Whether you have trained in Emotion Coaching, Circle of Security, or Triple P, almost all parenting approaches include the importance of soothing and validating emotions before moving into problem solving – and indeed, children are excellent at solving their own problems if we just give them enough support to do so. But in the thick …
It’s early morning and Toothless is distressed. “There are THREE mornings I have to go to school early. I don’t want to!” he tells me. I’m not a morning person either – he has a sympathetic ear with me. I sit beside him on the bed, “That makes perfect sense,” I tell him. “You’re only …
There’s this moment when I’m flying down the hill, wind in my face, blue sky above me, and I notice this thought passing by – that this is it, THIS is tasting freedom. It’s exhilarating, and not just because I’ve got all that lovely exercise endorphin flowing through me. In fact, this freedom has nothing …
I don’t know what your reading list is like – maybe it’s a little like mine. Last year, I was super excited to hear a colleague of mine had his book published. What a magnificent achievement. Then I looked at the pile of books beside my bed I was slowly making my way through, and …
I’m reflecting on the amazing five weeks I’ve just had traveling abroad with my family, an opportunity which was made possible by a generous scholarship I was awarded by the Perth Convention Bureau and Giving West. I had an incredible trip of planning research, attending workshops, networking, and a brilliant conference interspersed with gelato, volcanoes, …
There’s this mother sitting before me and she tries to stem the tears. It’s been weeks since her son has been to school. We’ve been tracking this for a while, her and I – and today her exhaustion is palpable. This mother who would move the heavens and the earth for her children; whose resources …
It must be just about every parent’s struggle – the constant attempts to increase the vegetable intake of our little bundles o’ joy, through their toddler years and beyond. Often it starts out fine – many the smug mother of an infant has boasted that her little one eats ALL his veggies… only to discover …
* This one’s for the ladies – School Dads are a different kettle of fish all together * “So I was watching this show, and there’s this psychologist – no psychiatrist -,” “Or clairvoyant, whatever,” I interject. We all laugh. It’s an in-joke reference, now several years old. I pause in this moment to look around …
It’s nearly here – that gorgeous six-week break at the end of the school year. It’s a time I look forward to SOOO MUCH!! I LOVE the extra time with my little people… oh, and that break from the school-day routine!! But have you ever had the experience where the IDEA of school holidays has been …
At the recent Australia/New Zealand Association of Contextual Behaviour Science conference, I was enthralled by guest speaker Dr Tim Kasser (Professor of Psychology at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois), who spoke on the contradiction of what society tells us will improve well-being, and what actually does. I’m cut from the same cloth as Dr Kasser when it …