Eight new rules for parenting post lockdown 

Family rules and routines have been relaxed, or even abandoned, over the past few months.  A parenting expert says it’s time for adults to take back control at home. 

Eating dinner together reinforces quality family interaction, offering an opportunity to talk about everything from the food you're eating to problems at school. 

Who won’t admit that lockdown has played havoc with the way we parent our children? For many families, discipline has gone out of the window and routine has disappeared. Bedtimes have become later, teenagers have been sleeping past midday, and snacking and screen time have shot up for everyone.

Parents, for example, may have found themselves mucking about on TikTok filming dance routines with their teenagers or scoffing popcorn with their ten-year-olds while watching American sitcoms. While that’s not all bad — and most of us have enjoyed some much-needed time for family fun and bonding — the parenting expert and sociology professor Frank Furedi says that when parents lose their authority, children can suffer in the long run. He argues that faced with increasingly rebellious offspring, who claim that normal rules don’t apply, even the most confident parents can lose faith in themselves — and that is not a good thing.