Trauma, resilience and healing
“I think about trauma as any pattern of activating your stress response system that leads to an alteration in how that system is functioning, and that leads to an over-activity and an over-reactivity.” Dr. Bruce…
Read More
Our journey through Covid: A family activity for processing loss
I am so aware of so many living with deep loss at present. The losses have accumulated over the past 18 months in multiple, unanticipated ways. The thing that stands out for me is that…
Read More
Potjie Pot Poems
“I want people to identify with characters in the poems, and to laugh at themselves, to not beat themselves up about things but have a good laugh. I want people to know they’re not alone.”…
Read More
It’s been a week
It’s hard to parent nicely when things are hard. It’s hard to think about extending grace and patience when you yourself are hard-pressed in several different ways. Some of the things that have happened this…
Read More
Dinner time convos
One of the things I most often advise parents to do more of, is simply spend more intentional time with their children. Often if a child is acting out in some way, their “love tank*”…
Read More
Belonging and Reassurance
We need to recognise when children are presenting with reassurance-seeking behaviour and to do what we can to let them know “You belong here, you’re mine and I am so glad you are.” The best…
Read More
Building online safety for your family.
Part 2: Navigating online risks
This is about equipping ourselves to safeguard our children, the digital natives in our lives. Let’s think about some of the risks and add to what we can do to mitigate against them. The following…
Read More
The trauma hangover
Perhaps this week you have felt “fuzzy” in your mind, quite emotional, unable to make decisions, not quite settled and very, very tired. My good friend calls this a “trauma hangover”. Following the unrest in…
Read More
Fresh hope today
I admit that I have had to keep consciously choosing hope instead of despair at times. When we hold a value dear, it will usually be tested. That’s life. There are shake-ups and changes and…
Read More
Parenting in the midst of community trauma
Dear parents, I hope that you are safe and that you are ok. Your family and your children have been on my heart this past week. We may all still be in shock, still processing…
Read More