Parenting Support

You may have promised yourself that you would never do certain things and yet you may find yourself shouting, getting angry, shaming, or even smacking your child. You may then worry about the impact your response will have. The fact is, sometimes it can be really hard parenting, especially when your own experiences may have been met with varying levels of harshness or disconnection. For some parents you may worry that there may be something wrong with your baby or child when they cry, tantrum or act out by biting, hitting, or maybe when they just can’t listen or concentrate.

Sometimes even the simplest task, like leaving the playground, may become a huge emotional battlefield. In among all of this, you as a parent may begin to feel overwhelmed and the idea of getting a good night’s sleep may feel like an impossible dream.

There is so much conflicting information available to parents these days it may feel impossible to work out the best path for you and your child. Trying to decide on this path may become even harder when especially when your lovely child starts to act out. You may be told that they are too spoilt or that your child is manipulating or controlling you. If you are here, I imagine you have read many different books. I wonder whether you may feel you have done everything according to the book in terms of attachment parenting – meeting and respecting your child’s needs, parenting gently, breastfeeding, babywearing, and co-sleeping. As amazing as these attachment theories are, and as much as they have helped us become better parents, there is still a bit missing. With understanding comes compassion – at times it may feel that what your child is going through is huge, unfathomable, and impossible to shift, however, in my experience it is often so much easier than it may seem, and with a little more understanding and a few tools dramatic changes can occur.

And beautifully, as you learn to listen to what is happening for your child from a place of compassion and understanding, so too will you be able to do this for yourself. As a result, a movement begins between you and your child of ever-deepening understanding, compassion, and connection.