A bit of a week this week as every one of us has gone down with a sickness bug. As a result our home has resembles a cross between a toy shop (normal!) and infirmary with various bowls and poorly blankets adorning each room! How difficult is it to look after children when all you want to do is curl up in a dark room and go to sleep? Especially difficult preparing meals! The kids were both really good, though, and my daughter in particular enjoyed playing nurse. Not sure about her nursing technique - jumping on your tummy when you feel sick is not the best form of treatment!

Our son got really upset when he went to bed today as he said that he did not like school and did not want to go back ever, ever. Tried to get to the bottom of it and after deciding that he, in fact, enjoyed all the lessons and he liked his teacher, it then emerged that he did not want to go because he did not have any friends. Now, this is not true as he has one friend in particular whom he loves to pieces and I am sure that it is purely a case of being off school because he is poorly and the change of routine. He also has stock phrases that he uses for certain situations, e.g. a sore back covers a whole range of ailments so having no friends does not really mean that (I hope!). It did strike me though about how difficult it is when your child has no or limited communication. If there really was a problem, how would we know? You feel that you want to get to the root of the problem, but is there a problem? Trying to find out what he has done in the day is often a painful experience and the immense pleasure and surprise that we get when he does tell us anything is immeasurable. The home school book is a useful tool for stimulating discussion but is naturally limited. I know that all children are often reluctant to divulge information, but how wonderful it would be to share part of your child’s day.