Wellbeing workshops and talks in schools

Aware Parenting or Aware Teaching provides a deeply reflective way to look at children’s behaviour and support children in their daily lives to ensure their emotional and mental health needs are met. As these strategies are based on developmental psychology, you can be reassured parents and children are learning vital skills to be healthy happy members of society. The strategies are also deeply reflective and support staff, parents and the community’s emotional wellbeing and mental health.

As a primary school teacher for 17 years who used rewards and punishments and other tools to help discipline children, I have since changed my belief in these systems. I am passionate about sharing these necessary skills with schools and supporting teachers and parents to help their children access their intrinsic motivation to do what is asked of them. Rewards and punishments rely on extrinsic motivation and it is so 'rewarding' to help children realise their deep need to be co-operative and helpful through their natural desire to do so. It is about changing our ways of interpreting children’s behaviour and instead looking at unmet needs as the reason for children’s difficult behaviour.

As a mum of a 6 year old and 2 year old, I love how these methods really DO work and most importantly fosters strong connections and makes for a happier home, classroom and school. I certainly don't find these methods easy, but I know when I remember the essence, it deepens the relationships in my family. I hope I can help bring these ideas into your children's classroom and home.

Possible workshops: Some of these can be a 2 hour introduction or run over the course of 4 weeks allowing for deeper work.

What is aware parenting?

Discipline without rewards and punishments

Democratic discipline

The 3 step technique to solving behaviour problems

Attachment Play: Effective discipline using play

The healing mechanism of crying, raging and laughing

Helping young children flourish