A (VERY) HONEST TAKE ON
LIVING, WORKING AND PARENTING IN DUBAI
FREE – downloadable family wall planner for 2021

FREE – downloadable family wall planner for 2021

FREE downloadable family wall planner for 2020

FREE downloadable family wall planner for 2020

Your guide to getting a Will

Your guide to getting a Will

Why we need to get real about parenthood

Why we need to get real about parenthood

How should we parent in the digital age?

How should we parent in the digital age?

Nanny or nursery? Finding childcare in Dubai

Nanny or nursery? Finding childcare in Dubai

#InIt… For my family

#InIt… For my family

My little black book: 2018 edition

My little black book: 2018 edition

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FREE – downloadable family wall planner for 2021

  It’s the start of a brand new year. What does it hold? Nobody knows. Probably some Zoom meetings and home schooling, but hopefully some birthday parties and travels too. Whatever happens, download and print this to keep you and the clan organised. And it has UAE weekends blocked out. 2021 WALLPLANNER MOTHERSHIP (1) To […]


  • 2020 WALLPLANNER MOTHERSHIP

FREE downloadable family wall planner for 2020

  I mock my husband A LOT for his planning. He’s the king of Excel, with our holidays, family meet-ups and more, all plotted out in colour-coded glory.   But guess what? It works. So that shuts me up.   In 2017 he created a huge (A0) wall planner for our kitchen, and it helped a […]


  • expat wills dubai

Your guide to getting a Will

    So you have kids, and maybe some property or savings, and you feel like a grown-up. Is that enough? A little like the dentist, getting a Will is something we MEAN to do, but we’re busy, life gets in the way – and we don’t really want to face up to reality anyway. […]


  • waterwipes mothershipdxb real parenting

Why we need to get real about parenthood

  I’ve just spent the last hour patting my daughter’s back so she’ll fall asleep. Her eyes will close, and I think it’s time to ninja roll off her bed and crawl towards the door, then they’ll fly open and she’ll stare into my very soul, accusingly. I know which floor tiles are to be […]


  • screen time norton dubai mothership

How should we parent in the digital age?

  A survey by Norton has revealed that children in the UAE are among the youngest in the world to receive their first mobile device, with age seven being the average. And 66% of parents have admitted that they worry about spending too much time on their own phones. I confess I’m one of them. […]


Nanny or nursery? Finding childcare in Dubai

      With many Dubai households having two people that contribute financially, finding a childcare solution that works for the family is something of a priority when the baby arrives.   The nanny vs nursery discussion is one to have with your partner, and it’s essential to weight up the benefits and potential drawbacks […]


  • linkedin mothership

#InIt… For my family

  “The obligation for working mothers is a very precise one: the feeling that one ought to work as if one did not have children, while raising one’s children as if one did not have a job” said Annabel Crabb. And I’ve had a few (okay, many) dilemmas about being a working mother over the […]


  • little black book mothership dubai

My little black book: 2018 edition

    I first wrote down my recommendations for everything from handymen to hairdressers more than two years ago. Times changes, people leave, new experts arrive, and it’s time for an update.     Over the last eleven years I’ve tried and tested a lot of services from the good and bad to the very […]


Stranger danger and tricky people

Stranger danger. That was the phrase growing up that we were taught (and it rhymed, so that helps). But I’ve felt uncomfortable with the concept of telling my kids that all strangers are ‘bad’ people who can’t be trusted. The majority aren’t. Over the weekend, a man approached Phoebe in a hotel lobby and tried […]


  • party mattel dubai mothership

Party time at Mattel Play Town

    I was conflicted about having a party for Phoebe’s third birthday – the hassle of invites, food, party bags, entertainment, chit-chat with other parents, the (very real) threat of a tantrum as a result of too much cake and attention. In honesty, I very nearly didn’t bother.   But she’s friends with a […]

ABOUT ME

 

I’m Helen Farmer, an editor and journalist, mum to 4-year-old Phoebe and 2-year-old Tabitha, wife to Nick and a mummy blogger in Dubai (even though I don’t really identify as one, but I blog, and I’m a mum, so there you go). I’ve been living in the Middle East for the last 10 years, working in books, magazines and broadcasting, shedding some light on the good and bad of life, work and motherhood in the UAE.

ABOUT THE BLOG

The Mothership is for you if you’re a busy, active mum who can’t stand small talk, bad info and twee blogs that make out that mothering is all unicorns and rose petals, instead of admitting that you can love your child so much it terrifies you – while still wanting a night in alone watching The Great British Bake Off with a double G&T or a night out pretending you don’t have children.

 

Time Out Dubai Kids Awards 2016 - Winner - Parent Blog of 2016

 

TOP POSTS

wallplanner image

FREE – downloadable family wall planner for 2021

  It's the start of a brand new year. What does it hold? Nobody knows. Probably some Zoom meetings and home
Read More
2020 WALLPLANNER MOTHERSHIP

FREE downloadable family wall planner for 2020

  I mock my husband A LOT for his planning. He’s the king of Excel, with our holidays, family meet-ups and
Read More
expat wills dubai

Your guide to getting a Will

    So you have kids, and maybe some property or savings, and you feel like a grown-up. Is that enough? A
Read More
waterwipes mothershipdxb real parenting

Why we need to get real about parenthood

  I’ve just spent the last hour patting my daughter’s back so she’ll fall asleep. Her eyes will close, and I
Read More
screen time norton dubai mothership

How should we parent in the digital age?

  A survey by Norton has revealed that children in the UAE are among the youngest in the world to receive
Read More
childcare dubai

Nanny or nursery? Finding childcare in Dubai

      With many Dubai households having two people that contribute financially, finding a childcare solution that works for the family is
Read More
linkedin mothership

#InIt… For my family

  “The obligation for working mothers is a very precise one: the feeling that one ought to work as if one
Read More
little black book mothership dubai

My little black book: 2018 edition

    I first wrote down my recommendations for everything from handymen to hairdressers more than two years ago. Times changes, people
Read More

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