Hand in Hand Parenting
Having two boys is great, wonderful. And simultaneously, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. As a childminder I used to look after 3 toddlers every day, but having two of my own children felt like working at a different level. Maybe because child care and parenting are very different jobs! It's the arguments, … Continue reading PlayListening our way out of Sibling Rivalry.
A crying child needs help to stop. If we stop our child from crying, it means they are ok. It’s the biggest parenting myth. We’ve been misled to believe that when our child stops crying it means the bad feeling has gone away, and our child is ok again. This isn’t just a parenting myth, … Continue reading The Biggest Parenting Myth – Crying is Bad.
Happy New Year! I do know it's February already - how did THAT happen? But this year I decided to try sometime new. For years now, just acknowledging that I don't have as much energy in the winter, when it's dark and cold, wasn't enough. I was still trying to DO everything. And then I … Continue reading New Year, New Balance, New Consistency.
I had read so many books and some made sense. The images they conjured up were exactly what I was aiming for, the tips sounded right up my street, suited my ethics, the culture I wanted to adopt in my own family. Bam! I'd found "it", sorted! Next time I had a tricky situation with … Continue reading Parenting Books Vs Being Listened to.
I don't mean that a child needs two parents, or that co-parents need to be on the same parenting page. But that as parents we need other parents around us, to support US. I feel lucky that I still love, and more importantly, LIKE the man I co-parent with. I'm married to him and largely … Continue reading We’re Not Supposed to Parent Alone!
We were doing ok, my two sons, my husband and I. We had our share of struggles. The sibling arguments, the universal family struggles of getting the kids out of the door on time. The dragged-out, seemingly never-ending bedtime battles. No huge issues. But SURELY family life could be better than mildly (or hugely) irritating? … Continue reading Surely Family Life (and Bedtimes) Shouldn’t be Such A Struggle!
If you have ever worked with me personally, or seen any of my webinars, it's likely that I will have gone on and on about Listening Partnerships. Well, I'm going to go on about them again! Because they have not only changed my parenting, they have changed my life! If you have ever tried listening … Continue reading Getting Listening Support Makes All The Difference
(First published on http://www.handinhandparenting.org) Those of us who know the power in expressing all of our feelings feel differently about crying. Instead of shutting down crying, we welcome the tears. When those of us in the know get together, we might be overheard excitedly exclaiming “Oh, they had a brilliant, long cry this morning!” with … Continue reading HELP! My Child Won’t Let Me Staylisten… What Can I Do?
I really haven't known what I've wanted to say for nearly the whole of lockdown. Every time I have thought I might have something I might like to share, the following week has turned my head and I've felt entirely different, leaving me feeling like a complete fraud for the previous week's mood. At one … Continue reading Being Listened to Gives us Space to Think.
“Go away! I hate you!” Never a nice thing to hear. Especially screamed. Loudly. In a public place. Sometimes I think my life can be split into before Hand in Hand Parenting, and after. Like driving to new locations using an unwieldy paper map and then discovering satellite navigation. Before I learnt some good information … Continue reading Turning “I hate you!” around.
Katy Linsley 