For much of my life, I felt like a puppet—my actions dictated by fear, perfectionism, and a constant urge to please. Growing up in an authoritarian home where affection was conditional and expectations unyielding, I learned early to silence my true self for the sake of harmony and approval. It took years of struggle, loss,Continue reading “Poem: Strings and Wings”
Tag Archives: Parenting
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”
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”
Tidy Attic, Happy Home: Storing Kids’ Unused Items Without Saying Goodbye
Being solo with 3 young kids and a lot of hoarded toys, books, teddies… it made for a very stressful life clearing away. I desperately wanted things to be organised so we could find things easily and so it would leave room for creative sparks to happen. Tidying up was becoming very burdensome. Something hadContinue reading “Tidy Attic, Happy Home: Storing Kids’ Unused Items Without Saying Goodbye”
Home Educating Poem: What The First Year Taught Us
Although I’m writing this in 2025, with over 3 years unschooling under the belt, I found all my old poems the other day. This is one I wrote when we reached the first year of home educating milestone. That first year taught me such a lot, so I guess you could say homeschooling is notContinue reading “Home Educating Poem: What The First Year Taught Us”
3 Years Since… We Started Unschooling
Wow! I’ve not done a blog post on this site for 3 years. This is pretty much the same period since my oldest daughter turned compulsory school age. My life, on the other hand, has been far from quiet. We now have two 6.5 year olds and an 8 year old, so in fact, itContinue reading “3 Years Since… We Started Unschooling”
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”
The Good Enough Parent by School of Life Book Review
I’m honoured to have been offered The Good Enough Parent book to write a review about before it’s released. The title was very exciting for me whilst I waited for it to arrive. I imagined it to fill me with confidence that our kids will still turn out happy enough without us being perfect. MyContinue reading “The Good Enough Parent by School of Life Book Review”
Life Changing Question: Who Should We Hang Out With?
This feels like the first life changing question my gut instinct doesn’t help me answer. Is it beneficial to hang around with other people who are not gentle in parenting or teaching style? Will exposing my 3 young children to, in my opinion, unhealthy emotional or physical situations cause any harm? On the flip side,Continue reading “Life Changing Question: Who Should We Hang Out With?”
I Managed To Take 3 Young Children Out Alone, Safely
We finally did it! I managed to safely take our 4 year 3 month old, and 2 year 7 month old twins out alone. Why? How? What would I do differently? Most importantly, would I do it again? This blog post answers these questions. What Stopped Me Going Out When the twins were newborn andContinue reading “I Managed To Take 3 Young Children Out Alone, Safely”
Gentle Parent 