Georgia, Jill May and Karen

Karen and Georgia outside UBS in Finsbury Avenue, London WC2

Sibling rivalry can be particularly frustrating for working parents. After a long day at the office, no-one wants to come home to find their children whinging and bickering. When time is short, parents need quick, effective strategies to stop fights and stop resentment building up. This was our brief for a well attended lunchtime talk at the UBS headquarters in London, with more staffers linked in from the office in Curzon St .

We were invited by Jill May, the head of Cross Business Development, an old friend who manages to combine her demanding job with raising six delightful children. She has boundless energy and is extremely well-organised, and perhaps it’s not surprising that she was a huge inspiration for the Sorted Parent when we were writing our first book!

We discussed four good ways to stop an argument. Then we showed how a variety of different approaches can reduce sibling rivalry long term, by making children feel less competitive. This was our second talk at UBS and it was an absolute pleasure to be back. Thank you Jill for inviting us.

Left to right: Georgia, Lyn Hobbs, Robena BiBi – parent volunteer, Karen

From the outside, Bowes looks like an ordinary red brick state primary school. But a delightful surprise awaited us on the inside. Full of plants and pictures, the school was buzzing with energy, and Lyn Hobbs, the Parent Support Advisor, was truly inspiring.

With the help of some Lottery money, Lyn has spent a year focussing on healthy eating, organising talks and taking families out on expeditions. Inviting us to speak to the parents about encouraging their children to eat better was the finale of her efforts. She went out of her way to make the talk enjoyable for everybody. It was held in a room called The Meadow, and as parents arrived Lyn played soothing music, and offered an array of lovely fresh fruit, including grapes, strawberries and plums. A lively discussion followed and we left feeling enthused by our wonderful audience.

Georgia and Karen in Brighton

“Sibling rivalry can start the day your second baby is born. So what do you do when your toddler pokes the little one’s face, or demands you put her in the dustbin?  And when you’re already overstretched, how can you make sure that both children get the love and attention as they need? We addressed these and other sibling rivalry issues at the Brighton Baby Expo on Sunday.

The huge exhibition space was packed with a seething mass of pushchairs, every possible stall you could imagine and punctuated by very noisy parent/toddler singalongs, with tambourines and maracas.

Outside the Baby show, Brighton itself seemed blessedly quiet. With England playing Germany in the world cup on television, the streets were almost deserted. It was the perfect opportunity to see the Brighton Pavilion, the flamboyant masterpiece built by the Prince Regent (later George IV). As the eldest of George III’s fifteen children, he almost certainly knew a thing or two about sibling rivalry.”

9 July, 2010, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Bowes Primary School, Enfield

15 July, 2010, 12.30 – 1.30 pm

UBS bank in London

HealthandGoodness.com – May 2010

Does your child ever get moody and uncooperative, answer back or have tantrums? Does he ever swear, throw things or kick you? Or refuse to do what he is told?

We’ve got eight children between us, and from interviewing hundreds of mothers and fathers, we know that even nice kids with loving parents can have toddler tantrums, teenage mood swings and everything in between.

Click here to read full article on line

HealthandGoodness.com – April 2010

Studies show that four out of five children fight their siblings. They bicker, argue and even punch and kick their brothers and sisters. It’s no wonder that sibling rivalry is the biggest concern for most parents, or that so many find it absolutely infuriating. You may be lucky – your children might get on get on quite well. But if you worry about the bad atmosphere, feel one child is getting the worst of it, or worry that your children won’t grow up as friends, what can you do?

Click here to read full article on line

Georgia will be discussing sibling rivalry on Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, on Monday 24th May, between 10-11am.

Click here to listen again to Georgia’s interview Woman’s Hour online.

If you live in Scotland keep your ears peeled late tonight, Karen and Georgia may be appearing on your local radio station. They’ll be talking about sibling rivalry on the Gina McKee show Thursday 20th May, 10pm-1am on all these stations.

• Radio Clyde (Glasgow and West Central Scotland)
• 97.3 Forth One (Edinburgh, The Lothians and Fife)
• MFR – Moray Firth Radio (Inverness, Highland, Moray and parts of Aberdeenshire)
• Northsound 1 (Aberdeen And Aberdeenshire)
• Radio Borders (Scottish Borders and North Northumberland)
• Tay FM (Dundee and Perth and Kinross)
• 96.7 West FM (Ayrshire)
• West Sound FM (Dumfries and Galloway)

For more information see Radio in Scotland

2.25 – 2.55 pm Sunday June 27th 2010, Brighton Baby Expo

Karen and Georgia will be speaking on:

Bringing your new baby home – how to prepare and involve older children

Display Area 1, The Brighton Baby Expo

Brighton Racecourse & Conference Centre

The day runs from 10 am – 4.30 pm

Click here to visit the Brighton Baby Expo website