The Parent Book.
Therapist-written support for parents
Urgent help

What are you looking for help with?

Searches the whole library: chapters, quick tips and activities.

The libraryEverything, from day one

The Library.

A library organised around the questions parents actually ask. Each chapter is written by a therapist, and none takes long to read.

Your library, organised around the questions parents actually ask. Search or browse to find what you need.

New chapters land when they are ready, and nothing is ever taken away.

Read for your child’s age

Or by what you are facing

ContentsIn reading order

The whole library

All ages
3 min read

A short orientation for parents new to The Parent Book.

Ages 8–11
13 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has been quietly dropped.

Ages 4–7 · 8–11
13 min read

A chapter for parents whose evenings have stopped working.

All ages
13 min read

A chapter for parents whose teenager has gone quiet.

Ages 4–7 · 8–11 · 11–14 · 14–18
13 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has started dreading school.

All ages
13 min read

A chapter for parents who feel they have lost the screen-time argument.

Ages 8–11 · 11–14 · 14–18
13 min read

A chapter for parents in the middle of a separation, watching their child.

All ages
10 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has lost something, or someone, that was there last week.

Ages 11–14 · 14–18
10 min read

A chapter for parents whose mealtimes have become the place where everything else is happening.

All ages
10 min read

A chapter for parents whose child is anxious in a way the adults around her keep trying to talk her out of.

Ages 4–7 · 8–11
13 min read

A chapter for parents whose children keep finding new ways to fall out.

Ages 4–7 · 8–11 · 11–14 · 14–18
13 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has named something serious.

All ages
13 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has just come undone.

All ages
13 min read

A chapter for parents standing at the threshold of something hard to say.

Ages 8–11 · 11–14 · 14–18
14 min read

A chapter for parents who want to raise a child at peace in their own body.

Ages 11–14 · 14–18
16 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has asked the question they were not prepared for.

Ages 8–11 · 11–14 · 14–18
16 min read

A chapter for parents who have seen something on the phone they cannot unsee.

All ages
16 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has been through something, or whose family has.

Ages 8–11
14 min read

A chapter for parents whose child is preparing for a school admission process.

Ages 8–11 · 11–14 · 14–18
15 min read

A chapter for parents whose child cannot fail at anything.

All ages
12 min read

A chapter for parents whose child has been working harder than other children, for longer, to do the things that come more easily to others.

Ages 4–7 · 8–11 · 11–14 · 14–18
8 min read

A chapter for parents who have lost the argument about hours, and suspect the argument was never quite the right one.

Anxiety, by AgeNew this month
All ages
15 min read

A developmental atlas for parents whose child is worried in a way that has started to make decisions for them.

The topic platesFrom the ink-etching library

If you need help right now Tap for helplines
If you need help right now
If you or your child is in immediate danger999 · Call 999 · Go to your nearest A&E · 24/7
If you, or your child, is in mental health crisisNHS 111 · England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health option. Northern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 · 24/7
If your child or young person is having thoughts of suicidePapyrus HopeLine 24/7 · 0300 102 2470 · text HOPE to 88247 · 24/7, every day · pat@papyrus-uk.org · Text and email replies may take up to 24 hours.
If your child needs to talk to someone themselvesChildline · 0800 1111 · 24/7
If you are worried that a child is being harmed or is at riskNSPCC Helpline · 0808 800 5000 · Mon-Fri 10am-4pm by phone; email 11am-4pm, seven days a week. An email sent when the service is closed is not received. · help@nspcc.org.uk · If the NSPCC service is closed and the concern cannot wait, call the police on 101. You can also contact the child’s local out-of-hours children’s social care, social work or social services team. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
If you would prefer to text rather than speakShout · Text SHOUT to 85258 · 24/7
If you are struggling yourself and need to talkSamaritans · 116 123 · 24/7