Ugly Duckling: the beautiful way to make time count

Ugly Duckling: the beautiful way to make time count

When the parents of a five-year-old were handed a copy of a new family resource, it revolutionised their times together.

‘One of the key benefits of Table Talk for Children was that it actually made us stop,’ the parent explained. ‘We had a good 45 minutes to an hour just laughing together. We laughed at silly answers and dug deeper into the more intriguing ones. We made sure we had the time we needed to think about our answers during one round, and then followed this up with a quick-fire round. It was really lovely to have something which made us carve out time.’

As Sharon Lanfear, director of the Ugly Duckling company, producers Table Talk, said: ‘Talking is important for everyone, but it’s particularly crucial to the mental and emotional health and development of children and young people. When we support children to talk it can strengthen our relationships with them and give them space to express how they are thinking and feeling. We are therefore excited to launch three new resources to encourage children and adults to get talking together. You can use these resources if you are a parent, grandparent, a children’s worker or a teacher.’

• Table Talk for Children is for children aged 7-11 (with some questions suitable for ages 5-6). The box contains six themes exploring: Home Life, School Time, The World, Well-being, Friends and Technology – helping children express their thoughts and feelings around issues that really matter to them.

• Table Talk for Families offers a fun way to get families talking, laughing and spending quality time together. Exploring 21 Themes this mini pack can be used at home, in the car, on holiday, at meals times or at family gatherings.

• Table Talk for Early Years was developed in partnership with the Diocese of Gloucester. This is a pack of 21 question and activity cards designed to get parents, carers and children aged two to four talking and playing together.

 ‘At the Ugly Duckling Company, we are passionate about helping people find life in all its fullness through the power of conversation,’ said Sharon.

• The Ugly Duckling Company are on stand P49 at CRE Midlands 23

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands