There has been a lot of talk of preparing new school starters over the last few weeks and lots of discussions about how to help them with big feelings as they settle in, but one huge missing part of the conversation is talking about how the *parents* feel.
Your child starting school is a huge deal for you too, but there’s far less advice to help you with your feelings.
So, for those with new school (or nursery/preschool) starters, how are you feeling?
The archaic practices would soon be banned and there would be demonstrations and marches up and down the country, demanding for the human rights of adults to be respected.
Why I've fallen out of love with the idea of 'self-care' - and believe we do tired, stressed parents a disservice when we recommend it every time they are struggling: 1/7
1. It puts the problem on them - they aren't good enough at self care. It's their fault - it isn't. It's society's fault. We live in a terrible time for parenting. While we place pressure on parents to change, there's less focus on the things that really need to change. 2/7
2. It tries to solve a problem by adding things. This is a common trait in humans - when we have a problem we rarely think "what can I do less of to solve this?", instead we leap into thinking "what can I add to make this better?". Subtracting is usually easier/more effective 3/7
Has your child just started, or just gone back to, school and you're desperate to hear about their day, but your questions are met with mumbles, grunts or silence?