Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at You

An over-hot dog is a serious matter – if they can’t cool down, they are in trouble. So when is a dog too hot? Vets warn that in temperatures of 20-23C, you need to be careful not to exert them. At 24-27C you are well into the danger zone, and over 27C is life-threatening for...

Are you taking a LONG car journey as part of your holiday this summer? Beware: hours on the road can leave you tired, a bit travel sick and with aching muscles. Tiredness is the most serious – at least if you are the driver! It is reckoned that 10 – 20 percent of all car...

It’s holiday time, and you may be spending more time than usual with your children. That will give them ample opportunity to ask you those questions for which you have no answer.  A survey has found the top ten questions that most stump parents are: Why is the moon sometimes out in the day? Why...

This summer, why not encourage your children to read a book?  A recent study has found that children who read for pleasure carry the benefits with them far into adulthood. And the most avid childhood readers score far higher on vocabulary tests, even 30 years later.   As Marcel Proust the author once said, there are...

This will cheer you up this summer when your children mope around the house saying that they are bored: apparently a bit of boredom is good for them. So says a senior educationalist, Julia Robinson, who has encouraged parents NOT to force their children into too many activities. Instead, they must be allowed to become...

Don’t be afraid to use baby talk to your baby – it is great for them. Research has found that infants whose parents talked to them at a higher pitch, in a happy tone of voice, and with elongated vowels learned nearly three times as many words by the age of two as those whose...

Finders keepers? – finding things in street Where do cricket bats come from? Staring at beautiful objects really does spark inspiration Millions have ADHD, claims NHS Walking is amazing – here’s how to get started Why you should drink coffee Your daily cup of tea ** Editor:  Have you, or any of your readers, ever...

The gospels have a number of stories about things lost and found. The lost sheep, the prodigal son, and one of my favourites – the lost coin. I wonder if Our Lord had someone in mind when He told that parable? Perhaps He had seen a lady searching high and low, turning the house upside...

We see them, off and on, all summer: cricket bats. But did you ever wonder how they are made? The timber comes from mature willow trees, each of which should give about 30 bats. It is first cut into rounds, and clefts are split out. Each cleft is then rough sawn, and waxed at the...

Next time you see something beautiful – pause for a moment and simply enjoy it. Especially if it counts as ‘art’. For recent research has found that contemplating beautiful works of art really can inspire you. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that beautiful art can induce ‘psychological distancing’.  This is the process...

Do you know anyone with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)? It is very likely that you do. For when NHS England recently gave its first public estimate on the prevalence of ADHD, it reckoned that it could affect one in in every 23 people across the country. And that means almost 2.5 million people in...

Walking is simply good for you. Even a casual stroll can give your overall physical and mental health a boost. So says Britain’s leading walking charity, Ramblers. It also says that the current mantra of ‘ten thousand steps a day’ need not daunt you, as “you don’t need to adhere to this to feel the...