A few years ago I came across an idea from a guy called Professor Kim Cameron. In a book about Positive Leadership he taught that, “All living systems tend towards positive energy and away from negative energy”. The idea is forgettably called “The Heliotropic Effect”.
This is why plants lean towards the light and away from the dark. The light has the positive energy they need to thrive.
If this is true - and plenty of research in the physical and the psychological sciences suggests it is - it also suggests that our children are more likely to tend towards us when we’re offering positive energy. And they’ll stay away from us if we are putting out negative energy.
This week, shift your energy to a positive state. It’s hard to do that if you’re struggling, but a few simple things can help:
Smile
Move your body (ideally with music or exercise - or both)
Offer hugs and touch
Express love
Connect
Watch what happens in your home and family as your energy shifts.
Seeing life through the eyes of a child is such a beautiful thing. They are so innocent, so unassuming. The reality is often very different to what they see and feel...
As a mum I am intrigued by this idea even more. We are our harshest critics. We wish we could be more, do more and give more to our children. Nothing we do for them is ever enough, at least when we look through our own warped lens of life. We often get ourselves all caught up in knots trying to offer them the world, comparing our best efforts with everyone else's social media highlight reels but have forgotten to see life through the lens of our kids...
A PARENT'S GUIDE TO RAISING A CHILD WITH ADHD TUESDAY 17 August, 8pm AEST CHECK MY TIMEZONE There may be no psychological condition more controversial and provocative than ADHD. At one extreme, we see some people say it doesn’t exist. Other’s say it’s a result of poor parenting. At the other end, people write books about “the ADHD advantage”, and how children can thrive in spite of – or even because of – this condition.
But for parents who are raising children with an ADHD diagnosis, their child’s behaviour can
seem like a wrecking ball. Coping with the “war at home”, families often feel divided. Parents struggle to be on the same page, torn between loving their child and flipping out because things are out of control. And the fear of judgment from others makes finding support additionally challenging.
In “A Parent’s Guide to Raising an ADHD child”, Dr Justin Coulson will explore up-to-the-minute science on what ADHD is, why it occurs, and most importantly, what parents can do to create something at home that feels sane and balanced in an often chaotic climate.
This 60-minute webinar will:
Provide science-supported strategies that build parental knowledge,
Improve child compliance,
Offer family-strengthening tips to support parents, strengthen relationships, and build bonds.
REAL RESILIENCE | PART 1 OF 2| WHAT IS RESILIENCE? RESILIENCE
Resilience has been the buzzword in raising children for the past 20 years or more. And it seems that no matter how much we talk about it, we STILL struggle with raising our children with resilience. In fact, according to latest research findings, our children’s resilience is lower than it has ever been (since we began measuring it).
This brief intro to resilience is designed to help you recognise exactly what resilience is, unpack some of the mistakes we make as parents that ruin resilience, and give us a sense of what a resilient child could look like if we could teach and practice the habits of resilience that work best.
Join Dr Justin
Coulson, author of the best-selling book, 9 Ways to a Resilient Child, as he explores what resilience is and why it matters so much for our children in this 25-minute brief webinar recording for parents, teachers, and caregivers.
