bevan from Best Theatre Arts about how the past 18 months have been and their exciting plans for the summer #BestFest and #Olympiaganza. Then in the second part we spoke to Lehna Gardiner from Rayden Solicitors here in #StAlbans about Collaborative Law – a positive and constructive approach to divorce. Sponsored ... Read more
We dedicated this week's show to SustFest21. We handed over the microphone to St Albans student Lilly Golding to explore the topics around the Climate crisis.
This week we’re talking openly & honestly about #suicideprevention with Debi Roberts from The OLLIE Foundation& Alice Hendy, Founder of Ripple Suicide Prevention. We also chat to Suzy Moody from Home-Start Hertfordshire about how they are planning the coming months and returning to ‘normal’.Painful but essential listening for #parents Proudly sponsored by Rayden Solicitors
This week’s Parents’ Show looks at the many effects of sugar on obesity in children, when Steve Simpson talks to June O’Sullivan MBE of the London Early Years Foundation. Also in the show, solicitor Helen Lafferty from our sponsors Rayden Solicitors joins Lydia El-Khouri and Seema Barker to talk about domestic violence. The Parents’ Show ... Read more
Our show this week touches base with our community about lockdown and the strangeness of the past year. We speak to local mum Charlotte Story and mum-to-be Victoria Grey about their lockdown challenges and silver linings. Our wonderful Parents’ Show contributor Claire Healy from Raring2go St Albans and Harpenden keeps our fingers on the pulse ... Read more
How did our St Albans schools fare with 3 month’s home learning? We spoke to Head Teachers Margaret Chapman & Paul Ramsay from St Albans Girls’ School & Verulam School, plus students Lilly, Lucas, Lauren & Nabrissa from Beaumont, Verulam, Sandringham and St Albans Girls Schools on exams & mental health. Sponsored by Rayden Solicitors
In this episode of The Parents Show, the panel of less than average dads from around St Albans, examine and discuss the value of music to parenting and the family unit. From the inevitable assertion that kids today know nothing about music, whether the drums constitute a real instrument, through to the many benefits of ... Read more
With lock-down and home-schooling making life stressful and more complicated, sleep is more important than ever before to reinvigorate us. Dr Faith Orchard, University of Sussex, speaks about good sleep habits, the importance of getting back into a routine, especially with a return to school on the horizon. What promotes good sleep and what does ... Read more
This week on the The Parents’ Show on 92.6FM Radio Verulam. we are bringing you a mixed bag of features. June O’Sullivan MBE, the outspoken CEO of London Early Years Foundation, joins us to talk frankly about the links between poverty and the success of parenting. We are also joined by Dr Linda Greenwall, a ... Read more
This week’s show looks at how we can talk to children about racism. We are joined by Sue Schofield from ‘Show Racism the Red Card’, the UK’s largest anti-racism educational charity, which was established in January 1996 thanks in part to a donation by then Newcastle United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. https://www.theredcard.org/education She talks about the work ... Read more
This week we are joined by Hannah Viet from our sponsors Rayden Solicitors who talks to Lydia about the interconnected topics of education and divorce – who is responsible for schooling options when parents split up? Debbie Roberts gives Lydia and Seema an update on the amazing work being done by the OLLIE Foundation, and ... Read more
This week on The Parents’ Show we were joined by June O’Sullivan MBE. June is the CEO of London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) the largest childcare charitable social enterprise in the UK which operates 39 nurseries in and around London. June also advises the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s foundation on their early years project, ... Read more
Yes, that’s right, it’s Father Christmas! Right here on 92.6FM Radio Verulam. We have 4 local children quizzing and testing FC; Erica, Ollie, Conor and Mia are ready to chat to St Alban’s favourite gift giver. Spoiler alert: you might just learn something new about Christmas! In the second part , we are speaking to ... Read more
We’ve a packed show this week on Radio Verulam. We spoke to Claire Wood from Rayden Solicitors Family Law Firm in St Albans about two sensitive and important topics – divorce and co-parenting. Expect honesty and really helpful tips. Home-Start Hertfordshire has just launched its Big Give this week. We heard how that’s going and ... Read more
This week on the Parents Show, the Lockdown Dads bring you a lighthearted and irreverent investigation into the role of Cinema and Movies as part of parenting and family life. The panel of less than ordinary dads bring their opinions and observations, unencumbered by facts, evidence or qualifications to discuss everything from the cinema experience as ... Read more
As the newly appointed Head of a prestigious independent school, Kathryn Gorman found herself facing the biggest educational challenge in her career within weeks of her appointment. She and her team found themselves deploying a generation’s worth of change to it’s technology and established curriculum in an incredibly short period of time, in order to ... Read more
This month is our 10th anniversary on 92.6FM Radio Verulam! We are really delighted to welcome our guests who have been and are a great support to our local community. Katherine Rayden joins usfrom Rayden Solicitors, a specialist family law firm in St Albans and also the new sponsor of the Parents’ Show. Suzy Moody ... Read more
On The Parents’ Show this week, Steve Simpson explores the role of Dads in the annual family holiday, with the help of the Lockdown Dads panel.This lighthearted and irreverent romp through the pitfalls of the holiday process from planning to unpacking, puts the burning issues in front of this clueless collection of dads, with typically ... Read more
This episode of The Parents’ Show sees Lydia and Seema talking to Jessica Swainston from Cogenis, who are developing Apps for helping children’s mental health using Artificial Intelligence, and specifically the new WING app which helps parents work with their children on social media. https://cogenis.com/ In part 2, Steve meets Liana Wall, a local author ... Read more
It’s part 2 of Lockdown Dads this week, and they continue their quest to keep fit and healthy during lockdown with the help of Ben Chibnall. Join Steve, Andrew, Tristan, Toby, Sammy and Monir, you may get some useful tips!
The Lockdown Dads are back! This week, they tackle the hefty subjects of diet and fitness, and are joined this week by Ben Chibnall, a personal trainer from Hertfordshire. They spoke for so long we had to break the show into two parts! So tune in again next week to hear more from the Lockdown ... Read more
Many of us are still finding our way with Home Learning. How has it been? What’s the future if September does not allow us all to return to a little normality as we hope? Hannah Morris, Educational Psychologist in our local area spoke to us about the pressure schools are under, what parents should prioritise ... Read more
This week, we were really pleased to have great guests sharing their knowledge and adventures with us. Debi Roberts from the The OLLIE Foundation talked about how valuable GOALS are in stopping us from becoming overwhelmed. We heard about how to set them and what to do. Mike and Peter who are going to do a marathon in ... Read more
This week, The Parents' Show's Kathy Weston spoke with Susan Smith, a careers advisor about how exam results are being calculated during lockdown, applying to University and other further education options. http://www.allthingscareers.co.uk
Steve Simpson was joined by Bex Perry, team leader at YCHertfordshire who talked about support services for young people in the county.
Steve Simpson talks to a few fathers about what they’ve had to do in lockdown, and what they’re looking forward to.
This week’s Parents’ Show looked at how Muslim families in St Albans are celebrating Ramadan this year in light of the lock down. We spoke to Monir Ali, Hamna Khiani and Rushna Miah about their individual adaptations to breaking fast and keeping up the community feeling. We will also spoke to Claire Healy from Raring2go ... Read more
On tonight’s show we looked at how #Covid19 is affecting families. It is complicated for separated or divorced parents to negotiate shared parenting at the best of times, but Covid 19 is complicating it even further. Beth Woodward @Neves.Solicitors helped us navigate this subject with very practical advice. We asked her what happens when parents have different ... Read more
Pregnancy is a time of great happiness, joy and excitement but there is always concern about whether everything will go smoothly. Given that it can be a time of concern for some, how is the Coronavirus affecting pregnant women and those working to support the safe and healthy birth of babies across the country.
In this episode, we are speaking to Claire Healy from Raring2Go about how local activities and camps have adapted and moved online to keep our children stimulated. Claire also will speak about how local businesses are challenged by Coronavirus lock down. Kathy chats to local mum Lauren and her two children, Ben and James, about ... Read more
On the The Parents’ Show this week it was – yes, about the Covid-19 crisis, but here St Albans’ own Daisy Cooper MP spokes to Lydia Elkhouri about all the initiatives for St Albans Residents and how people are helping, while Head of Onslow St Audrey’s School in Hatfield, David Bullock talked to Kathy Weston ... Read more
Tune in to hear Kathy Weston interview headteacher Dave Bullock of Onslow St Audrey’s in Hatfield. He describes the day in the life of a headteacher during an unprecedented crisis. He talks about managing the school, protecting pupils, staff and families, and how schools are pulling together to make it work. David also shared with ... Read more
In the current climate, there is only one topic to discuss on the show – Covid 19. We had a selection of guests to address the many concerns and worries of parents in the light of the biggest health crisis in modern history. Verity Hill, Virologist will be helping us understand exactly what we are ... Read more
Kathy Weston and Steve Simpson talk to children and authors about children’s poetry. They were joined in the studio by pupils Neve, Daisy, Layla and Bea and Sebi, They also spoke to Chris McCabe from the National Poetry Library plus Niamh Rowland-Sims and pupil Caris from Saracens High school.
Lydia El-Khouri and Amanda Yorwerth talk to their guests about books. In the studio, they were joined by Zara, Nora and Callum from Fleetville Junior School and Matthew from St Peter’s School to talk about their favourite books. Ed Vere, author and illustrator, joined the show by Skype and the team also spoke with Gemma ... Read more
Tonight we talked about how technology has actually made family life easier or better, with the help of Toby Cross and Kate Bevan from Which Magazine, who chatted with Kathy Weston and Steve Simpson.
This week, the Parents’ Show encourages us to talk more openly about the menopause, and is delighted to welcome our guest Dr Heather Currie, who is an Associate Specialist Gynaecologist at Dumfries & Galloway NHS, Trustee and past Chair of the British Menopause Society. She is also the founder and MD of ‘Menopause Matters’, an award ... Read more
This week, we had Father Christmas himself on the Parents’ Show as four local children discussed their present list with him. Local resident and author Marguerite Skinner told us about the Step Outside guides which guide you around London. We also had the fabulous Claire Healy from Raring2Go telling us about all the events in ... Read more
Calling all Dengineers fans! We met and spoke to CBBC presenter Meryl Fernandez and the show’s designer Emma Kosh. They gave us an incredible insight into how the show is produced. Dengineers is an excellent blend of fun, education and teamwork. We will also spoke to a panel of Dengineer fans from our local area.
One of the few good news stories at the moment is Climate Change finally getting the exposure it should and the media lens is on it right now.
Extinction Rebellion has successfully put the climate emergency into being and brought the topic into the mainstream.
Right here on our doorstep we have great people doing impressive work on the subject.
Lydia and Rebecca reflect on the St Albans Raring2Go awards, with organiser Claire Healey, and some of the sponsors and winners from the event.
Steve Simpson and Rebecca Rowe talk about Dads in this episode of the Parents’ Show. They discuss dads as role models, with John Adams, creator of the Dad Blog UK (https://dadbloguk.com/), and Adrienne Burgess of the Fatherhood Institute (http://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org)
In this episode we talk to local parents as well as educational guru Natalie Lancer about University admissions, our children flying the nest and how both they and we cope!
Tuesday was World Suicide Prevention Day. It is a very difficult topic for parents and carers to think about let alone discuss. But it is vital to understand and reflect some factors related to suicide. Fifty percent of youth suicide has nothing to do with mental health but more related to emotional overload. Often when ... Read more
Finding an author you just love to read is a very special experience. Lydia, Seema and Rebecca guide you through this topic.
Christopher is one of those children’s authors. His books include Twelve minute to midnight, The infinite lives of Maisy Day, The Jamie Drake Equation and The many worlds of Albie Bright to namebut a few.
Literacy Difficulties – it is school report season – this is the time parents often get feedback on how their child is doing during the year but for some parents, feedback from school, teachers, and reports might raise questions, worries and thoughts of what help is required next. It is also transition time, when children move between primary and secondary schools. For children struggling with literacy difficulties, this can bring more challenges and for parents, it might feel like starting all over again.
The Carer Support Team at Watford General Hospital @CSTWatfordHosp are a wonderful team of 21 volunteers doing kind and meaningful work at Watford General’s Starfish Children’s ward and in Children’s Emergency To find out more and what we can do to support them listen to Matron of Childrens Services, Karen Stow, Senior Nurse Orla Burke, ... Read more
On this week’s show, Lydia and Steve talk about babies. Louise Brennan is a midwife and runs ante-natal classes for mums-to-be, and tells of her experiences of midwifery and the current practices, then how ante-natal classes work. Angela Spencer joined the show to talk about Babyopothy, and her latest book on the subject. ... Read more
This week’s half-term special parents’ show is all about transition – helping children move between primary and secondary school seamlessly and confidently! Dr Kathy Weston and Steve Simpson are joined by two experts in their field, Dr Emma Kell and Dr Anna Colton, who will be giving parents the very best tips on how to support their children and signposting parents to the very best resources.
It’s Sustainable St Albans aka #SusFest2019 and we spoke to children and young people about their sustainability stories on the show.
Tonight on the @parentshow we talked about Adolescence and Family Stress. We all have way too much stress in our lives – well most of us. Is there anything we can do about it short of moving to a kibbutz or a remote island?
Amanda Yorwerth from the Environment Matters programme joins Lydia this week as they interview a number of guests all about the St Albans Sustainability Festival.
Food intolerance – what do we actually know about it and where can we go to get our children tested?
Having a positive relationship with your child or teen is important to every parent. But there is no magic formula, it takes work and patience and can be very challenging.
Lydia and Seema spoke to two guests to help arm us with some positive strategies to building positive relationships with our children and managing family stress.
With the current apparent lack of school places in St Albans, County Councillor Terry Douris talks to Lydia about the process and the hopes for a satisfactory outcome.
With so little in-home specialist advice for parents struggling with their infants sleep and feeding, Liz Woolfitt and Suzy Lane created Baby Sleep Retreat so that parents could have expert evidence-based advice in real time and within the comfort of their own home.Their approach is nurturing, holistic and completely non-judgmental and they tailor their advice around each individual infant’s personality and family situation.Suzy and Liz answered questions on baby sleep from Kathy and Lydia.We also explored the situation over Schools placements in St Albans, where so far this year, almost 200 students have not been allocated a place at all. We spoke to Herts County Council on what's being done to redress the situation.The show also featured an interview with Maddy Iszchak, who runs the Level Trust Charity which helps families on lower incomes help with the costs of children's education
St Albans Soroptimists and *The Talent Keeper Specialists hosted a panel debate live from the Sandpit Theatre. The panel and audience discussed the question: "Are Women their own worst enemy?" Discussions covered themes such as: women and employability, women’s domestic labour, societal and media pressure on women and how women experience the criminal justice system.
This week The Parents’ Show talks to Olive Hickmott, Forensic Learning Coach about how mental images that highly visual children are processing on a day to day basis can have an impact on learning difficulties. We talked specifically about children with dyslexia and ADHD and how these images if managed properly can help children learn ... Read more
For Valentine’s Day, we thought we would do a show on children’s love not of Fortnite or Clash of Clans or the PS4, but of something altogether more interesting – Latin as a language (it might be dead but we have found a whole raft of people who are crazy about it!) Young and old, teachers, parents and professors.
This week on the Parents’ Show we talked about future-proofing our families (in particular we covered wills and power of attorney) and all the legal stuff with Nina Gurra from Neves Solicitors We also explored resources and organisations out there that can help children actually cope with grief when a family death occurs, talking to ... Read more
We all have that childhood author we love and adore.
Helping your child to find that author can be overwhelming, but when you find it, it is worth the search.
The Parents Show was asked by 2 children to bring their favourite author onto the show so we could ask some very important questions about the book.
In this episode of The Parents' Show, Kathy and Seema talk to specialist and author Margo Sharp about speech, language and communication disorders in children, with advice on what signs to look out for and recommendations for more resources and websites.
Kathy & Lydia and guests discuss Maths and the best way to teach it, from primary school onwards.
In this episode, the Parents' Show talks about the best books for Christmas! We interview local school children, hear from bookshops and from world famous children’s author Stacy Gregg, all the way from New Zealand!
Lydia and Kathy try and get a word in as the kids take over the studio in the annual Christmas special, including a live interview with Santa Claus!
Lydia and Seema talk to a number of guests who participated in the Sandringham Mental Health conference.
Lydia and Seema continue their look at the recent Sandringham Mental Health Conference.
In this episode, Kathy talks about the impact that spooky music might have on mental health. When we say spooky, we mean all types of death metal, dark music – perhaps music that mummy and daddy would not approve of, but that young people say is beneficial to coping with life’s stresses and strains.
In this episode, we talk to two St Albans Schools about mental health in schools and Ofsetd inspections.
In this episode of the Parents’s Show, Lydia talks about adoption.
Adopting a child is a process filled with anticipation, giving a secure home to a child who needs a family and possibly also fulfilling the dreams of parenthood for those who don’t want to or can’t have a child. It’s such a beautiful picture – a child in need finds a home and new life and a happy ever after.
In this episode, Kathy Weston talks to studio guest children Sebby, Freya, Evie and Isobel about their hopes and aspirations for the future - what they want to do for a career and who inspires them.
Kathy Weston and The Parents' Show discusses the topic of bone marrow transplants in children with inspirational guests Holly and Rupert Cross, Steve Simpson, Sarah Rogers from Anthony Nolan and music by local pupil, Ben Summers from Onslow St Audreys School in Hatfield.
It is back to school, most of us have forgotten there was a summer holiday at all. So let’s take stock of what going back to school means for parents and more importantly for children. Some children sail through the doors of school and don’t look back. Others struggle either because they tend to worry ... Read more
St Albans’ New Museum – have you been? If not, why not? It is not just a modern state of the art and beautifully renovated building in the centre of our city, it is also a fantastic resource for parents who want to know the history of it. Firstly we spoke to Eleanor Payne and ... Read more
In this week’s show we spoke about the possible implications of Brexit on family law in the UK. There are changes happening in the UK that potentially affect children living in Britain who have parents from within the EU and the UK. What exactly is ‘settled status’ and who fits the criteria? To help parents ... Read more
We live in a multi-cultural country yet for some reason, talking about race, ethnicity and how we live together is often taboo. We are raising children in a world that is some ways seems increasingly intolerant to diversity. Why is it important to acknowledge difference? How do we talk about difference? How do we talk ... Read more
Listen to the entire awards ceremony where all the finalists and winners in the Herts Ad School Awards 2018 were announced by Radio Verulam's own Kathy Weston of the Parents' Show and the fantastic sponsors.
Hear interviews with finalists and winners by Parents' Show presenters Lydia El-Khouri and Seema Barker.
Everyone has experienced an angry child or teen. How regularly does it have to happen for parents to consider it a problem? Do parents need an insight into how anger works? Is there any chance to manage it? There are few people better qualified in the UK than our guest Professor Stephen Scott CBE, Professor ... Read more
There is a general consensus that as a country, it is important that our children both show and interest in and passion for science, after all so much of the world’s needs are based around and even dependent on scientific discovery and solutions. So how we are doing as a nation when it comes to ... Read more
Being called a perfectionist was generally a compliment and something people aspired to be known as. Schools too push our children to strive for perfection. But what happens when it stops being a healthy aspiration? Prof Roz Shafran – is one of the world’s leading experts on Perfectionism. What exactly is clinical perfectionism and when ... Read more
Ever heard of left brain/right brain differentiation or learning styles? Or feel that sometimes you only use 10% of your brain? Truth is: these are myths that are baseless when it comes to the evidence. On this episode, we are joined by two of the most influential researchers in this field, Pedro de Bruyckere who ... Read more
In the world of parenting educators and psychologists, there are few more highly respected, followed and quoted than Steve Biddulph. His kind, realistic and constructive approach to parenting both boys and girls has prepared parents all over the world and made them aware of issues critical to parenting happy, confident children. He has explored the ... Read more
On tonight’s show, we talk to Mienna Jones, mum to a little girl who feels and acts like a boy and academic Theo Gilbert, who previously lived as a woman and who now lives happily as a man, plus the charity Mermaids, a service offering family and individual support for gender diverse and transgender children ... Read more
Maths in primary school is a challenge – for parents as much as for children! We all want to support our children but so much has changed – the vocabulary as well as the concepts. Can we credibly help or are we making matters worse! We will be speaking to Maths Lead Teacher Lucille Feather ... Read more