Welcome to your parenting hub for the moments that matter
Being a parent isn't easy - and you're not expected to have all the answers.
Every day brings new questions. How do I help my anxious child settle into school? What's the best way to explain scary news headlines? How can I keep my family safe during extreme weather?
You're already doing an incredible job, but sometimes we all need a little extra support. That's exactly what this parenting hub is for.
Here you'll find practical parenting tips, expert insights, and reassuring guidance for the moments that matter most - from everyday learning opportunities to navigating those tricky conversations we all face. Save the Children has spent over a century working with children and families around the world. We've drawn on that expertise to bring you advice for parents that's grounded in research and real experience.
Updated: June 2025
Learning and Development
Turn everyday moments into learning opportunities. From kitchen maths to storytelling adventures, these parenting tips help your child thrive while strengthening family bonds - no fancy equipment needed.
In this section, you can find how to make learning fun at home, what activities support your child's development, how to encourage creativity and imagination and how to make reading more engaging for your child.
Safety and Wellbeing
Every parent worries about keeping their children safe—physically and emotionally. From extreme weather protection to recognizing signs of anxiety, get practical guidance that helps your family stay safe and emotionally healthy through everyday challenges and unexpected situations.
We cover everything from how to keep children safe online, extreme weather protection, recognizing signs of anxiety and supporting children through worried moments.
Difficult Conversations Made Easier
Get age-appropriate guidance for those tricky topics every parent faces. Whether it's explaining climate change, discussing distressing news, or helping children understand big world issues, approach these conversations with confidence and compassion.
In this section, you can find answers to how to talk to your kids about hard things (such as refugees, gender equality and more), how to talk to your child about scary news stories, what is the best way to explain climate change to children and how to discuss difficult topics without frightening them.
Values & Character Building
Find practical strategies for raising children who care about others, understand different perspectives, and feel confident making a positive difference. These approaches help build empathy, resilience, and global awareness in age-appropriate ways.
In this section, you can find answers to how to raise a child to become a compassionate, globally-aware citizen, how to discuss gender equality, how to challenge unconscious bias and raise a global citizen and how to talk about refugees.
Common Parenting Questions
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How do I talk to my child about scary news?
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Keep explanations age-appropriate, honest but reassuring. Focus on what's being done to help, limit their exposure to repeated news coverage, and create space for them to ask questions. Let them know it's normal to feel worried and that you're there to keep them safe. Younger children (under 7) need very brief, simple answers. Older children benefit from more context and the chance to express their feelings. Avoid watching rolling news together and check in with them over the following days.
Read our full guide to talking to kids about distressing current events.
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What are signs my child might be anxious?
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Look for changes in behaviour like trouble sleeping, increased clinginess, physical complaints (tummy aches, headaches), avoiding activities they used to enjoy, or increased irritability. Children often express anxiety through behaviour rather than words. If symptoms persist for more than two weeks or are affecting school or friendships, speak to your GP or school SENCO. Reassurance, consistent routine, and open conversation are usually the most effective first steps.
Read our guide to helping children with back-to-school anxiety.
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How can I support my child's learning at home?
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Turn everyday moments into learning opportunities - cooking teaches maths, shopping teaches budgeting, storytelling builds literacy. Follow their interests, keep it playful, and prioritise connection over perfection. Learning happens naturally when children feel curious and supported. Research consistently shows that parental involvement in learning - even in small daily doses - has one of the biggest positive effects on educational outcomes. You don't need a structured lesson plan; five minutes of conversation about what they're curious about is enough.
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What's the best way to explain climate change to children?
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Use age-appropriate language, focus on solutions alongside problems, and emphasise that many people are working to help. Let them take small actions (recycling, nature care) so they feel empowered rather than helpless. Answer their questions honestly but without overwhelming them. For children under 8, focus on nature and caring for the environment rather than the science. Older children can handle more information and often benefit from taking part in local or school-based environmental activities.
Read our guide to talking to children about the climate crisis.
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How do I raise a compassionate, globally-aware child?
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Model empathy in your own behaviour, expose them to diverse stories and perspectives, encourage questions about fairness and differences, and create opportunities for them to help others in age-appropriate ways. Compassion grows through practice and example. Simple habits - like discussing news stories together, reading books featuring characters from different backgrounds, or talking openly about why inequality exists - build global awareness gradually and naturally.
Read our guide to raising compassionate, globally-aware children.
Parenting in the hardest moments
Save the Children supports parents not just in the UK, but in some of the most challenging places in the world - including families living through conflict, displacement, and crisis.
In Ukraine, our Safe Families programme works with parents like Andrii*, a single father raising three children in a frontline city in the Kharkiv region. Through structured sessions on positive parenting and stress management, Andrii learned practical tools that changed his relationship with his 13-year-old son, Artem*. "I became more balanced, I don't shout," Andrii says. "When my son does something [that frustrates me], I clench my fists, hold for 10 seconds - and it passes."
His son Artem* puts it simply: after the programme, his dad "became kinder, helps more. He helps with homework, or when I feel sad."
From Sheffield to Kharkiv, the same truth holds: parenting support works. And when parents are supported, children thrive.
Read more about Save the Children's family support programmes around the world.
*Names changed to protect identities
Andrii*, 43, is a single father raising his three children, including his youngest son Artem*, 13, in a frontline city in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Taking on the full responsibility of parenting during the war has been challenging, especially as daily life, education, and emotional wellbeing have all been disrupted.
