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Review & Giveaway: Wallace Tartan Blanket Rug from #BuyAKilt.com

Up for a giveaway, is a lovely Wallace Tartan Blanket Rug from buyakilt.com.

They were lovely enough to send us one to review, which is going to my youngest child, who has the odd habit of playing x-box in his bedroom, with his window wide open, then complaining of being too cold.  The blanket is thick and cosy, which will keep his shoulders toasty warm.

Wallace Tartan Blanket Rug:

Wallace Tartan Blanket Rug

The pure wool tartan blanket measures approximately 5ft x 6ft (152.4cm x 182.9cm)

It makes an ideal throw for a bed or sofa, or even as a picnic rug.

Features:

  • Measures approximately 5ft by 6ft (some tartans may vary)
  • Made from 100% pure new wool to the highest quality
  • Fringed ends
  • Heavyweight and durable

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

  • Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.
  • 1 Winner will win one Wallace Tartan Blanket Rug.
  • The prize will be sent to you from buyakilt.com, and posted from within the UK.
  • The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.
  • Winners will be notified within 3 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, a new winner will be drawn.
  • The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.
  • Scottish Mum Blog or buyakilt.com reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.
  • Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.
  • Closes 10th December at midnight.
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Loyalty and Fairness For All #HelloRBS

Loyalty and fairness are words that we hear bandied around our family a lot.

Most readers know that my three boys are adopted.  They have many birth brothers and sisters who live in other adoptive and foster families.  Being able to cope with that, and treat everyone fairly is quite a tricky body of water to navigate, even for us adults.

As far as we can, we try to include the parents and children who live with other families in our news.  Just this morning, we received an updated picture of one of my boys birth sisters, which winged its way over to us from half way around the world.   From our side, returning the favour will be our next step in the keeping everyone up to date plan.  That’s no mean feat when there are seven other families to include.

For the boys, it’s also keeping the expectations realistic, as well as keeping their loyalty to their birth family, but not alienating their adoptive one at the same time.  It’s hard enough for adults to cope, but for the children, and hopefully, their long-term relationships with each other, it’s necessary.

It’s turning out quite nice really, as if they have some good news to share, they often pick up the phone to a sibling before telling anyone else.

There are occasions where they fall out, of course there are, so we are working to manage those awkward times, but so far, the boys have done a good job of working things out and remaining polite and respectful of each other.   Friends can come and go during our lifetimes, but we hope the boys sibling relationships will remain as good as they are now, where they are fiercely loyal to each other when it comes to those outside the family.

My Family Hands

At the same time, the boys have to stay on good terms with their friends and of course the adoptive families they’ve all grown up in.

We have spells where the kids spend hours on the phone to one or other of their siblings.  Quite often, with them simply on the other end of the phone, while a child in each family goes about their daily business, eats meals, plays computer games etc, and they chat to each other as if they were in the same room.  There are some long spells of silences, and some disjointed conversations, but mostly, they simply comment on what’s going on at home in their own houses, and chat to each other as if they were sitting side by side.

Thank goodness for unlimited minute mobile phone contracts…..and Facetime (when it works, as our Internet connection is often diabolical).  Where money is concerned, any saving is a good one.

Talking about fairness, loyalty and money, brings me to the new Royal Bank of Scotland RBS Hello/Goodbye campaign.  Fairness and loyalty is an image that banks can often struggle to overcome, but I was pleased to see the RBS have decided to reward loyalty and not ignore existing customers.

I think that watching the video says it all.  I hate being treated differently to new customers when I’m looking for new services and I’ll tell other people I know too.  Just being fair at home isn’t enough, businesses need to be fair to all their customers too, just to make us feel special enough to stay.

I’m working with BritMums and RBS on this project and have been compensated. All opinions are my own. 

 

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Creamy Tomato Soup (Passata Recipe)

This is a wickedly easy way to make a good tomato soup that doesn’t require hours of steaming and peeling tomatoes, or having to sieve your soup by pushing it through a muslin cloth.

You could substitute fresh tomatoes for the tinned ones, and not lose any flavour or taste with the recipe.  Make it how it suits you.

We add cream at the serving stage, which makes it a much more creamy soup.  It is a thick soup, so if you like your soups watery, this isn’t for you.

Some people have commented that this soup with passata burns in their machines.  It’s not happened to me, but if you think it’s a possibility, then it might not be a soup for you.

Soup Maker Recipe: Creamy Tomato Soup (Passata Base)

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 l Tomato Passata
  • 2 teaspoons Sugar
  • 400 g Tin Plum Tomatoes
  • 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
  • 200 ml Whole Milk
  • 2 tablespoons Tomato Puree

Instructions
 

  • Add all the ingredients into your soup maker. If you plan to freeze some soup, leave the milk out of the batch, and add it in proportion when you reheat the soup to serve. Freezing soup with cream or milk in it, will cause it to separate or curdle on reheating.
  • You will look for the smooth setting for this soup, as you want it as pureed as possible. If it isn't smooth enough for your taste, simply choose the smoothie setting on your soup maker if you have one, or use a stick blender to smooth it even more.
  • Serve Immediately, with Croutons, or Why Not Try a Scone, For Something Different

Notes

This soup may not be suitable for all machines. Some people have commented that this soup with passata might burn in their machines.   A reader commented that Morphy Richards does not recommend passata in their soup makers.

 

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Review. The Adventurer: The Curse Of The Midas Box

We received a pre-release copy of The Adventurer: The Curse Of The Midas Box DVD.

Adventurer 1

Now, this was a rip roaring feast of a film that had my boys glued to the TV.  It’s got all the good stuff that keeps the slightly older children entertained.  We thought it was brilliant, especially for boys, or fans of goodies, badies and the fights along the way.

I don’t want to spoil this for those who haven’t seen it, so I’ll keep this fairly brief.  Along the way, we come into contact with ancient mysteries, powerful evil and a hero quest through steam powered wonders and sinister magic.

As the steam age takes hold in Victorian London, seventeen year old Mariah Mundi’s life is turned upside down when his parents vanish and his younger brother is kidnapped. After an encounter with a charismatic stranger, Mundi follows a trail of clues to the majestic Prince Regent Hotel where he discovers a hidden realm of child-stealing monsters, deadly secrets and a long lost artefact with the potential to grant limitless power at a devastating supernatural cost. With the fate of his world and his family at stake, Mundi will risk everything to unravel the Curse of the Midas Box!

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There are stars in here that will keep you watching.  They loved Sam Neill in the Jurassic Park movies, and the kids knew exactly who he was.  Ioan Gruffudd is always a good draw and Michael Sheen just kept them rooting for more.  Also starring Aneurin Barnard as Mariah Mundi, Lena Headey and Keeley Hawes.

Although this is a PG, it does keep adults interested.  The story is quite good, though I suspect it would be lost on really young children.

I really liked this, so I can see us watching it again.  The boys have had it on about four times now, and that’s always a good sign.

We’ve been very lucky this week.   It’s released on the 27th October at all good supermarkets, stores and online.

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The Snow Queen & Downloadable Activity Sheet

We received the new Snow Queen DVD, to watch during the holidays.

I was due to look after a friends wee girls, who are 7 and 9, while she went into hospital for the day.  The Snow Queen filled up a chunk of the afternoon nicely, and they were still talking about it when I took them home.  I’m trying to persuade my boys to watch it, but I suspect that will happen one day when Sky is on the blink due to our high trees that blot out the signal when they sway too much in the wind.

For anyone who was a fan of Frozen, this is going to be another secret treat.

The Snow Queen, released from Signature Entertainment is in Vue Cinemas from today, with Blu-ray, DVD and digital release following on Nov 3rd 14.

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The Snow Queen is based on the magical fairy-tale by Hans Christian Anderson, and follows the story of little orphan girl Gerda, who must defeat the evil Snow Queen who has taken over the kingdom and kidnapped Gerda’s brother, Kai.

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Accompanied by her pet ferret, Luta, and Orm the troll, Gerda embarks on a perilous journey across the icy wonderland, facing swashbuckling pirates and treacherous trolls, in a race against time to defeat the wicked Snow Queen, save Kai and bring warmth back to the hearts of people across the land.

It’s full of fantastic, lovable characters, and timed perfectly for the excitement that begins to build for children at this time of year.  Christmas is closing in fast.

It’s certainly a slightly darker version than I was expecting, but nothing that would worry me for children to watch.  Gerda and Kai were popular with the kids, as they were done well.  There are some really funny bits that pop up along the way, which were nicely done, but some parts could be a little scary, so if you’re planning to watch with very little ones, I’d be tempted to watch it first.

It’s thrilling and for children, it certainly keeps them on the edge of their seats.  The two girls here, moved closer to the TV, making sure to blot out the world around them.

Snow Queen 1 

If you really enjoy this film, which I think most people will, for the pure escapism, then the adventure continues from December the 12th, was The Snow Queen: Magic Of The Ice Mirror comes back, just in time for the perfect pre-Christmas treat, or stocking filler.

There’s a Snow Queen activity sheet attached.  Simply click on the image to enlarge it, and save it to your desktop.

Snow-Queen-Activity-Sheet

 

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

It’s coming up to that time again, when we all wonder what to do with the lovely insides of pumpkins that we put out for Halloween.  I’d made my soup and had some lovely pictures, then managed to delete the pen drive, so this is a legally borrowed one that looks identical to how mine looked.

Enjoy your Halloween when it comes.

Remember, when using soup maker recipes, never fill your soup maker above the maximum level from the manufacturer, no matter what the recipe says.  We often use different soup makers, with different maximum levels.

Soup Maker Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 36 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g Finely Chopped Pumpkin
  • 200 g Finely Chopped Onion
  • 100 g Finely Chopped Carrot
  • 100 g Finely Chopped Potato
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Litre Stock Chicken, Beef, Pork or Vegetable
  • Cream Optional at the serving stage.
  • Parsley Garnish or Herbs (Optional at the serving stage.)

Instructions
 

  • For this recipe, to get more taste, you can lightly fry the onions in a frying pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil. The onions must stay white, so they will not need to be on for long. You can miss out this step and just put the ingredients straight into the pan if you are in a hurry, but the taste will not be so rich.
  • Add all the ingredients to the soup maker. Put your setting onto smooth. With your stock, fill to the maximum or 1600-1800g for all ingredients manually in a pot.
  • Serve when fully blended with garnish, parsley or herbs. Optional to add a swirl of cream to the soup when it's in the plate for some creaminess.

 

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Review: The 2015 Beano Annual – Have You Read The Beano Recently?

It’s that time of year again folks.  Yes, I am mentioning the C Word.  Christmas that is.

Some will groan at the thought, but I’m pretty well organised this year.  I have to be, with three kids and two adults with dementia to sort out.

Thanks to the lovely folks at Beano, who’ve sent us this year’s version.  I’ve read it, and it’s been quickly squirreled away as a present for Xmas morning.

I don’t know if it’s a Scottish thing, or if it’s a while island of Britain thing, but growing up, my friends and I all received the Beano at Christmas.

Xmas morning wouldn’t be the same, without Dennis the Menace, The Bash Street Kids and Roger the Dodger.  They get up to the things that the rest of us in real life can’t.

Two of my kids have caught my bug, as they often take their yearly annuals to the dinner table, to keep them busy.  Smartphones are not allowed during the Xmas meal here, so reading is a good second best for my boys.

Beano 2

The Beano have launched an event this year, which will see the Beano characters setting up home at the London St Pancras International Station.

They’ll be there for thirteen weeks, beginning this month, and let visitors and travellers step into the world of the Beano.    It’s nice to see a traditionally British Annual race back up the charts, so feel free to join in the hashtag on Twitter #BackTheBeano.

This year’s annual, The Beano Annual, 2015, is available for £7.99 from Hatchards St Pancras, WH Smith’s, Waterstones, supermarkets, Argos, Amazon, and all good bookshops.  You can’t miss it.

With a cheeky visit online, I spotted it at ASDA for £4, so keep an eye out for the offers.

 

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Mediterranean Vegetable Soup

This is so easy, that it’s almost impossible to get wrong.  Simply chop the vegetables, throw in the pot, add stock and a little salt, then off you go.

Soup Maker: Chunky Mediterranean Vegetable Soup Recipe

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 l Chicken or Vegetable Stock You could add water and a stock pot or two stock cubes.
  • 600 g Chunky Mediterranean Vegetables Diced Red Onions, Courgettes, Red and Yellow Peppers

Instructions
 

  • Add the diced vegetables to the soup maker, along with the salt.
  • Add the stock, either up to the maximum 1600-1800g for a Soup maker or the full 1 Litre of stock if you are cooking this in a saucepan. Use more or less liquid, depending on how much soup you are looking for.
  • Select the chunky setting and wait until it's ready.
  • Serve with fresh bread.

 

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Review: Veronica’s Snacks – Veggie and Gluten Free

Veronica 1

Thank you to the people from Veronica’s Snacks for sending us some lovely crisps to try.  These weren’t what I was expecting if I’m honest.  I thought we would be getting some maize type snacks that kids have a bag of and then go on to eat two or three more packets, as they’re still hungry.

Veronica’s Snacks is the brainchild of Veronical Kenneally, a mother of three, who likes to feed her children healthy snacks, but whose kids like snacks, just the same way as everyone else does.

Any version of crisps, that still taste like crisps is going to be a winner for me, as crisps are one of my not so secret passions in life.   These are also gluten-free, so give more options to food restricted families.

What we received to try.

  • Baked Veggie Crisps – Roast Tomato and Spanish Paprika
  • Baked Potato Crisps – Sour Cream, Herb & Onions
  • Baked Potato Crisps – Barbeque
  • Crunchy Creatures – Cheese

I have to admit, that my favourite was the Roast Tomato and Spanish Paprika, while the kids preferred the cheese crunchy creatures.

They’re baked and not fried, with less fat and salt than most regular crisps.   Our packs didn’t last for long, but I’m more comfortable with trying then when I see them in the shops.  In the past, when I’ve tried veggie crisps, I didn’t like them, but I did like these.

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Soup Maker Recipe: Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Who doesn’t love a plate of red lentil soup?  Lentils don’t agree with me, but I do love them, so every now and then, I actually do make a pot.

That’s the beauty of the soup maker, as it’s just so easy to do.  It works especially well for my mother, who decides she wants a hot meal at odd hours of the day now, yet won’t eat tinned.

I’ve always got bags of lentils in the cupboard, and at a push, I’ll just throw in what’s at the bottom of the fridge to make up some vegetable content.

Soup Maker Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Lesley Smith
5 from 4 votes
Cook Time 21 minutes
Total Time 21 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 - 6

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g Split Red Lentils Rinse & Soak in water for half an hour before cooking.
  • 1 l Stock To Taste - Beef, Chicken or Vegetable
  • 200 g Potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon Cracked and Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Chopped Onion

Instructions
 

  • For this recipe, to get more taste, lightly fry the onions before adding to the pot, however it isn't necessary, Add the lentils to the cooking pot, with the chopped onion and potatoes.
  • Add the stock, either up to the maximum 1600-1800g for a Soup maker or the full 1 Litre of stock if you are cooking this in a saucepan.
  • Select the smooth setting for a pureed soup, or the chunky if you prefer some bits in your lentil soup. If you plan to leave your soup chunky, chop your onions and potatoes very finely before adding them to the pot.
  • Serve with hot fresh bread.

Notes

Lentil soup is very much a personal thing.  Some people like it so that their spoon stands up on its own, and others like it more watery.   Add more or less lentils with experience, once you know the likely consistency that a set amount yields.  I like mine smooth and not too thick.  If it turns out too thick, I simply add a little more water or some milk at the end of cooking.

Image representative only.  Your finished soup will vary, depending on the content and consistency that you choose for cooking.

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Giveaway: Every Day Card Kits from Stampin Up – Ends 10th November at Midnight

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Welcome to the run up to Christmas.   Stampin Up have offered me three lovely card kits to run as a giveaway.   Three readers will receive one kit each as a prize.

These every day card kits are gorgeous.  You can use them to make up cards for lots of different occasions.  With Christmas coming up, they’d also make for great stocking fillers.

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Entering is simple.  Just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget and away you go.  Under the terms and conditions is a bonus tutorial from Stampin UP, to make your own Halloween Banner.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules – Terms and Conditions

  • Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.
  • 3 Winners will win one card kit each.
  • The prize will be sent to you from Stampin Up and posted from within Europe.
  • The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.
  • Winners will be notified within 3 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, a new winner will be drawn.
  • The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.
  • Scottish Mum Blog or Stampin Up reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.
  • Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.
  • Closing date 10th November 2014 at midnight.

 

Stampin’ Up!® UK

How to create your own Halloween banner

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Materials List:

 

  • Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper
  • Build a Banner Simply Created Kit
  • 2014-2016 In Colour Stampin’ Write Markers
  • Little Letters Thinlit Dies
  • Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine
  • Owl Builder Punch
  • Large Oval Punch
  • ¾“ Circle Punch
  • Basic Black A4 Cardstock
  • Whisper White A4 Cardstock
  • Silver Baker’s Twine
  • Multipurpose Liquid Glue
  • Scissors
  • Hole Punch

Step one
Take a sheet of Motley Monsters Designer Series Paper and a banner shape of your choice from the Build a Banner Simply Created Kit.  Draw around the banner twice onto the Designer Series Paper and cut out.

Once the Designer Series paper pieces are cut, punch holes in the top corners to match the placement on the banner piece to hang the banner flags from. Set these two pieces to one side.

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Step two
Take the “b” letter stencil from the Banner Kit.  Position the stencil centrally on the banner flag, with the top corners of the stencil level with the base of the metal eyelets, as per the picture.

Using the brush end of the Tangelo Twist Stampin’ Write marker, lightly colour through the stencil onto the banner, keeping the colour as even as possible across the letter. Repeat the stencilling for two “o” flags to spell “boo”.

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Step three

Using the Little Letters Thinlits dies, cut the letters to spell “Happy Hallowe’en” from Basic Black cardstock. Make sure you save the central cut-out from one of the “A” cuts, as this will be used for the apostrophe in the sentiment.

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Step four

To make bats, cut two owls from Basic Black cardstock, using the Owl Builder punch.

Using the Large Oval punch and the ¾“ Circle punch, create two “wings” for each bat as shown, four wings in total.  Stick to the back of the bats.

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Step five

To make ghosts, cut three more owls from Whisper White cardstock using the Owl Builder punch. Cut the feet off the white owls and edge with a light line of black ink using a marker pen or an ink pad to define the edges.

Turn the owl shapes upside down to create the ghosts. Add the mid-sized circles from the black owl cut-outs to the white owls for the ghosts’ eyes, and use the same circles from the white cut-outs for the bats eyes.  Add ‘pupils’ to the bats’ eyes. Stick the bats and ghosts together using Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

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Step six

Put the letters across the white banner flags to spell “Happy Hallowe’en”, and stick into place using Multipurpose Liquid Glue. Add the bats and ghosts to each banner piece, again using Multipurpose Liquid Glue. Thread a piece of Silver Bakers Twine or similar through each of the banner pieces, and hang in place.

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Guest Post: Parenting Across Scotland – Top Tips Resources

We all know that being a parent is extremely rewarding. But there are many decisions, concerns and worries that often come in to play along the way – starting at birth and continuing right through to the teenage years.

This is why Parenting Across Scotland, a partnership of charities working together to provide a focus for issues and concerns affecting parents and families, has created resources that offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ for parents.

Parenting Across Scotland

The charity has produced a range of six ‘top ten tips’ booklets for key stages in a child’s life – easy, digestible key pieces of information to help parents on their journey.

The resources aim to give parents key advice on topics such as sleep for babies, playing with your child, starting primary school, starting high school and teenagers.

Working in partnership with various organisations such as Sleep Scotland, Play Scotland and Healthy Respect, the charity’s tips provide a great starting point for any parent looking for a bit of friendly guidance.

Clare Simpson, Project Manager at Parenting Across Scotland, said: “We know that parents across the country all want to do what’s best for their children. Parenting doesn’t come with an instruction manual so parents are going to have concerns and questions at different stages of their child’s life – it’s only natural, and healthy.”

She added: “With so much information out there about what to do and what not to do it can be hugely overwhelming. With our ‘top tips’ resources we’ve drilled all this information down to focus on key pieces of bite size advice to make everything much simpler. We’ve chosen topics that we know from experience raise a lot of questions from parents.”

As well as offering advice the tips also offer reassurance.

One parent from Edinburgh who has used the resource for teenagers said: “Every time I hear my teenager’s bedroom door slam I think of the tips and remember ‘conflict is normal’ – it just gives me a minute to calm down.”

The full list of top tip topics include:

  • Sleep: babies and toddlers – covering routines, helping your child to settle themselves.
  • Starting primary school (also available in an ‘easy read’ version) – visiting the school, encouragement.
  • Starting high school – talking and listening, physical changes.
  • Child’s play – messy play, outdoor play.
  • Parenting teenagers – conflict, respecting their views.
  • Sex, relationships and teenagers – being truthful and honest, sharing stories.

The resources are completely free and can be downloaded from the Parenting Across Scotland website: