When my oldest daughter was around four or five, I remember writing a desperate question to a gentle parenting group online. The responses I received left me guilty, ashamed, and in tears. My instincts told me she needed to stop sucking her thumb, yet gentle parenting advice seemed to say otherwise. Torn and overwhelmed, IContinue reading “Gently Stopping Thumb Sucking”
Category Archives: Emotions
Poem: Splitting In Three
Bedtime in our house has always been a journey—sometimes sweet, often challenging, and lately, more emotional than ever. As a parent of three, I’ve found myself pulled in different directions, wishing I could be everywhere at once to comfort each of my children through their nighttime fears and worries. Over the years, we’ve tried everyContinue reading “Poem: Splitting In Three”
Poem: The (W)hole of Me
My life so far has been a powerful and moving story—one not widely known. For years, I struggled to find a way to set it free. This poem was born from that journey, inspired by the idea of transforming “the hole of me” into “the whole of me,” a concept I embraced after taking aContinue reading “Poem: The (W)hole of Me”
Breaking the “Don’t Care” Habit: Our Journey to Raising Caring Kids
My young children were so caring-worried about whether we might accidentally tread on a passing ant, always showing concern to each other or animals in particular. But almost overnight, it seemed, they became 6- and 8-year-olds with a new favourite phrase: “I don’t care!” The empathy I cherished seemed to vanish, replaced by indifference andContinue reading “Breaking the “Don’t Care” Habit: Our Journey to Raising Caring Kids”
Bringing Pinocchio to Life: A Magical Read-Aloud Experience for Kids
When my oldest daughter was about four or five years old, I wanted to find a chapter book version of Pinocchio for her. We had already enjoyed some shorter adaptations of the story, but I was eager for her to experience the full magic of the tale. Growing up, I was enchanted by Disney’s classic Pinocchio film, and IContinue reading “Bringing Pinocchio to Life: A Magical Read-Aloud Experience for Kids”
Why Our Kids’ Freedom Means More Stress for Us
Have you ever felt torn between wanting your child to be independent and worrying about what might happen if you let go? You’re not alone. Autonomy is defined as “the ability to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else”. Thinking of our kids, the more control we give our children, the less stress they experience. As children gain autonomy, parents naturallyContinue reading “Why Our Kids’ Freedom Means More Stress for Us”
The Messy Journey To Maturation
This blog post will look at the long and messy journey to being a mature individual. It looks at what an immature person looks like. It discusses the essential path to maturity: expression of all feelings. It includes my own messy journey of how I was to finally arrive at maturation.
Mixed Feelings: Brain Development and the 5-7 Shift
What if it was mostly thanks to our relationship with our parents that we grow into mature and lovely grown ups… or, the opposite, our parents prevented our brains from developing to their full potential which turned us into immature people who react in the moment? If this is true, then we have a dutyContinue reading “Mixed Feelings: Brain Development and the 5-7 Shift”
Oh, The Tears! “I Don’t Want To Die EVER!”
You may have read my previous post about my own fear of death, which the early COVID situation brought to the surface frequently. I had just about turned my life around to being healthier, with the aim of living as long as possible, when my daughter was extremely sad about the prospect of her ownContinue reading “Oh, The Tears! “I Don’t Want To Die EVER!””
How Do You Know If You’re Healed? From Trauma, From Life’s Sadness, From Anxiety?
I personally don’t feel I have more than a normal level of sadness anymore. I’m not denying there are still parts that are grieving inside me. However the other day I thought, what if I am deeply sad? Perhaps everyone else can see it and I am in denial. I decided to write this postContinue reading “How Do You Know If You’re Healed? From Trauma, From Life’s Sadness, From Anxiety?”
Gentle Parent 