A high percentage of kids participate in extra-curricular activities at their schools and collages. As parents we recognise the value these activities bring to our children (plus it gives us a little more child free time!). Besides being a fun way to spend their time, after school clubs and classes are great learning, growing, and development tools for young kids and teens alike. I've prepared a list of extra-curricular activities that can help promote cognitive development in kids of all ages.

It is now such a commonly held understanding that buying single use plastic bottles is bad that it almost seems like we never thought any other way. Could it really be just 12-24 months ago we were buying bottled water and other drinks without a care, using carrier bags, not moaning at our supermarkets for plastic use? Well, yes it can, things have changed fast and one of the really big areas that was quite an easy change for most people was the humble drinks bottle. Not only did buying a reusable drinks bottle help keep our “Blue Planet” conscience clear it was also a chance to make a statement, to look cool or to have something new to make our own. There are now companies offering branded water bottles for events and businesses, you can buy reusable bottles in supermarkets, on Amazon and in all manner of other places.

We rushed out to buy all manner of water bottles but now the dust has settled a bit, which types were any good? Which ones last, which ones are green and which ones were a bit of a con?

Here is a quick guide to some of the more common types of reusable bottle that we have all had time to reflect on.

My weight has always fluctuated and whenever my focus slips away from my eating habits I tend to put on weight. I’ve been really busy over the last few months and my diet has suffered meaning I need to lose about a stone to comfortably fit back into my summer wardrobe. The Dietbon diet meals delivery service does all the thinking for you, delivering balanced meal plans which should help you lose up to 2lb per week.

Sounds like a really good idea when you are a bit too busy to properly concentrate on healthy eating, but does it work?

The health benefits of practising yoga have long been established, and recently there’s been a surge in popularity for taking those weekly sessions one step further; by getting away from the stresses of everyday life by embarking on a longer-term yoga retreat.

We often dismiss a child’s anxiety as a temporary phase that they will soon outgrow. However, when anxiety reaches a level to which it hampers your child’s life, parents should seek medical help. Left untreated, serious anxiety may only get worse, not better.  Eventually, as a coping mechanism, the child may resort to avoiding any situations they find uncomfortable. Anxiety in our society is a big issue.  In the United States alone, 40 million Americans are said to be suffering from anxiety. Meanwhile here in the UK, it is more than 15%.

Our home is the one place in the world where we can go to be by ourselves, close the front door and forget about the world around us. But, have you ever thought about how your home décor can help your health?

While traveling can be fun, it can also be a challenge in certain circumstances. Any form of a health condition can make travel difficult, especially if the journey is a frequent necessity, rather than a luxury holiday. Regular travel, be it for work or personal reasons, can put a strain on anyone with a health condition, in particular for heart patients since travel can make their condition worse.

A new routine with precautions and safety measures can make travel for heart patients more convenient and fruitful. I've teamed up with the experts at Click Pharmacy to bring you some top tips and precautionary measures to think about at each stage of your journey. If you are a heart patient and travel frequently, you could make your trip healthier and more productive by following these three tips:

It's the beginning of a new year which means time to focus on how 2019 can be an even healthier year plus review what is and isn't working in your beauty regime. I've put together a roundup of the latest New Year, New You products on the market to help make this year your best ever!

And with a blink 2018 is over. It was a busy one for be both professionally and personally with a Summer heatwave to remember thrown in for good measure. This time last year I set 18 work and blogging goals for 2018 and I can hardly believe it is time to look back and see how the past 12mths shifted and shaped my expectations and what I am still working towards in 2019.

Let’s Talk About Dying. No? Well no one would blame you. Very few people want to talk about dying and even less are able to do so with any kind of cheer. But, it really should be something we talk about. People love to talk about inevitable things like tax, weather, illness, traffic, work and so on but yet when it comes to the single most guaranteed thing in life we clam up.

There is, of course a reason for this and that is because it is sad, scary and a whole host of others things as well as being a bit impolite in some situations. The irony of it all is by talking about it less we actually make it all worse. If we were more open about it we can avoid some of the more negative aspects of dying.