Mothering | LOUISE ALLAN

When You Don’t Want Your Kids To Make the Same Mistakes As You

by Louise Allan | Jun 13, 2016 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR, PHOTOGRAPHY

Last week, I wrote about how I’d found it hard to let go of my children at puberty—the age when they started wanting autonomy over their lives. Although I spent a long time writing that post, I felt as if I’d barely skimmed the surface....

Negotiating Puberty—Parenting Reflection #3

by Louise Allan | Jun 1, 2016 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR, PHOTOGRAPHY

When I was growing up, I found puberty difficult. I wasn’t keen on the physical changes—I quite liked having a flat chest, hair that didn’t get oily, and armpits that were hairless and didn’t sweat. As a child, I hadn’t felt particularly...

Talking to Teenagers: How I Turned My Relationship With My Daughter Around: Parenting Reflection #2

by Louise Allan | Jan 26, 2016 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, MEMOIR, WRITING

In a blog post last year, I said I’d write a post about my second daughter and how, through her, I learnt to be a better mother. That was easier said than done, believe me. Once kids reach a certain age, it’s difficult to write about them...

On Not Shaming Kids: Parenting Reflection #1

by Louise Allan | Jan 19, 2016 | CHILDHOOD ABUSE & TRAUMA, FAMILY AND PARENTING, MEMOIR

This isn’t the post I intended for this week, but the original one has turned into an unwieldy epic and I’m still working on it. Our second daughter finished school last year and will turn eighteen next month. This means both of...

Bottling the Kids

by Louise Allan | Aug 6, 2014 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, WRITING

There’s been a lot going on this year—mostly good, but not all of it. Normally, I cope. Normally, I feel good about the good things, but I’ve had trouble feeling good at all this year, about anything. I think I’ve worked out why: I don’t like...

Letter To My Daughter On Her Leaving Home

by Louise Allan | Mar 1, 2014 | FAMILY AND PARENTING, FAVOURITE, WRITING

I sat on the plane feeling empty and bereft. It took off, up and westward, following the sun. The buildings below quickly became matchboxes, and the clouds drifted in and thickened into a matted carpet so I could no longer see the city below, the city where I’d...