July 2020 – Mummy ACT

Coping compassionately with pet bereavements

We were very sad to lose our guinea pig Fudge recently. I’m a believer in trying to salvage some good from pain, so in Fudge’s memory I wanted to write about supporting children – and particularly ourselves as parents – to cope with the loss of a pet. Child development and grief Depending on theContinue reading “Coping compassionately with pet bereavements”

Parent Anger Management

Apologies in advance as this is a long one – feel free to skim the headings, take what you like and leave the rest. We had an experience of anger management ourselves as a family last week with the tricky combination of my daughter’s typical 3-year-old boundary pushing, connection seeking and risk taking behaviours andContinue reading “Parent Anger Management”

ACTively coping with connection seeking behaviours, meltdowns and separation anxiety in the “new normal”

I’ve been reflecting this week on what it’s like through a child’s eyes to come out of lockdown and into a new world of shifting rules and expectations, change and uncertainty. I’ve also been thinking about how this affects both parent and child attachment styles and what all this means for big emotions, meltdowns (bothContinue reading “ACTively coping with connection seeking behaviours, meltdowns and separation anxiety in the “new normal””

Selective Eating – A Parent Survival Guide

Most of us as parents will likely deal with some level of selective eating at some point. If you bring the subject up at a toddler group, at least someone will relate to the challenge and have some advice from experience. There are lots of opinions and ideas around on the subject from ‘just putContinue reading “Selective Eating – A Parent Survival Guide”

ACT, Grief and Pregnancy Loss

Often when we think of grief, we think of the loss of a loved one, a friend or family member. Those of us unlucky enough to experience miscarriage also experience the loss of a loved one we never got to meet. Those of us who experience stillbirth experience the loss of a baby that neverContinue reading “ACT, Grief and Pregnancy Loss”