12 - Finding self-love and self-compassion as a parent with Nathalie Alvarado

THE SECRET to making potty learning an enjoyable experience for both you and your child.
⁠
All children go through potty learning and it’s something every single parent has to face at some point.⁠
⁠
It can sometimes be a struggle and cause a lot of stress but the secret is it doesn’t have to be that way! It can be a wonderful journey that you and your child share (with a few clean ups here and there )⁠
⁠
In this interview I speak with Neus Carmona , who has helped hundreds of parents love potty learning as much as she does!⁠
⁠
We approach this topic from a child centred, Montessori point of view, focusing on the child and following their pace rather than forcing them to adhere to rules and schedules imposed by us.⁠

Join our FREE Facebook community and come hang out with like-minded parents, get your questions answered, share what's on your mind and have a good laugh.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/trustingchildrenpodcast

Discipline doesn't have to be a conflict! You want your child to listen, you want your child to be caring and kind to others, you want your child to look after their belongings, you want them to be a good human...AND you also want to be a gentle & respectful parent.
You might hear people criticising gentle discipline, you might feel like you're being judged if you're not giving your child any punishments or consequences, you might worry that they will never learn the things you want them to...
Explore with me what gentle discipline is all about in this episode. I promise by the end of it, you will feel SO much more confident about using gentle discipline and empowered to reflect any judgemental comments, because YOU are building a secure relationship with your child.

Let's continue this conversation, come join our free private facebook community:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/trustingchildrenpodcast

When talking about respectful parenting/ mindful parenting/ gentle parenting, we look at the whole child, we encourage parents to look at the big picture, beyond the moment, beyond the behaviour in that moment. I feel like we cannot talk about a holistic approach to parenting without having some understanding of how our children’s brain works.

In this episode I speak with Blanca Velasquez-Martin about brain development of young children, why it’s relevant to us as parents and what we can do to help this important part of our children’s bodies grow and develop. Knowing how our children’s brain is shaped through experiences, how it works and what it’s capable of while it is still developing can really help us gain a much clearer picture of our child’s behaviours, some of the reasons for them and begin to normalise certain things that children do. When we understand them better, we can have more empathy towards them, we can make more informed choices and decisions, and ultimately we can really nurture their development in a way that creates a more peaceful relationships within your home.

You can sign up for my 1 to 1 parent mentoring programme: The Confident Parent where I will help you go from survival mode to pure parenting joy. If you want to
Feel more connected to yourself and your children;
Feel calmer about your children’s big emotions;
Feel empowered in the parenting choices you make; 
get in touch and we can work together to uncover the amazing parent you are and help you regain your confidence in knowing you are the best parent for your child.

https://www.trustingchildren.com/mentoring/

Show notes and transcript are available here.
https://trustingchildren.com/podcast/episode14

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :)

Floods of tears over the green cup, the broken in half banana or the milk that was supposed to be warm not cold and now it’s too warm. Our children can sometimes have the biggest emotions over the smallest things. If you are wondering how as a parent you can respond to these  emotional outbursts, often called meltdowns or tantrums, then this episode is for you.

There is quite a lot of conflicting advice: ignore the child, don’t give into their desires, stay strong or they’ll have you wrapped around their little finger. On the other we are told to stay calm and help our little ones get through these emotions, but it’s not an easy thing to do! When emotions are involved, our own ones often start playing a big role in any interaction we end up having with our child and that can often add to the turmoil. In this episode I am going to explore why our children have these intense emotions, what is the best thing you as a parent can do during a meltdown and why it is important to respond empathically. Like I said, it’s not always easy, so alongside the why I will also give you the HOW. By the end of this episode, you will understand the reasons behind our children’s emotional outbursts, how you can respectfully respond to them and overall how as a parent you can stay calm when your children are not.

You can sign up for my 1 to 1 parent mentoring programme: The Confident Parent where I will help you go from survival mode to pure parenting joy. If you want to
Feel more connected to yourself and your children;
Feel calmer about your children’s big emotions;
Feel empowered in the parenting choices you make; 
get in touch and we can work together to uncover the amazing parent you are and help you regain your confidence in knowing you are the best parent for your child.

https://www.trustingchildren.com/mentoring/

Show notes and transcript are available here.
https://trustingchildren.com/podcast/episode13

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :)

As parents we often put unimaginable pressure on ourselves. We feel like we have to do it all and then when we can't we feel like we are failing. We get so caught up in looking after our children and often forget that we also need to look after ourselves. In this episode I speak to Nathalie Alvarado about re-connecting with our inner wisdom and really tuning into our own emotions and thoughts so that we can be fully aware when responding to our children.

If you want to know how to start this journey of inner-work in order to feel more connected and compassionate towards yourself then this episode is for you. Nathalie analyses the reasons we feel so much pressure as parents, and how to stop comparing ourselves to others and start focusing on our own strengths. She shares some ideas and tips on how to do this and also why it's so important that we model these healthy beliefs and patterns to our children.  Nathalie also shares her secret to help parents get to a place where you feel confident about the parent you are.

Show notes and transcript are available here.
https://trustingchildren.com/podcast/episode12

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :) @trustingchildren

 We all want our children to be polite, generous and kind. We want to teach them how to share their possessions with others and we want them to act genuinely. When our child doesn’t want to give up an object we worry that they might be seen as being mean, greedy, nasty or selfish. In this episode I am going to explore what it really means to share, why there is so much pressure on sharing and how to deal with arguments over toys in social situations. When we are in a playground and our child is holding onto a toy for dear life with clearly no intention of giving it up while another child is hovering and wants to play with that toy we start to feel a bit uncomfortable. If you have ever felt this pressure to make your child “share” but not been entirely sure how to deal with a situation like this, then this episode is for you.

I talk about what sharing actually is and why it’s so hard for young children to do it, the developmental reasons for that;  why we as parents or adults care so much about sharing and what it looks like in our adult world; the effects of adults forcing children to share and what we should do instead. And finally I will give you examples of how we can deal with these instances in social situations, like in a playground.

Show notes and transcript are available here.

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :)

 Montessori has become very popular amongst parents in the last few years. But what is it that has attracted so many of us to this philosophy? What are some of the most important, fundamental principles of this approach and how can they relate to parenting? What are some of the most common misunderstandings and myths about the method? What can we as parents do to implement some aspects of this philosophy into our homes? In today’s episode I am speaking to Carine Robin, who is going to answer these questions for us.

If you want to find out more about the Montessori approach or are thinking of implementing some aspects of it in your home, this episode is for you. Carine tells us which of the core principles we should focus on as parents. She calms our worries and fears by de-bunking some myths about Montessori and reassures us that we don't need to worry about any of the resources or 'shelfies.' You can totally be a Montessori parent or a Montessori family without buying loads of materials. It's all about your attitude, your approach and your respect towards your child.

Show notes and transcript are available here.

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :)

Setting boundaries is an incredibly hard thing, it can often cause parents quite a bit of stress. Is this limit appropriate? Am I too harsh? Am I too lenient? Should I give in? They seem so upset, is it worth it? These are just some of the questions that come to mind. If you struggle with knowing how to respectfully set and hold a boundary then this episode is for you. We want our children to listen to what we are saying, at the same time we worry they won’t like us if we’re too strict. Sometimes we feel like we’re ‘giving in’ to our child’s whims and other times we end up in a power struggle that we’re entirely not sure why we’re even in.

We want our children to be safe, learn how to care for themselves and their environment. We want them to be free to make choices and decisions but we also need them to do as we ask at times. In this episode I am going to talk about why we should set limits with our children, how to do this in a respectful way, why children test them and how we can respond to this testing. By the end of the episode you will have a much clearer idea on why, when and how to set boundaries and feel more confident in doing so.

Show notes and transcript are available here.

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :)

Join Aisha, Ana-Kay and Amorette for an inspiring, heart-warming and friendly conversation about raising twins in a respectful / Montessori way.

How do we respond to two children having intense emotions at the same time? How do we model something to two toddlers at the same time? Do we have double the amount of resources? What are our twins’ personalities like, how special is the bond between them? These are just some of the questions we answer.

Whether you are a parent to multiples or not, this episode is full of great advice, useful information and inspiring messages.

Make yourself a cup of tea, get comfy and tune in.

Show notes and transcript are available here.

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :)

What actually is a Montessori resource? What the heck are open ended toys or loose parts? What does RIE recommend for babies? What is a passive toy? We are bombarded with adverts and beautiful images of all the resources that our children should have and often it’s really difficult to know what are the best toys to get for our little ones and what is really necessary. If you find your head is spinning from all the options and possibilities and you want to have a better idea about which resources are truly valuable, this episode is for you. I look at a what constitutes a valuable, quality toy, how to sift through the BS and what to actually look for when deciding what to get for our little ones. You will have a much better idea on what qualities to look for when choosing resources for your child.

In the Everyday Heroes segment I speak to Anna, a mum of 2 young children. Anna talks about how it took her a while to fully embrace her role as a mother and how over time she was able to re-evaluate her priorities, realise that trying to do it all was impossible and a cause of stress to her and how she came to accept her new, maternal identity. Real and raw stories from parents.

Show notes and transcript are available here.

Find me on Instagram and Facebook and say hello :)