Family Lives

Listening, supportive and non-judgemental

Family Lives is a charity with over three decades of experience helping parents to deal with the changes that are a constant part of family life. We know that many people play active roles in raising children, from dads and mums, grandparents, stepparents and non-resident parents. Our role is to support all of you to achieve the best relationship possible with the children that you care about, as well as supporting parenting professionals. We believe that happy children come from happy families and currently support families to improve the outcomes for over 1 million children each year.

Pregnancy and babies
Find lots of pregnancy advice here from what to expect, advice on sleep and feeding as well as how to look after yourself. Adjusting to the demands of a newborn can be emotionally and physically exhausting, especially during the first few weeks. Life will never be the same again. You will never feel the same again either. It will take time for you, and your partner if you have one, to adjust to the changes.

Topics include:
- Pregnancy and birth
- Sleep
- Feeding
- Health and development
- You and your baby
- Becoming a dad
Toddlers and preschool
Find out more about what to expect as your baby becomes a toddler, from how they grow and develop, communicate.

Topics include:
- Childcare
- Sleep
- Behaviour
- Learning and play
- Health and development
Primary
Help topics include:
- Learning and school
- Behaviour
- Health and development
Secondary
Help topics include:
- Learning and school
- Behaviour
- Health and wellbeing
- Online
Teenagers
Got a teenager?

Parenting teenagers can be likened to a rollercoaster, with many ups and downs along the way. Some parents see changes in their teenager almost overnight whereas others may see a gradual change. Teenagers can also experience highs and lows through changes in their lives, both emotionally and physically. You may feel more anxious as your teen becomes more independent and it can become harder to give them advice. Parenting teenagers can be an enjoyable experience with a little bit of preparation and we offer a wealth of information on the different issues you might face.

Topics include:
- Drugs / alcohol
- Communicating with teens
- Sex and relationships
- Health / Wellbeing
- Online
- School / Learning
- Behaviour
- You and your teen
Bullying
BullyingUK – part of Family lives offers support and advice on bullying.

Topics include:
- Verbal bullying
- Bullying myths and facts
- Anti bullying film
- What is bullying?
- How to help someone being bullied
- What to do about bullying out of school hours
- What is homophobic bullying
- What is sexual bullying
- Advice on dealing with racist bullying
Your family
Find advice on all aspects of family life from relationships, special educational needs, stepfamilies, fostering, to holidays and online safety.

Topics include:
- Relationship advice
- Online safety
- Parenting
- Stepfamilies
- Fostering, adoption and kinship care
- Dads
- Grandparents
- Family life
- Holidays
Divorce and separation advice
If you are thinking about separating or divorcing your partner, or you are already doing so, this section has lots of advice on things which might be worrying you. Read about where to find support, how divorce affects your children and ways you can help them through the process.

Help topics include:
- Thinking about separating?
- Coping with holidays
- New and ex partners
- Shared parenting/contact
- Your children
- Domestic abuse/violence