The Empowered Parenting Programme

This is a great question.

You are correct in many ways. Parenting in its purest form is about keeping our offspring alive. I think it's fair to say we can all manage that, often with bells and whistles.

However, being a parent is so much more than this. As every generation passes, we learn more and the world changes. The speed of these changes is vast, and what we tend to do in parenting is 'assume' that we can do it, which we absolutely can and usually do it pretty well.

However, I think we can all agree that we all want the best for our children. In previous generations, they had little information about emotional development in parenting. Therefore often, the focus was on the physical well-being of children. We, however, cannot go forward with the idea that we have all the answers within us, and if we are true to ourselves very often, we feel like we're flying by the seat of our pants on our parenting journey (I know I do).

We cannot continue to expect ourselves to know what we don't know. We wouldn't apply this philosophy in any other area of our lives. We would obtain the appropriate training in the workplace or read books, scour the internet, or take a course to help us understand what is required in this super important role.

There is a lot of information out there; however, I aim to make it receivable and straightforward so that you can understand your child from the inside out.

I hear you...... your child's behaviour may be driving you nuts at times. However, we CANNOT control another human, but what we can do is control ourselves, therefore by learning about ourselves and our parenting beliefs and behaviours, we can then influence our children in a calm and confident way, which will naturally influence changes in the ways that they react and respond to you.

I will be the first to hold my hands up and say I have found it challenging; even as a therapist, I have not had all the answers over the years. 

But this is why I'm here now for you.

We don't have to do everything the most challenging way, and this course will help you be aware of how you interact with your child and, as a result, how they respond. By making some minor changes, you will be amazed at how quickly children adapt, and all of a sudden, life is calmer than we ever imagined.

That's not to say that there won't be tears and tantrums from time to time, but you will have the confidence to manage them without feeling you want to pull your hair out.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

Most parents act with the best intentions. 

Most parents want the best for their children, but not every parent knows what that looks like. That doesn't mean they are 'bad' parents; it may just mean they are ill-informed.

Remember that we all have different perceptions of 'normal' that doesn't make it right or wrong.

Also, if we're looking at what defines a good parent, even seemingly 'good' parenting doesn't always actually equip children for the big wide world; therefore, we need to look at this more broadly and with less judgment.

Parenting is complex, yet we have such little guidance.

This is where stripping it back and looking at what ACTUALLY matters when it comes to parenting and knowing what shapes our parenting actions is crucial to understanding how we can provide our children with what is needed rather than what we can give.

No, most parenting courses focus on a child's physical needs, whereas we concentrate on children's emotional development.

A child's emotional development is key to their future mental health and decision-making; therefore, addressing this is vital when raising a family.

We also look at the strategies to support you in raising your child with emotional awareness and exploring your belief systems and how you were raised. How we are parented informs our parenting style, together with our life experiences, even when we don't think it is. Therefore this programme is as much about you as it is about your parenting and your child.

I'm so glad you're considering this question because this course requires deep diving into your life and history, so this is an absolutely valid question.

One way I will try and help everyone who signs up for this programme is to have a course call with you to iron out any concerns you may have.

I want you to be as comfortable and confident as possible that this is the right place for you. If, for any reason, whilst we are speaking together, I think an alternative route may be better, then I will be very open and honest with you about this.

I aim to help, not to hinder. So, therefore, we need to establish between us that it is the right place for you.

I hope that alleviates your concerns.

Throughout the programme, you will not be expected to share anything unless you want to.

Equally, you will not be directly asked to answer any questions.

How much you participate is entirely your choice.

The programme is designed to enable you to take on board the information from each session when we meet, and you can then carry out further exploration using the workbooks provided.

Some of this work will be carried out within the sessions, but to get the most from the sessions, I would encourage you to complete the workbooks fully at your leisure in your own time. This, however, is not essential and does not determine whether you can attend the programme; this is simply recommended.