Google ‘How to revise effectively’ and you will get over 13,300,000 results. Now of course I am not saying that I have read all of these, but I think it is a pretty safe bet that not one of them advises reading through all your notes the day before the exam and hope for the best. Some kids really struggle with revision, and often don’t know where to start. The old favourite of highlighting key information in texts a few hours before the exam isn’t always effective, yet many students favour this as it’s not very demanding.

So what are the most effective ways to revise? I will tell you!

Yesterday I shared something on Instagram that felt a bit silly. I talked about how I nearly didn't go to the gym because I had a load of spots on my chin. Yep, my face resembled a pizza. I nearly allowed my negative thinking about my appearance to stop me from training even though my intuition was telling me a hardcore cardio workout was exactly what my body needed. I had a word with myself and went anyway, feeling a bit silly that I nearly allowed the fact that my skin wasn't perfect to hold me back from doing something I love.

But…it’s not silly though, is it?

When parents ask me how to help prevent their kids from becoming addicted to social media, this phrase always comes to mind. If we want our kids to stop comparing themselves to filtered and unrealistic images of people online, if we are concerned that they are seeking validation from their number of followers and likes, and if we worry that social media and its expectations are making them feel anxious and controlled, then we need to teach them to hold social media lightly. But how can we do this? Here are my 5 top tips.

It’s a tricky one isn't it? Teenagers are renowned for being challenging, and whether you are there in the throes of teen parenting and finding it really tough, or you fear your little ones reaching this stage of their development, do not lose hope! There are ways to talk to your kids about the things that are going on in their lives without it resulting in door slamming and tears.

Recently I was asked if my experience with teens has had an impact on myself as a parent and it made me stop to think. I hadn’t really made the connection before but when I thought about it I realised that it absolutely has.

A recent article in The Guardian explored the link between girls’ use of social media and an increase in depression and anxiety. Many things came up; poor sleep habits, comparison, likes as a form of validation, and young people being anxious about their online image.

There was a lot of call to social media giants to take responsibility and action. Whilst I don’t disagree, I also believe that it is important that we teach our young people how to have a healthy relationship with social media. It’s essential that they remain in control, that social media serves them and not the other way around.

So how do we do this?

Using adult as a verb has become commonplace in the last few years. Type it into a hashtag search on Instagram or Twitter and you’ll see that most posts are negative, showing the mundane and tedious aspects of adult life such as paying bills and even going to work.

It concerns me that our next generation of adults, Generation Z or iGen, are putting off becoming an adult as they are afraid of growing up. Us as parents are doing too much for them. Our lion and lioness need to protect them and keep them safe is not preparing them for adult life.

I’ve hesitated over sharing this online, as my story like everyone’s, is personal. The reason I decided to share was because it is at the core of what I do. It is my ‘Why’. So here’s my story.

When I was 16 my mum died of cancer. 11 weeks later, just 7 days after her 15th birthday, my little sister died of cancer also. It goes without saying that this was an extremely difficult time in my life, and nothing was ever going to be the same again.

Yesterday, whilst doing the weekly shop I bumped into a mum I know. She has two teenagers aged 12 and 14. I asked her how her half term was and her reply broke my heart. She said it was hard. Really hard. She told me that neither of them wanted to do anything. Her son, the 14 year old, was only interested in playing online games, and her daughter tried to meet up with friends but none of them replied to her messages. She told me she wished they were younger, that this age for her is the hardest yet.

I believe her half term experience is a common one; parents desperate to get their kids out and about and enjoying themselves, and feeling like a failure when their kids refuse.

Here’s some advice and tips I’d offer this mum, and other parents out there in similar situations;

Parenting teenagers is hard. There is no denying it. Sometimes you feel like you have the best relationship, but quite often there are times when you feel like banging your head against a brick wall.

For that reason I wanted to share with you my number one top tip for parenting teenagers. Get this right and everything else should fall into place!