I’ve been feeling really tired the last few days. Even first thing in the morning, after a solid night’s sleep. I’ve been finding it hard to get motivated to do things, and just feeling like hunkering down with a book or film. And, I’ve been irritable. Lacking the patience with my son that I might … Continue reading Taking the time to grieve what we’ve lost
With many families in isolation right now, I imagine that parents all around the world will be starting to feel STRETCHED to their limits. I want to share with you a strategy that I've found can be particularly helpful when I’ve "hit a wall"! 👉 PLAYFUL EXAGGERATION is a way of expressing our authentic feelings … Continue reading A parenting strategy for when we reach our limits
😰 Chronic stress occurs when our body detects a threat and doesn’t return to a sense of safety. 😰 It means our “Fight or Flight” response stays switched on. 😰 This results in our body being constantly flooded with stress hormones. 😰 Over the longer term, this can suppress our immune system. 😰 Which can result in us being more … Continue reading Stress-busting ideas to curb coronavirus stress
Has your child ever had a puzzling behaviour that just won’t go away? A behaviour that keeps sticking around, no matter what strategies you try? One they keep repeating over and over, making you increasingly uncomfortable or perplexed? I call these “sticky” behaviours. Sometimes they can be an indication that something inside of US needs … Continue reading Sometimes our kids’ “sticky” behaviours reflect something within us that needs to shift
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there seems to be this phenomenon where our kids get ramped up in the evening, just when it’s time to start “winding down” and getting ready for bed - I’m going to call it “the 7 PM sillies”. Kids often seem to get super active, loud and silly … Continue reading Understanding the “7 pm sillies”: How play can help kids to feel calm, connected, reassured and ready for sleep!
Can you sometimes see your child's aggression coming, but just don’t really know how to respond to stop it? Deep breathing might help to calm a child, but it can be pretty hard to encourage them to do it once a fight-or-flight response has been triggered! And resorting to yelling, threatening "consequences", or “time out” … Continue reading Responding playfully to kids’ aggressive urges with faux fighting
Putting together my own observations and experiences, and what I know about the nervous system, I’d like to outline my understanding of what is going on when children lash out, how responding playfully can help, and why it can be so challenging for parents. WHY DO KIDS LASH OUT? When kids are lashing out, their nervous … Continue reading Kids’ aggression, responding playfully, and the challenge for parents
I recently saw a post from a mum sharing about how her young daughter had started to express discomfort with her weight, and to call herself fat. And then another post by a mum about how her son was having trouble learning, and had called himself dumb. In both of these situations, I really connected … Continue reading “I’m fat”, “I’m dumb” : Responding to kids’ negative self-talk
Most of us have habitual things we do in our daily lives that get in the way of us being truly present - with ourselves, our children and our partners (and any other people in our lives). Being present can be uncomfortable, and bring up a sense of vulnerability, especially if we have uncomfortable feelings … Continue reading Habitual patterns and finding mindful and fulfilling ways to meet our needs
Have you ever noticed how those situations in our lives that have the most "charge" for us, particularly in our relationships with our partners, children or other family members, are the most challenging ones to change? I'd like to share with you an example from my life. I used to have a lot of charge … Continue reading Lessening “charge” makes space for transformation!
