Families Glasgow Magazine September/October 2019

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IN THIS ISSUE When to give your child a smartphone The head lice guide Key components of a mentally healthy school What's on this Autumn Issue 76 September/October 2019 familiesonline.co.uk

familiesonline.co.uk Families Glasgow

Welcome to issue 76 Autumn is almost here, and for lovers of hot chocolate that’s a great thing! We are stocking up on marshmallows and checking over the gloves stash – we seem to have quite a few odd ones, but at least they make pairs! It’s tempting to stay indoors once the temperatures start to drop, especially since we’ve had a consistently warm (if not dry) summer. We’ll be heading to the local parks and woodlands to make the most of the amazing array of free, ranger-led events on offer. Both September weekend (27-30/9) and October week (11-18/10) will bring great opportunities, with lots of activities on. Museums are also a great resource when it gets wet, and those annual passes come in very handy (NTS, RSPB, National Museums and the Science Centre all have great deals).

And don’t forget to start planning your Christmas theatre trips: the best seats in the house quickly get snapped up!

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Next Issue November/December 2019

In this issue 3. News & Views 6. Road safety for children 7. The key components of a mentally healthy school 8. Head lice guide 10. Your Kids’ Book Reviews 11. Helping your child make happy friendships

12. What’s On

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News & Views

Active Girls are Happy Girls A new report has found that girls that are physically active are happier and more resilient than those who are not.

The findings are drawn from of a survey from more than 25,700 primary and secondary aged children by the national children’s charity, the Youth Sport Trust.

More active girls showed higher levels of the qualities associated with wellbeing which are self-belief, confidence, resilience, happiness and empathy. The largest difference was seen in girls’ resilience. 77% of more active girls said they were resilient compared to 46% of less active girls. It also found that more active girls were happier with 75% stating so compared to 55% of less active girls.

Picky Eaters Still Grow Up Healthy

Ali Oliver, the Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust says: “We owe every girl the opportunity to become a confident mover, find a sport or activity that she enjoys, and through that experience improved physical health and emotional wellbeing.”

Picky eating in toddlers is a well-documented phase when children don’t want to try new foods and/or show very strong preferences.

It can create much worry for parents, and has created a whole market for advice, guidance and tools to encourage young children to try lots of new tastes and textures.

More info: www.youthsporttrust.org/girls-active

But researchers from the University of Bristol using data from a study of children between the ages of 7 to 17 have found that instead of being harmed by their diets, children who had been picky eaters at age 3 were growing normally as adolescents with a healthy height and weight.

The researchers claim the study shows that even children who are picky as pre-schoolers usually eat well enough over time to ensure they grow properly.

More info: www.bristol.ac.uk/news

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Sad Dads It is well recognised that new and expectant mothers can experience mental health problems, but little attention has been paid to new fathers.

Amidst recent research suggesting that at least 10% of new fathers suffer from depression, a new study has found new fathers can be beset by feelings of guilt and failure to live up to societal expectations to be stoic, strong and providers of support.

The researchers found that fathers often interpret their struggles as a personal failure as a man and father, and refuse to regard their own problems as legitimate compared to those of their partner. This leads to reluctance in reaching out or seeking advice, further compounding any issues and making isolation a significant problem.

New fathers also reported a lack of prior knowledge or awareness of the mental health challenges they could face as a result of having a baby.

More info visit: www.nct.org.uk/life-parent/dads-and-partners

Families Glasgow 3

Calls for Compulsory Climate Change Education in Schools A petition launched by four Oxford school girls calling for lessons on Climate Change to be made compulsory in schools has gathered over 75,000 signatures.

The students are hoping to make climate change a “core part of the compulsory curriculum” to increase the next generation’s understanding of the global issue.

They claim they have “barely learned about the climate crisis at school, even though it’s supposed to be part of Geography and Science.”

According to the petition: “Climate change is the biggest issue of our time, and it must be a part of our education if our generation is to understand it and help us to combat its effects. That’s why we want climate change to be made a core part of the national curriculum.”

More info: www.change.org

76% of child car seats wrongly fitted At two events run by North Lanarkshire Council in Cumbernauld and Coatbridge, 76% of child car seats were found to be incorrectly fitted. The Road Safety Team ran the events, offering free advice on choosing and fitting car seats, in partnership with Good Egg Safety and Road Safety Scotland.

The Road Safety Team ran the events, offering free advice on choosing and fitting car seats, in partnership with Good Egg Safety and Road Safety Scotland.

Qualified Childminder or Nursery May Be Better for Children Children may experience a better outcome in early years care that is provided by Ofsted registered carers or in a nursery setting than in informal care settings such as with friends or extended family, a study has suggested.

Specifically, the study found that education and care with childminders at age 2 was found to have had a significant positive effect on children’s language development and behaviour at age 3.

Group based settings such as nurseries and playgroups were also shown to have positive effects on children’s socio-emotional development including how well they get along with other children.

The Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) is conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in collaboration with the University of Oxford and is funded by the Department of Education.

It is following the development of almost 6,000 children in England from ages 2 to 7.

More info: www.natcen.ac.uk/our-research/research/seed

Reduction in School Breaks ‘Unhealthy’ School break times are much shorter than they were two decades ago meaning children are missing out on valuable opportunities to make friends and develop social skills and exercise, according to research by the Nuffield Foundation.

Of the 37 checks carried out by a Good Egg Safety expert, 76% of the child car seats were not fitted correctly which could cause injury in the event of an accident.

The study looked at how school breaks have changed over 25 years comparing data from over 1,000 primary and secondary schools.

It found that despite the length of the school day remaining much the same, break times are being squeezed even further with potential serious implications for children’s well-being and development.

The most common errors in fitting a car seat were: a slack harness; the vehicle headrest impeding the fit of the seat; the carry handle being in the wrong position; a slack seat belt; and the harness height being incorrect.

Afternoon breaks have been virtually eliminated; they are now only available to 15% of primary school children and 1% of secondary schools. There is also a clear trend to shorter lunch breaks with reported lunchtimes of 35 minutes or less.

"Parents want to make sure they have the correct car seat for their child, but fitting it is just as important for their safety," said Councillor Michael McPake, Convener of the Environment and Transportation Committee.

According to the authors, break times are important for children to get physical exercise – a particular concern given the rise in obesity, and to develop important social skills that are not learned in school lessons.

"It was disappointing to see so many seats wrongly fitted at our events, and I would encourage parents and carers to look at Good Egg Safety's online guides before they buy and fit a car seat - their advice is invaluable."

Most Parents Don’t Know More than two thirds of parents don’t know how much exercise their child needs to do to stay healthy, new research has revealed.

NHS guidelines state that children ages 5 to 18 should do an hour of physical activity every day, but 68% of UK adults didn’t know this or thought the target was lower.

The survey of 2,000 adults, by YouGov for the Youth Sport Trust (YST), found that only a quarter knew the recommended exercise time for young people and on average people thought it was 46 minutes.

More info: www.nuffieldfoundation.org

At What Age Can Children Be Home Alone?

Parents often wonder when it is safe to leave a child unsupervised at home. The law does not specify an age at which a child can legally be “home alone.” However, parents commit an offence if leaving the child unsupervised at home puts him or her at risk.

Given that maturity and understanding at specific ages differs from child to child, there is no set age at which leaving a child home alone would be risk free.

Meanwhile, figures recently released by Sport England show only 17.5% of children are reaching the 60-minute target daily.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has published a guide “Is My Child Ready to Be Left Alone?” This states that: children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time; children under 16 shouldn’t be left alone overnight babies, toddlers and young children should never be left alone

More info: www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise

More info at www.nspcc.org.uk

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Road Safety for Children their time looking around for traffic.

Road accidents are a major cause of death and injury among the young, with the risk rising as children reach secondary school age and have more independence.

Look and Listen Teach your child to look all around to see if any traffic is coming and check that drivers can see them. Point out that they need to listen carefully for traffic too because sometimes you can hear traffic it before you see it.

Danger from traffic is also a big factor dictating whether children and young people are safe to walk and cycle to school, to the park or to see friends, and therefore can impede their ability to be healthy and socially active.

Whatever your child's age, road safety is one of the most important lessons they'll learn but it can take years before they are fully competent as they need to make so many judgements.

The Green Cross Code: Stop, Look, Listen and Think!

Your child may already be familiar with the Green Cross Code from school, but it's up to you to reinforce it. Give them time and space to practise it, even if it means walking a few yards behind them.

Here are some basics:

If Traffic is Coming, Let It Pass Find the Safest Place to Cross Encourage your child to look out for safe crossing spots eg. pedestrian crossings, islands and subways. Aim for them to cross at a spot where they can see clearly in all directions and where they can be seen, so not between parked cars.

Stop Just Before Reaching the Kerb Teach your child to position themselves so they're not too close to the edge of the kerb. This means they are safe to take

Children find it hard to judge the distance and speed of vehicles. Tell them that it is always better to take their time and wait for all traffic to pass, rather than rushing to cross – even if they are feeling impatient or running late!

When it’s Safe, Go Straight across the Road - but Do Not Run Encourage your child to keep looking and listening as they cross.

More info at www.Think.gov.uk

Five Tips for De-Stressing Getting to School Children don’t understand time in the same way as adults. This can make school mornings a stressful time of day for parents. Here are five tips to that may help make things a little easier. night time routine, rather than obstacles to overcome in the morning.

Tip Three: Have a Checklist

Tip One: The Crucial 10 Minutes

Why not get up 10 minutes earlier? This will give you a chance to grab a cup of tea or coffee, have a shower and get dressed in less of a rush than usual.

Being up 10 minutes earlier also gives you a fair chance of making sure both you and your children are ready 10 minutes before you have to leave. This will give you time to gather your thoughts and make sure you have everything. No more rushing out of the door and rushing back to pick up forgotten items!

Tip Two: The Night Before

The night before, do everything that can be done to prepare for the morning. Lay out the school uniform, make pack lunches, sort snacks, check all homework and sports kit are where they should be. Make showers/baths and hair washes part of the

6 Families Glasgow

Either write an actual checklist for your child’s school morning routine, or just verbally repeat the jobs they are expected to do until they remember them. A checklist could include: eating breakfast, getting dressed, brushing teeth and hair, packing lunch and water bottle, putting on shoes and coat. It’s good to have a plan of their weekly school routine somewhere handy too so that you know when school library books are due back, which day is swimming or games and so on.

Tip Four: Provide a Pay Off

Give kids an incentive so that if they finish their school morning routine early they are rewarded with some time for television, reading or something they would like to do before school.

Tip Five: Use Devices Set reminders on your phone for special tasks such as remembering to give your child signed permission slips or leaving early for a school club. Think about an alarm for children who struggle to wake up.

Set a timer for tasks such as 15 minutes to eat breakfast or 5 minutes for showering, so that you can keep your children on schedule.

Mums Working Close to Home Fuels Gender Pay Gap Women in every part of the UK are more likely than men to live within a 15 minute commute to their place of work, according to statistics released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 43% of women get to work in no more than 15 minutes, whereas 61% of commuters who travel for more than an hour are men.

This ‘gender commuting gap’ starts to widen after the birth of the first child in the family and continues to grow for around 10 years after that, according to analysis of the statistics by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Economists think this constraint on commuting longer distances may be one of the factors contributing to the ‘gender pay gap,’ as mothers, in particular, are limited by distance in their choice of work, needing to work closer to home and childcare facilities.

More info: www.ifs.org.uk familiesonline.co.uk

The Key Components of a Mentally Healthy School

By Dr Margot Sutherland Health and safety policies cover children’s bodies in schools – so why do they not exist for children’s minds and brains too? Neuroscience research is now sufficiently advanced that we have all the evidence we need on the adult-child relationship experiences that cause and heal mental health problems.

Painful life experiences predominantly cause mental ill-health – especially when a child is not helped to process and make sense of what has happened. One of the biggest public health studies of our time, The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study), found that adverse childhood experiences are a leading determinant of all major mental and physical illnesses in the West.

These experiences include childhood events like living with parental separation/divorce, suffering a major loss, witnessing domestic violence and living with a parent who has addiction issues or mental health problems.

The more adverse childhood experiences a child has without an emotionally available adult to help, the more vulnerable they are to developing mental health problems. These adverse experiences also trigger toxic stress, which negatively affects the developing brain, immune system and endocrine system.

However, a Government Green Paper* published in December 2017 makes the point that appropriately trained and supported school staff can achieve comparable results to trained therapists in helping children with anxiety, conduct disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by adverse childhood experiences.

So toxic levels of stress in a child can be reduced if a child’s school environment can offer such resources.

policy that ensures school staff consistently engage with children in an open, warm and respectful manner. It might include policies like ’meet and greet.’ Meet and greet in primary schools involves the teacher addressing each child individually by name, with a warm open expression at the school entrance. This intervention calms children and has also been found to dramatically increase attendance figures.**

This would include removing vulnerable children in a kind, non-judgmental way from difficult situations.

Practices that Reduce Stress Levels of Vulnerable Pupils

Finally, if schools are to become mentally healthy places, the value of wellbeing has to start at the very top, with organisations like the Department For Education and Ofsted balancing the scales between outcomes and emotional wellbeing. There must be national recognition of the importance of monitoring wellbeing in schools, and the wellbeing of staff and pupils must be a key performance indicator for schools.

Many children arrive at school in an emotional state not conducive to learning.

A Policy around Testing and Exam Stress Mentally healthy schools would help pupils understand that their self-worth is not solely defined by tests and exams.

So how can schools provide these resources and help reduce the toxic stress of vulnerable pupils?

There are a number of research-backed practices designed to reduce stress levels in vulnerable children, best implemented at the beginning of the school day. These include time with animals, time outside, sensory play, mindfulness, Tai chi and accompanied drumming. A mentally-healthy school would make these practices available.

The answer is by introducing a whole-school mentally healthy culture.

School Staff that are ‘EmotionallyAvailable Adults’

What Would a Mentally Healthy School Look Like?

Having daily, easy access to at least one specific emotionally-available adult and knowing when/ where to find that adult can effectively bring down stress levels in pupils. Staff in Dr Margot Sunderland is a child mentally healthy psychologist, psychotherapist, schools would be neuroscience expert, awardtrained to adjust winning author and the Director their expectations of Education and Training at The and actions around Centre for Child Mental Health, vulnerable children a non-profit organisation that to match their provides mental health training developmental in schools and Co- Director of capabilities and Trauma Informed Schools UK. experience of traumatic events.

A school in which children feel listened to and understood at every level, and are encouraged to engage in conversation with empathic adults about their mental state as well as being taught to label their feelings. A mentally healthy school would validate the feelings underneath a child’s behaviour and give children and parents information about the causes and diagnoses of mental health symptoms as well as working with them to relieve these.

A Relationship Policy for Staff A mentally-healthy school would have a familiesonline.co.uk

For further information visit: www. childmentalhealthcentre.org. * Green paper entitled Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision **When the Adults Change, Everything Changes Paul Dix 2017

Families Glasgow 7

Lice - up to 4mm long and a light tan or brown in colour.

Baby lice - can be tiny and may be identified on the tissue as darker specks alongside the eggs.

Wet dandruff can be mistaken for eggs. The key is, it can be rubbed off. A nit egg can only be removed by sliding it down and off the hair shaft.

What to do if you find lice If you find evidence of a louse, you can keep on repeating this combing down in sections until the tissue is clear of specks or lice. Keep the cleared sections away from hair that has not been treated. After each section is combed, check for eggs and use a tweezer to slide eggs down the hair shaft and off the hair.

The Head

Lice Help Guide!

By Eileen Hutchinson

Primary school children are the main spreaders of head lice as they spend lots of time in close contact with one another.

How these blood-sucking critters move from head to head remains a mystery to many of us, but if you understand this happens, it can help you avoid an infestation.

•

Keep long hair tied up in a bun plait or a ponytail at the nape of the neck for school and play dates.

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Use a separate brush for every member of the family. Advise children not to share brushes with friends.

How lice move from head to head

•

To check for lice, use a nit comb on wet hair coated with a small amount of clear conditioner and separate the hair into straight line sections, using clips to keep hair secure in each section.

Lice have claws at the end of their legs designed for walking through hair; they cannot fly or jump. The male lice happily stay on the scalp. After mating just once, the female louse lays up to 10 eggs daily for the rest of her 30 day life. She travels down the hair and waits with her front claws stretched out to grab any passing new hair. When a new hair passes by she will cling on, scurry up the follicle to the scalp, and start laying eggs. Transportation is as simple as that!

The female louse doesn’t care if your hair is curly or straight, clean or dirty. Essential oils as a repellant is another fallacy; there’s no medical evidence they will prevent head lice, and a female louses genetic profile to colonise is far stronger than their dislike for any repellant.

Simple preventative and checking measures

•

•

When checking, let down one section at a time, positioning the teeth of the lice comb at the top of the hair shaft at a 16-degree angle out.

Sterilise combs and put clips and bands in a plastic bag after washing. Do not use for at least three days.

If using the combing method, you must comb every 3 to 4 days until the entire infestation has been removed. This can take up to a month, depending on the severity of the outbreak.

It is easy to miss a louse or egg, and it is recommended you use a CE certified brand of head lice serum. Hypoallergenic and pesticide free treatments are now available which are safer and more effective than natural remedies.

Eileen Hutchinson is the founder of NitNOT head lice serum treatment. For more information, visit www.nitnot.com Be aware of your reaction to your child’s head lice. If you are emotional or obviously disgusted, their lice experience will affect how likely they are to talk about other embarrassing issues in the future. If you find a louse or egg, take some time to compose yourself before explaining to your child a simple treatment is needed. If you are not worried or stressed, your child is less likely to be concerned.

Gently pull the comb down the length of the hair from the root to end. Wipe the nit comb on a tissue and look for lice, baby lice and eggs.

How to recognise lice, baby lice and eggs Eggs - the brown and tan flecks, measuring around 2mm in length, are similar to the shape of a sesame seed. They are laid close to the scalp but are glued to the hair shaft so move down with the growth of the hair. So they can be found at any length of the hair.

Remember lice are unpleasant, but harmless. If you do find it difficult to treat your child, you can always contact a clinic for advice or further treatment.

Mental Health Issues Starting Early One in 10 children aged five to 16 - or three in every classroom - have a diagnosable mental health problem and 75% of mental illness starts before the age of 18 according to statistics.

Place2Be, a national charity providing emotional support to children, advises that it's never too early or too late to start thinking about your child's mental health.

Some simple actions you can take at any age to help promote positive mental health include:

8 Families Glasgow

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Carving out time to be with your child one-to-one. Put other worries to one side and actively listen to them and their feelings.

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Enjoying a quiet activity together can make it easier to talk to your child and can encourage your child to open up naturally.

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Taking a step back from today's busy lives and enjoy some dedicated time listening and playing with your child.

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Creative activities such as art and craft can encourage bonding with your child.

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Providing a stable and consistent environment, with clear boundaries helps children feel secure and better able to learn about and cope with the world around them.

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Be kind to yourself and look after your own mental health. This will have the most beneficial impact of all on the wellbeing of your child.

For more information and advice, visit www.place2be.org.uk

familiesonline.co.uk

When to give your child a

smartphone?

By Andrew Campbell

It’s a question every parent will struggle with at some point: at what age should I get my child a smartphone?

Anyone who has investigated this question will soon find there is no clear advice or research which provides a definitive age, but Families will endeavour to provide some useful guidance.

Mobiles can be helpful to keep in touch with your child, and can give you the peace of mind which comes with knowing they can reach you in an emergency. And, of course, children can also do all sorts of amazing things online using devices; the internet can be creative, fun and educational.

But, by giving your child an internetconnected phone, you are handing them an incredibly powerful communication tool for which they may not be ready. Not only can they send messages, create images and send videos to friends but they’ll also be able to access websites and upload images and videos online.

Having unfettered access to the internet exposes children to many risks including cyberbullying, online grooming and inappropriate content.

Many believe devices are also quickly changing the nature of childhood. Playing outdoors, spending time with friends, reading books and hanging out with family is being overtaken by hours of snap chatting, instagramming, and catching up on You Tube.

In the US, a movement has sprung up among parents wanting to delay giving a child a smartphone until at least age 14 or 8th grade. Called Wait Until 8th, parents familiesonline.co.uk

sign a pledge agreeing to delay giving their child a smartphone and it becomes active when 10 or more families sign in it from the same class at school. The pledge aims to provide a supportive network to parents who want to resist the increasing societal pressure to provide their child a smartphone.

and setting their user account to only follow sites which you've deemed safe.

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Checking age-limits on games, websites and apps, especially ones that have a social media element.

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Checking that online accounts are password protected and ensuring that your children are not putting out personal information online. If they do have a social media profile ensure they are only accepting requests from friends and request that you or someone you both trust follows them to keep abreast of their online activity.

According to internet safety experts the real question is not about the “right” age, but about whether your child is developmentally ready to have full access to the adult world and whether you have laid the groundwork to prepare them for healthy and responsible device use.

Carolyn Bunting, CEO of e-safety organisation Internet Matters said: "Every child is different and whether it be a sign of maturity or peace of mind; parents know intuitively what the right age is for their child to be given a smartphone."

However, it’s vital that you take steps to ensure you child is able to navigate the internet safely before they are given a smartphone.

In considering the move to a smartphone for your child it may help to consider the following options: •

If you believe your child needs to be able to get in touch with you, Ofcom advises using a basic handset. These are still readily available

•

If you are keen to keep you’re your child’s internet access contained to the supervised home environment, then tablet-usage can be easier to monitor.

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If you think your kids are ready for their own smartphone, pick up a child-friendly model. For example, devices like the monqi allow parents to set limits on data, calls, screen time and disapprove a game or app, all remotely via a parental app.

These include: •

Having open and honest conversations with your child about their online world. Finding out what they like doing and getting involved.

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Setting boundaries for their internet use, which include where and when they can use their devices and for how long.

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Setting up parental controls on your home broadband as well their devices.

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Using a child-friendly search engine

For more reviews of child friendly smart phones visit www.internetmatters.org and for information on internet safety for children visit www.net-aware.org.uk Families Glasgow 9

The Longest Night of Charlie Noon Christopher Edge Charlie Noon is an unforgettable character from the very clever pen of Christopher Edge. This story is a little scarier than his previous book, but the mystery and thrilling suspense all make for a fabulous read. I couldn’t put this book down and made good use of a few rainy days escaping on Charlie’s adventure. I don’t want to say too much about the plot: I dare you to predict the twists and turns as you read, I certainly didn’t see them coming!

Your Kids’ Book Reviews Autumn Reads For more book reviews, check out littlekidbigkid.co.uk

Katie (age 11), Shawlands ISBN: 9781788004947, PB £6.99, 8-12yrs King Dave: Royalty for Beginners - Elys Dolan, I love funny books and this is a really good one.

I thought it might be a picture book, where there’s not that much reading in it, which I like, but it’s funny even for me and I’m a bit older now. Dave has to stand in for the king and at first it’s lots of fun – he even gets to throw a party. But then things start to go wrong, and Dave and his friend Albrecht need to put things right. I laughed a lot, and my little brother liked it, too.

Caleb (age 7), Bearsden ISBN: 9780192771667, PB £6.99, 7yrs+ Kitty and the Tiger Treasure - Paula Harrison Kitty is a little girl with super powers that make her like a cat. She is still learning to be a hero, so sometimes she gets things wrong. In this story she has to catch a jewel thief. I love this story because it has a girl hero in it, and she isn’t scared of the night. I love cats, too, but you don’t need to love cats to like this book.

Emily (age 6), Uddingston ISBN: 9780008212797, PB £5.99, 5yrs+

Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise - David Ezra Stein

Don't Worry, Little Crab - Chris Haughton We loved Oh No George and couldn’t wait to read this book. We weren’t disappointed.

Chris Haughton has a great way of expressing emotions on creatures with bright, bold illustrations that that accompany the deftly observed phrasing of very young children.

Oscar was able to immediately identify with the little crab, excited and nervous to try something new. To me, this is what the best picture books do: tap into the heart of the child and represent their experience on the page in a truthful way with a comforting resolution.

Karen, mother to Oscar (age 3), city centre ISBN: 9781406385519, HB £12.99, 2-5yrs

An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle legends Theresa Breslin I loved Fantastic Beasts, and I’m really glad I got to read this book – it has loads of beasts from Scotland in it, and it’s amazing how many stories I didn’t even know before. I’m going to ask my parents to visit all the places in the book, and I’m going to ask for the other two books like this for my birthday. The pictures are amazing, and the stories are great for reading at night.

My friends like it, too!

Jack (age 9), Cumbernauld ISBN: 9781782505952, HB £11.99, 6-12yrs Sam Wu is Not Afraid of the Dark - Katie & Kevin Tsang

There is a little chicken in this book. She thinks every book has to have an elephant in it. But daddy chicken says it’s just what you call something that surprises you. My mummy laughed a lot. I laughed, too. I think mummies like reading this book because of the elephants. They looked very cheeky.

Sam is a nervous boy with a big imagination. Going camping is not the best idea for someone like that.

There are lots of strange noises, and Sam is sure it’s something scary. Luckily his friends are there to help him conquer his fear. This book was easy to read. I think it’s perfect for reading in autumn when it’s getting darker and a bit spookier. Sam has lots of other fears he is trying to overcome in other books and I’ll be looking out for them.

Aaron (age 5), Hamilton ISBN: 9781406383072, PB £7.99, 3-5yrs

Kirsty (age 8), Cathcart ISBN: 978-1405287531, PB £5.99, 6-9yrs

A House Without Walls Elizabeth Laird, We learned about refugees in school, so I was interested to read a story that explains what happens from a young girl’s point of view. Safiya has escaped from a war-torn Syria, and is lucky not to have to live in a camp. But she resents having to look after her brother and dad, and she wants to go to school. There are other secrets about her family waiting to be uncovered. I enjoyed this story very much and it made me realise how complicated life is for everyone, no matter where they are from.

Erin (age 10), Maryhill ISBN: 9781509880720, HB £9.99, 9yrs+

The Marvellous Adventure of Being Human - Max Pemberton

If you want to find out how your body works, then this is the book for you. It’s got great pictures which won’t gross you out, and it doesn’t assume that you’ve been looking at body books for years.

The information is in little chunks which are easy to remember and I learned loads without realising. There is a bit of detail, if you like that kind of thing, and some fun facts, that I could share with my friends (like how much ear wax an ear makes in a year). A great book for the body basics.

Sam (age 10), Kirkintilloch ISBN: 9781526361196, HB £14.99, 9-11yrs

Don't forget to say you saw these advertised in

We also loved To WIN a copy of one of the above titles, please send an e-mail (subject: book of your choice) to

WIN

competitions@familiesglasgow.co.uk

with your name and address no later than 5th October.

10 Families Glasgow

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off.’ Explain that children like others who they feel they have a lot in common with, not those who act superior.

Emphasise Quality over Quantity By the end of primary school, kids may want lots of friends in order to feel ‘popular’.

But it can take no more than two or three genuinely close friends to be happy at school. Make it clear it’s not a numbers game.

Teaching your Child the Difference between a Good and Bad Friend

Helping Your Child Enjoy Happy Friendships

By Tanith Carey

As a new school term starts, it’s no longer how children will perform in their school work in the year ahead which worries parents the most. The latest research has revealed that mums and dads are now most concerned about whether or not they will have happy friendships.

This is because so many of us know how inconsolable our children are when they get left out, have no one to play with at school or have a falling out with their friends.

Traditionally, parents have been led to believe children should just magically ‘know’ how to make friends and there’s nothing we can do from the other side of the school gates. But now a new book The Friendship Maze: How to help your child navigate their way to positive and happier friendships, brings together the latest social science research to show how your kids can have easier friendships and looks at how to help when things go wrong.

How to help:

Talk about Friendship Children will be able to be better friends, and are likely to be liked more by their peers, when you talk through with them the qualities that make others want to spend time with them. Things like listening, sharing and playing fairly. Make a point of noticing and complimenting your child when they show these qualities.

Be a Good Role Model Talk about your own friendships – times when you have been a good friend by being thoughtful, dependable and ready to listen, and mention when others are being a good familiesonline.co.uk

friend to you, so children recognise how to be a good friend to others.

Play Turn-Taking Games

Starting from a young age, it’s important for kids to learn what a good friend is. This is not only so they can be one themselves, but also so they can identify healthy relationships, both now and when they start looking for romantic ones.

A Bad Friend: Doesn’t want you to play with other friends Tells you that what you like is stupid Laughs at you Makes you feel sad Pushes you to do things you don’t want to do

Play games to practice cooperation, a key skill in friendship. As you play board or ball games with younger kids, describe out loud what you are doing. Start with noncompetitive games, so they can get used to the to-and-fro of turn-taking.

Acts as if they are better than you

Teach them to Be Good Sports

Tells you that other friends don’t like you.

Children don’t want to be play with others who cheat and kick up a fuss if they lose.

Explain winning and losing is temporary.

The key is for your child to enjoy themselves during a game, not to get hung up on the result.

Discuss how to Find Things in Common with their Peers Children may show off and brag in the belief that if they impress others, they will like them more. Whether it’s through role-play, or talking about your own experiences, help your child hear how this can sound like ‘showing

Hurts you Says they will do something unkind if you don’t do what they want Tells people your secrets

A Good Friend: Plays with all your friends Tells you you’re good at doing stuff Doesn’t mind if you don’t want to do the same things You have fun with You don’t have to play with all the time Doesn’t require you to like all the same things they do Doesn’t try and make you do anything as a condition of staying their friend.

Find more ways to help children learn friendship skills in Tanith’s new book The Friendship Maze: How to Help Your Child Navigate Their Way to Positive and Happier Friendships, published by Summersdale and available from Amazon.

Families Glasgow 11

WHAT’S ON

Don't forget to say you saw these events in

ONLINE

Your essential guide to family events this August, September and October. We take great care in compiling our events guide, but check with the venues before you leave home just in case times or prices have changed since we went to print.

familiesonline.co.uk

So, join us on an extraordinary musical adventure (narrated by Scottish actor, Ryan Ferrie) as we transport you from Peter's enchanted forest to Romeo and Juliet’s castle, stopping off for a spin around Sleeping Beauty’s ballroom. We'll also need your help in the Wizard's dungeon conjuring up some magic to help the Sorcerer’s Apprentice get those brooms under control! You’re invited to meet some musicians of the orchestra afterwards to try out their instruments for yourself and maybe even start your own musical story...

18 Aug Yorkhill & Finnieston Gala Day 12.00-17.00 I FREE Overnewton Square, Glasgow G3 8RW Come and join us for a family day with live entertainment, games for all the family, hot food and drink.

For our four legged friends we have also organised a dog show!

23 Aug Bat Night 19.30-21.30 | £7/£6 | RSPB Loch Lomond Nature Reserve , Gartocharn www.rspb.org.uk/lochlomond Embrace the darkness and go in search of some nocturnal nature!

Learn about some of the species found in the area and then take a bat detector out to try to identify some. This event is suitable for adults and families alike. Torches and warm, waterproof clothing are recommended as is booking a place to avoid disappointment.

23-25 Aug Strathaven Balloon Festival FREE Strathaven Park, Strathaven ML10 6LZ www.strathavenballoonfestival. co.uk A weekend full of fun including funfair, live entertainment, stalls and of course Hot Air Balloons including our Saturday spectacular evening glow. There's no admission charge, you don't need a ticket, but we request that you buy a Souvenir Programme and pop some cash in our collecting buckets: that support ensures that our Festival can take place, every year - a true community event, but with an international reputation.

24 Aug Messy Play Giffnock – Supermess 10.30-11.30 | £10 | 6mths-5yrs Maccabi Youth and Sports Centre, Giffnock G46 6LD, 07783245182 Ka-pow – Put on your hero capes and fly along to our BRAND NEW Super Mess Party! Come along and save the world with your Little Super Hero’s. With Hulk spaghetti, Batman rice and Wonder Woman foam. All you have to do is come along and Mess Around and leave the cleaning up to us! What makes us special is everyone is welcome to join in including older siblings up to the age of 10, who can participate in the Big Kids Create & Make Corner which include Arts and Crafts activities to keep them busy!

25 Aug Big Goldilocks and the Three Bears Plus...

14.00 I £5 East Kilbride Arts Centre, East Kilbride G74 4DU, 01355261000 www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk This comical story is retold 12 Families Glasgow

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through a massive 6ft tall book complete with pop ups and props coming out of the book! Big Goldilocks wanders off from her parents into the forest but soon gets lost, getting hungry, grumpy and tired. The forest animals decide to escape before she gets even more grumpy on an Animal Rescue Centre which flies high throughout the skies! Goldilocks arrives at the Three Bears house for a big bowl of cereal but soon it’s up to the audience to help scare her away...

for carrying about all their future makes and sewing accessories!

Fabric, juice and biscuits are also included in the class price.

25 Aug Cumnock Highland Games 12.00 Woodroad Park Come to Cumnock for our Annual Highland Games! Now established as one of the biggest events of its kind in the area, Cumnock Highland Games is a family-fun filled day out with traditional and modern day events for athletes of all ages and abilities! The Pipe band parade will leave the Town Square to Woodroad Park where the games will commence with new events this year, demonstrations and of course the traditional Highland dancing, pipe band competitions and field competitions with competitors from all over.

26 Aug – 1 Sep Kirkintilloch Canal Festival Various times www.kirkintillochcanalfestival.org Experience educational aspects that the canal can offer as well as the entertainment and excitement of Saturday night’s firework display and Sunday’s fun packed gala. Boat trips will be leaving from the Kirkintilloch Marina Monday to Friday at various times.

Family Storytelling, pillow bash, puppet making, nerf adventure and lots more!

25 Aug Parent and Child introduction to Sewing 14.30-17.00 | £70 | 8-15yrs Sew Confident Glasgow, Glasgow G3 8ND, 01412800487 www.sewconfident.co.uk This class will run the same as our normal 'Kids introduction to sewing class', with the only difference being that Mum or Dad are able to join in too! The perfect chance not only to both learn a new skill, but some bonding time in the process. To start off everyone will be taught some sewing machine basics.

We will then use these new skills to practice on creating some fun felt shapes which will be used again later to decorate their first ever project...a tote bag! Perfect

25 Aug + 29 Sep Costume Sunday 10.00-16.00 | £7.50/£5.50 Pollok House, Glasgow G43 1AT, 01416166410 www.nts.org.uk Come and join us as we bring Pollok House to life by wearing trends from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

30 Aug Pro Wrestling Live 18.30 | from £8 Lodge St Thomas Social Club, Larkhall ML9 2AG www.ringsideworld.co.uk The biggest wrestling stars in Europe are coming, come and see them live and in person! A night of Wrestling suitable for all ages.

Already announced - Heavyweight Title Match, Over The Top Rumble and Tables Match!

31 Aug Childrens Classic Concerts: Peter and the Wolf and Other Stories 13.00 + 15.00 | £12/£6 | 4-12yrs Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow G2 3NY, 01413538000 www.childrensclassicconcerts. co.uk Featuring Prokofiev’s iconic fairy-tale and other well-known stories, our musicians really get into character to capture the imagination of the audience!

31 Aug Open Day at The Dojo 9.00-12.00 | FREE The Dojo Glasgow, Glasgow G41 1HL, 07535466656 www.thedojoglasgow.com Come along to our open day and try taster sessions for karate, sports weapons training, dance and fitness classes. The sessions are absolutely FREE and we know you’ll have a great time. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

31 Aug – 1 Sep Kirkintilloch Comic Con 10.00-17.00 | £1 The Regent Centre Cowgate, Kirkintilloch G66 1JH www.bigglasgowcomicpage.com The capes have been ironed, masks dusted down and superhero poses perfected – it’s time to get suited up and get ready for the return of Kirkintilloch Comic Con at The Regent Centre!

The event will feature over 40 traders selling Comics, Comic Art, Action Figures, Jewellery, NERF Range, Jurassic Park Class and a Cosplay Competition so don't be surprised if you see Spider-Man swinging through the Main Street or Superman flying over Lenzie.

31 Aug – 8 Sep Largs Viking Festival & Festival of Fire www.largsvikingfestival.org This Annual Festival marks the 1263 Battle of Largs, the last mainland battle between the Scots and Norse. We won! Each year the living history Viking Village is open to the public so that they can get a glimpse of what life would have been like in a 13th Century Viking Village. Come and talk to them about their way of life. At weekends there will be aerobatic displays, on-stage entertainment and a variety of street performers on the Promenade and at various locations in the town.

31 Aug & 28 Sep Makaton Book Bug Sessions 10.00-11.00 | FREE Kilbride Woodlands, East Kilbride G74 5LZ, 07590633376 www.eastkilbridecommunitytrust. familiesonline.co.uk

www.scottishpower.co.uk/whitelee Muddy Monsters a nature club run by the Whitelee Countryside Rangers. Come and join the Rangers with your Wee Monsters as we explore nature through games and stories. Meeting at the Whitelee Visitor Centre.

co.uk Makaton is a great language tool using signs and symbols to help people to communicate and a great way to assist in children’s language development. So come along to our unique book bug session, where we will spend the morning immersing ourselves in stories such as the Gruffalo and Stick man! We will even learn some songs in Makaton sign language. To book one free ticket per person visit Eventbrite.

1 Sep Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust Family and Community Open Sunday 11.00-16.00 | £5/£3 Bridgeton Bus Garage, Glasgow G40 3AH, 0141 554 0544 www.gvvt.org Visitors will have access to wander round and look at what goes on, seeing vehicle restoration work at all stages, including our large display of restored vehicles.

Activities for kids include our Lego man treasure hunt. New for this year, there are two other treasure hunt games, one to find the wee coloured buses and another where the eagle-eyed need to spot different details on some of the vehicles in the garage.

1 Sep Storytelling with Cinderella Various times | £9/£7.50 Pollok House, Glasgow G43 1AT, 01416166410 www.nts.org.uk Put on your best princess dress, come to Pollok House and enjoy the magic of being transported into a fairy tale with Cinderella!

Tucked away in our storybook setting of Pollok House, your little one will enjoy listening to tales of the princess and her mean sisters.

They will then create their very own biscuits, topped mallows and enjoy a singalong to some of our princess’s favourite songs. Pearl and Plum photographers will also be on site to take magical pictures to commemorate your day with as your little one enjoys some exclusive time with Cinderella from Wish upon a Star Entertainment.

3-7 Sep Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Various times | from £13 Kings Theatre, Glasgow G2 4JN www.atgtickets.com Retelling the Biblical story of Joseph, his eleven brothers and the coat of many colours, this magical musical is full of unforgettable songs including Go, Go, Go Joseph, Any Dream Will Do, Jacob and Sons, Close Every Door To Me and many more. With additional new choreography from Gary Lloyd (Thriller Live, Heathers), Bill Kenwright’s ’Superb’, ‘Wonderful’ and ‘Brilliant’ production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sparkling family musical is brought to life in a colourful explosion of joy.

5 Sep Woodland Nippers 11am-1pm | under 6s| FREE Castlemilk Park Machrie Road, G45 0AZ, 01416342673 familiesonline.co.uk

14 Sep Den Building 13.00-15.00 | FREE Pollok Country Park, Glasgow G43 1AT, 01412879001 Test your outdoor survival skills on a den building afternoon with the Glasgow Countryside Rangers.

Booking essential, popular session, limited places.

Woodland Nippers group is for under 6's along with their parents, relatives or guardians to learn about nature in a fun filled environment. Please ensure suitable outdoor clothing is worn.

For more information contact the Community Woodland Officer on 0141 634 2673 7 Sep Balloonatics 2 Get Pumped 14.30 | £8 | 5yrs+ The Town House Hamilton, Hamilton ML3 6HH, 01698452299 www.sllcboxoffice.co.uk t’s silly, it’s noisy, its energetic, it’s chaotic, it’s got plenty for adults as well as kids, and is the perfect antidote to the serious world around us. When you join the Balloonatics army, there is only one thing you have to remember, you don’t have to be good at something for it to be fun.

7 Sep Go Swim Loch Lomond From £10 Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch G83 8QL www.go-swim.uk Durty Events, organisers of award-winning multisport events throughout Scotland, and Triathlon Edinburgh have joined forces to launch Go Swim Loch Lomond, a packed programme of open water swimming events for all ages and experience levels. There will be open water swimming events for all ages and standards of swimmers, including the family friendly 250 metre option for those aged 8+ (when accompanied by an adult) and 750 metre and 1500 metre options for those just starting out in open water swimming. All entrants will receive an official chip time, finisher’s medal, event t-shirt and custom event swim cap for optimal bragging rights.

7 Sep MusicFest MainStage Bothwell Scarecrow Festival 15.00-21.30 | from £12.50 Uddingston Cricket & Sports Club, Uddingston G71 7HJ www.bothwellscarecrowfestival. co.uk Musicfest Mainstage is familyfriendly, one-day music festival being held as part of the Bothwell Scarecrow Festival! The Cricket Club’s excellent facilities means there will be a full bar with refreshments for adults, and kids young and old can look forward to a whole host of fun activities

including a funfair, stalls, food vendors and more. We are keeping ticket prices to an absolute minimum so that as many people as possible can come along and soak up the music-festival atmosphere.

7 Sep Queens Park Harvest Fayre 12.00-17.00 | FREE Queens Park Arena, Glasgow G42 The first food show of its kind to be held at Queens Park Arena which demonstrates the best of local cuisine from grassroots organisations to established eateries! This will be an exciting event for all ages to come and taste some of the fine produce from the area, as well as providing educational workshops about food waste and increase awareness of local groups supporting the community. We want to celebrate the products that have been locally grown through green initiatives in the area and share them with as many people as possible.

7 Sep Reverberations Festival 14.00-19.30 | £35 The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow G1 1NQ www.taiko.co.uk Don’t miss the Taiko Drumming event of the year: thundering rhythms, dynamic choreography & exhilarating energy, across 2 stages & big screen, with a lineup ranging from traditional taiko drumming to ground-breaking collaborations across genres, hosted by Europe’s leading Taiko group Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers, celebrating their landmark 25th year.

7-8 Sep The Dog Lover Show 10.00-17.00 | from £11.35 SEC, Glasgow G3 8YE Visit Scotland's largest dog show for another fun-packed day out for all the family! It’ll be a fantastic day out for all the family where you can talk to doggy experts, meet our favourite breeds, find out which dog would be your perfect match and enjoy brilliant performances and displays from some of the most talented dogs in the UK. 12 Sep & 10 Oct Muddy Monsters 13.00-14.00 | FREE | 2-5yrs Whitelee Windfarm Visitor Centre, Eaglesham G760QQ, 01416140962

14 Sep Glesga Bricks LEGO Show 10.00-16.00 | £3 Mosspark Baptist Church, Glasgow G52 1PG www.brickm8.org Featuring Scotland's top builders latest and greatest creations, interactive trains and mountains of LEGO to let creativity flow! We will be bringing Scotland's top builders to Glasgow with their latest and greatest creations. If you seek inspiration or have any LEGO questions these are the people to ask! We will also have interactive trains displays and of course mountains of LEGO to build with.

Not forgetting our ever popular 'everyones a winner' LEGO tumbola will return along with our signature minifig hunt. ALL profits from the show go to the fantastic Fairy Bricks Charity who brighten the lives of sick children through the joy of LEGO. 14 Sep Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (TM) in Concert 18.30 | from £33.50 SEC Armadillo, Glasgow G3 8YW Audiences will be able to relive the magic of the entire film in high definition on a 40-foot screen while hearing John Williams’ unforgettable score live.

14 Sep Insp-Hire 10.00-16.00 | FREE | 4-14yrs Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow G4 0BA What do you want to be when you grow up? Insp-Hire is a new event for those aged 4 to 14, and their parents or guardians to learn about industry 4.0 and how this will impact their future!

Technology is moving at such a pace and Insp-Hire aims to to educate and excite children and parents to look at their future careers - and find out what skills they might need to do their dream job! On the day, there'll be inspirational speakers including Gillian Docherty from Data Lab, an amazing interactive exhibition space with virtual reality, digital twinning, 3D printers, electric vehicles and more. Plus 10 workshops where both parent and child can interact together to learn to solve a cyber security attack, code Lego and build your own Fitbit.

Families Glasgow 13

16-22 Sep Doors Open Day Glasgow Various times and locations www.glasgowdoorsopendaysfestival. com Scotland's annual Doors Open Days festival gives you free access to lots of fascinating buildings with a programme of open buildings, walks, talks, tours, special events and children's activities. Get behind the scenes in some of Glasgow’s iconic historic buildings as well as working factories, breweries, theatres and more.

With a whole new programme, featuring hundreds of open buildings, walks, talks, tours, exhibitions, special events and children’s activities, the city is yours to explore!

21 Sep Ed’s Lab Science Experiments 12.00-13.30 | £3.30 Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton ML3 7UE, 01698426213 www.slleisureandculture.co.uk Make everything from a volcano to your own goo. This is a messy one so make sure you wear some old clothes! All materials supplied.

Spaces are limited therefore booking and pre-payment is required to secure your space.

21-22 Sep Clydebuilt Festival 10.00-19.00 | FREE Riverside Museum, Glasgow G3 8RS www.clydebuiltfestival.com To celebrate Glasgow's unique maritime heritage, over the course of the weekend our visitors will enjoy Scotland's biggest open water rowing regatta, dragonboat racing down the Clyde, live music, sea shanties, story telling, and poetry and lots more. It'll be bright, colourful and surprising. It'll be unexpected, and it'll be really quite boaty!

21-22 Sep Official Opening of new Multilingual Lending Library 12.00-17.00 | FREE The Language Hub, Glasgow G11 6QW, 07505144476 www.thelanguagehub.scot Join the team at The Language Hub for the grand opening of our new multilingual lending library!

We will have lots of activities for children and adults, workshops, 28-29 Sep MCM Comic Con 10.00-17.00 | from £11 (under 10s free) SEC, Glasgow G3 8YW www.mcmexpostore.com MCM brings you the UKs most awesome pop culture experiences, and this year's Comic Con at the SEC is no exception. The Cosplay Desk provides a range of services to cosplayers including changing areas, storage, supplies and assistance for costume repairs as well as organising the Cosplay Masquerades. Pop-culture pros take to the main stage to talk behind the scenes gossip, tease upcoming plots, AND answer your questions. Rub shoulders with stars of the small and big screen and stock up your collections.

14 Families Glasgow

“Catch that leaf”, “Colour charts” and "Meet a tree”. For more details phone 0141 276 0931.

special guests and lots of food and refreshments to share; all free.

Become a member for 50% off the annual membership fee and find out how you can get involved in all things library.

choose. These include a faery trail in the garden, make a magic wand, make some elf & faery slime, and go foraging in the woodland for all the things you need to make an elf & faery tea party!

22 Sep Funbox: The Space Race 13.00 + 15.30 |£12.50 Eastwood Park Theatre, Giffnock G466UG, 01415774956 Join Anya, Kevin, Gary and Bonzo as part of the crew of the Starship FUNBOX as they take a space odyssey across the universe to explore strange new worlds and dimensions on their galaxy hopping quest to find their keys.

Find out if the moon is really made of cheese? What is the stinkiest planet? Where are the friendliest aliens? Packed with classics like 'Apples and Bananas' and 'Aiken Drum', Funbox favourites and brand new songs, THE SPACE RACE is out of this world singalong fun for all the family.

27-30 Sep So You Want to Be a Roman?

9.30-16.30 | FREE North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, Motherwell ML1 3HU, 01698274590 www.culturenl.co.uk Roman themed activities all weekend; try on some Roman armour, dig up some pottery and make a craft.

27 Sep & 15 Oct Food Heroes Pre-school Cookery Class 10.00-11.30 | £15 | 2-5yrs Old Gatehouse, Lenzie G66 3FB www.food-heroes.co.uk Food Heroes can offer a range of educational, fun and interactive cookery classes for children.

The children will become Food Heroes and lead the preparation and making of different meals/ snacks that can be taken home and enjoyed by the family.

Parents/Carers will assist them throughout. The classes will provide educational learning about all the lovely ingredients we use, different food groups, counting and weighing. It will give you the chance to spend one-toone time with your child and help in building relationships around food that can be transferred into the home.

27-30 Sep Elf and Faery Festival 11.00-16.00 | from £3 Greenbank House and Garden, Clarkston G768RB www.nts.org.uk Bring your little elves or fairies to the enchanted garden & woodland for this magical event. We’ve lots of fun themed activities for your little ones to enjoy. On arrival your litlte elf or faery will be given a challenge sheet with all activities listed to tick off on completion.

Discover your faery/elf name and then begin at any activity you

28 Sep Princesses of Pop 13.00+18.00 | £16/£14 The Mitchell Library, Glasgow G3 7DN, 01412872999 Serving you the hits of Little Mix and Ariana Grande, this show celebrates everything that girl power pop has to offer! You’ll hear hits such as Shout Out To My Ex, One Last Time and Black Magic and see the girls on stage in a more intimate environment that is perfect for kids and families.

30 Sep Bog Monster Hunt 11.00-16.00 | FREE Whitelee Windfarm Visitor Centre, Eaglesham G760QQ, 01416140962 www.scottishpower.co.uk/whitelee Can your team of monster hunters follow the clues to find the monsters and put them back in the bog with some help from the Whitelee Countryside Rangers?

Booking essential. Email whiteleecrs@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk 2 Oct Laurel and Hardy Film Screening 19.00 | TBC Britannia Panopticon Music Hall, Glasgow G1 5HD, 0141 553 0840 www.britanniapanopticon.org The Sons of the Desert present Laurel and Hardy comedy classics screened in the very auditorium where Stan Laurel made his stage debut, Glasgow's very own Britannia Panopticon Music Hall.

5 Oct Autumn Environmental Games 13.30-15.00 | FREE Knightswood Park, Glasgow G13 3XW, 01412760931 Get the kids outside and celebrate autumn with the Glasgow Countryside Rangers. Games include classic favourites, like

5 Oct Grado’s Big Family Wrestling Bash 14.00 | from £13.50 The Pavilion Theatre Glasgow, Glasgow G2 3AX, 01413321846 www.paviliontheatre.co.uk Don't miss an all star Wrestling extravaganza, a must see for wrestling fans of all ages. Full of spectacular wrestling action along with fun and exciting one on one and tag team action with an all star wrestling line up, this is sure to be a great family affordable afternoon out.

5 Oct Inspiring Nature Events 13.30-15.30 | FREE Castlemilk Park, Glasgow G45 0AZ, 01416342673 www.cassiltoun.org.uk Get inspired by nature on one of Castlemilk Park's regular events ranging from foraging for food and medicine to having breakfast with moths! Please dress for the weather. All abilities welcome.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

6 Oct Destination Space Station 10.00-15.00 | £8 The Hill House, Helensburgh G84 9AJ, 01436673900 www.nts.org.uk Pop-up Planetarium & Solar Observation: We begin by traveling back in time to have a look at the early space explorers the wonderful Apollo astronauts.

We then have a look at the night sky, learn how to navigate using the stars and how to find planets. Then BLAST OFF to the International Space Station to learn how astronauts live and work in space.

12 Oct Mr Men Little Miss 13.30 | £13/£11 Cumbernauld Theatre, Cumbernauld G67 2BN, 01236 737 235 www.cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk Join your favourite Mr. Men and Little Miss characters as they leap off the page and onto the stage in this beautifully crafted and hilarious live stage show!

Happyland bursts to life in a series of colourful and timeless stories told through puppetry and music.

24-27 Oct Marvel Universe Live!

Various times | from £24.95 SSE Hydro, Glasgow G3 8YW www.thessehydro.com Marvel fans, assemble for this live, action-packed, legendary battle to defend the universe from evil. Spider-Man, the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy join forces with Doctor Strange, master of the mystic arts, in a race against time to recover the Wand of Watoomb before it falls into Loki’s hands. Witness cutting-edge special effects, aerial stunts and video projection in this incredible adventure. familiesonline.co.uk

IT’S ON LIKE COMIC CON 28-29 SEPTEMBER 2019

SEC GLASGOW

@MCMCOMICCON familiesonline.co.uk

WWW.MCMCOMICCON.COM TICKETS ON SALE NOW KIDS 10 AND UNDER GO FREE

Families Glasgow 15

24th – 27th Oct 2019 thessehydro.com

© 2019 MARVEL 16 Families Glasgow

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