Jen Walshaw | Mum In The Madhouse

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Author name: Jen Walshaw

Mum-in-charge Jen Walshaw runs the UK’s top parenting blog Mum in the Madhouse, and she describes herself as a “fat, feisty and over 50” Northerner. Based in North Yorkshire, she’s mum to young adults and a big believer that family life is messy, creative and fun. In 2009 a double mastectomy gave her the nudge to start blogging; with two boys under three she needed an outlet and a digital scrapbook to capture their chaos.Jen’s posts are a mix of crafts, kid‑friendly recipes and honest parenting, peppered with northern humour. She’s happiest when up to her elbows in tea, fabric and pizza dough – sewing and making homemade gifts – before sneaking off to write about it. As a proud Northerner she warns PRs that a “quick pop down to London” isn’t quick at all. Her blog has earned her a stack of accolades, including the Cision #1 Mummy Blogger title in 2024  and consistently topping Vuelio and Tots100 parenting‑blog charts. Whether she’s advocating for diversity and body neutrality or sharing tales of parenting teens, Jen keeps things chatty, real and refreshingly down‑to‑earth.

Celebrating the Summer Solstice with Kids: Fun Activities, Nature Crafts, and the Magic of the Longest Day

The summer solstice occurs annually around June 20th or 21st in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the longest day and shortest night of the year. This astronomical event happens when the Earth’s North Pole is tilted closest to the sun, giving us the maximum amount of daylight. From this point onward, the days gradually begin to […]

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The Unwritten Rule of Family Food Shopping That Most Parents Ignore

Most parents who cook for their families are reasonably careful about the basics: checking use-by dates, keeping raw meat at the bottom of the fridge, and washing produce before use. But there is one habit that barely makes it into the conversation, and which can make a genuine difference to whether your family eats safely

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Where to Sell Cookbooks and Specialist Hobby Books Online in the UK

If you’ve got a shelf full of cookbooks, craft guides, hiking manuals, or other specialist hobby books gathering dust, you might be surprised by what they’re worth. Many of these titles hold their value better than general fiction because they continue to attract readers looking for specific information or skills. This guide covers five of

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Why Active Kids Need Proper Foot Support for Sport and Activity

It might begin subtly, with your child mentioning tired feet after playing, or seeming to lag during sports they typically dominate, and needing extra pauses during training sessions. As a parent, it can be difficult to know whether this is normal tiredness or something you should be concerned about. Active kids don’t always present with

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Why I Stopped Worrying About My Kids’ Screen Time When We Discovered Chess

There’s a certain twinge of worry that sweeps over many parents when their child disappears behind a glowing screen, immersed in endless apps and videos. Fear of sleep loss, eye strain, and that nagging dread about lazy afternoons creep in almost every day. Still, something truly surprising happened in my own home when we stopped

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How to Create a Family Entertainment Corner Without Overspending

Meta description: Learn how to create a family space full of warmth, laughter, and simple moments everyone will want to return to. When you think back to how things used to be, when families naturally spent more time together talking, watching movies, playing games, or just sitting in the same room without everyone being on

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Are Baby Bottle Warmers Safe? A Parent’s Guide to Safe Milk Warming

With a baby, you have to heat bottles on a daily basis. It is due to this that most parents warm up breast milk or formula in bottle warmers to get it to a comfortable temperature in a relatively short time. But there is a question that is always asked: Are baby bottle warmers safe?

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Could Do June – Joyful Activities for Families

Activities, Activities for Children, Could Do List, Summer, Family Fun Let me start with a little reminder — this isn’t a to-do list. It’s a could do list. June feels like summer stretching its arms. The evenings are longer, school terms are winding down, gardens are bursting with colour, and there are opportunities everywhere to

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