Parent Podcast Suzanne Hazelton

In this episode of the Parent Podcast (#tips for #parents with children aged 5-11), I talk to Natasha Wellfare. Natasha is a Mental Health Counsellor and Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher. She also worked for many years as a Montessori teacher.  These days she specialises in working people who are feeling stuck and overwhelmed.  Natasha is the founder of a parent support group - the OK Parent Project – which supports parents with common parenting challenges. This episode was recorded during UK lockdown. I asked Natasha for 3 tips for parents.

Her first tip was about the importance of #movement for children. Natasha was emphatic that children need to move. I see that need to move with my daughter. Natasha, and made a couple of great suggestions to combine movement and learning. She gives examples of going on learning walks, or to throw a ball whilst learning times tables.

For her second tip she explored the concept of choice. She made the point that “if f we step into the shoes of children they really don’t have a huge amount of choice about their life … they have to go to school, they have to wear a certain school uniform, they have to do their homework, somebody else gets to choose where they live, so I think giving children choice even if the choice leads to the same outcome is really powerful.” What follows is not my finest podcasting moment where I offer the example of giving my daughter choice in which banana she wants to eat – and after what seems like an absolute age she makes a decision. I know the importance of giving choice, I know that it can sometimes seem like a slow process – but ultimately it gives a child ownership and commitment to their choice. Which I guess is why I persist with offering choice where I can.

For her third tip, Natasha introduced a concept known as “freedom within boundaries” – of setting the boundary (for example a tidy room), but allowing your child freedom to complete the task, with a choice of cleaning products, with music playing, etc.

More information
· Take a look at The OK Parent Project Facebook Group which Natasha’s created as a safe space for parents to support each other https://www.facebook.com/groups/297251878148874

· Her full range of services can be found on The Wellness Project: https://wellness-project.co.uk/

· This Parent Podcast is brought to you by Suzanne Hazelton – author of Great Days at Work, and creator of GenieBubble Making WORLD CLASS educational resources available to every child, to help them find their own interests and flourish. www.geniebubble.org

· Or join the GenieBubble community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/geniebubblegroup 

We appreciate you sharing this information! C’mon – don’t be shy! :-)

Guest speaker Lori Rothstein is a working mom of 2 who knows the challenges and joys of waking up every day to the snuggles, energy, and frustrations of her 5 & 7 year-olds. She’s a leadership educator, a Positive Psychology Practitioner and a Certified Parenting Coach.

Lori describes clearly the challenge faced by people who are used to getting things done in the corporate world are made more challenging by parenthood. For example, saying to yourself “I'm going to go for a run at ‘this time’” – Lori acknowledges that this sort of structure doesn't always work as a parent.  She says “the truth in my family is that when we wake up, we're probably not in the same configuration of when we went to bed, so there's some kind of movement during the night … I don't wake up earlier than my kids and have that time to myself … ” All very relatable 😊

I asked Lori for 3 tips – but she gave us SO MUCH more.

Her number one tip is SELF CARE! She says that “if you don't have a plan for taking care of yourself then your plan is incomplete because we really can't take care of our kids if we're not taking care of ourselves.” 

She talks about compassion fatigue which is when we were less able to have a connection with somebody else – and four types of self-care that can be the most effective to overcome it.

One of her tips for self-care, is to make the most of smaller nuggets of time in what she describes as the “transition” between activities. Ask yourself in the moment “what kind of self-care do I need? 

On the podcast Lori talks about 4 different aspects of self-care:


Connection with others or alone time
Outlets for Creative Expression
Relaxation / mindfulness
Family Rituals

Lori describes each of the above on the podcast. My guess is that the first 3 you will have come across previously – so I thought I’d add a few words on Family Rituals which may be a newer concept.

She talks about having a number of different ‘family ritual’ practices or activities. Her honesty is refreshing when she says “one thing everyday doesn't quite work for us, but we have choices ….” She goes on to describe a few things that really work for her family:


A daily nature poem book – her daughter an early reader, reads aloud and they talk about it which helps them to connect with what's happening in nature
Gratitude Jar with good things about their day – which can also be looked at to raise a smile “Aw, he liked his mashed potatoes”
A picture or collage on the wall - that can be added to. 

Her final tip is around setting intentions.  

Lori has done a great job of taking the "vanilla" tools from Positive Psychology and ssuccessfully adpted them for family life.  

More information
· Lori takes clients who want to grow as an individual as well as a parent. To see more of how she works – why not sign-up for her Facebook Group: Resilient Parenting Solutions: Parenting strategies to foster wellbeing and emotional intelligence in our kids and ourselves. https://www.facebook.com/resilientparentingsolutions/

· Lori’s website is: https://lorirothstein.wixsite.com/website-1

· This Parent Podcast is brought to you by Suzanne Hazelton – author of Great Days at Work, and creator of GenieBubble Making WORLD CLASS educational resources available to every child, to help them find their own interests and flourish. www.geniebubble.org

· Or join the GenieBubble community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/geniebubblegroup

· We appreciate you sharing this information! C’mon – don’t be shy!

The podcast guest on this episode is Evgenia Gaevskaya (Eva), who’s passionate about essential oils, and the benefits they bring to our and our children’s well-being. I’ve personally used oils to create a nice smell and a good mood in the house, or perhaps to ward off insects in the summer. However Eva’s interest and knowledge go MUCH deeper and she talks about the language of plants and how oils can affect us physically, spiritually and emotionally.

Eva describes the matriarchs in her family as herbalists. She grew up in a tradition where there wasn’t a tendency to use medicine. But knowledge of garden herbs to heal. She also says “Wellness is a way of being so we don't need to be cured.”

Eva talks about the importance of ensuring the quality of oils – especially when using them with and around children. She has products that have been specially diluted for children to use. Eva recommends the Do Terra children’s starter-kit which consists of 10 basic oils which have been diluted in fractionated coconut oil (safe for children to use, no smell from the coconut). Links to her website are at the end.

She describes 3 way to use essential oils:

1. Diffuser

2. Topically – when you apply it (diluted in a carrier oil) to the skin

3. Internally – but to be used with caution.

a. The oils need to be pure

b. Essential oils are strong. One drop of something like peppermint oil can be the equivalent to 28 cups of peppermint tea.

We talk about children having an attuned sense of smell and “remembrance” that many adults have lost. She ran a workshop where children came along unexpectedly – and they knew without being told that Lavender would help sleep and Wild Orange got the response of “oh the girls at school are going to love this”. So very often children intuitively know which oils will benefit them – so you can give them the choice and the right products to use safely, topically.

Of course, it’s not just about supporting our children, as adults, we too can use oils to enhance our well-being. We can use natural essential oils [rather than manufactured chemical fragrances] to create an atmosphere in our homes - that smells “phenomenally divinely”.

Eva also describes creating a daily ritual of applying essential oils topically. Creating rituals with oil so that they become part of our everyday life.  This is more than just a self-care routine – but using to use the oils in a very positive way to create a sense of mood enhancement, and enable flourishing.

More information
· You can find more about Evgenia and the All in on Oils Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/allinonoils

· Or her website: https://www.mydoterra.com/donumessentialia

· This Parent Podcast is brought to you by Suzanne Hazelton – author of Great Days at Work, and creator of GenieBubble Making WORLD CLASS educational resources available to every child, to help them find their own interests and flourish. www.geniebubble.org

· And be sure to join the GenieBubble community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/geniebubblegroup

· We appreciate you sharing this information! C’mon – don’t be shy!

Today’s guest is Ben Kirk: Ben is a dad of two girls, a former professional footballer, PE teacher and now founder of Inspired Schools, an organization that then has set up with a vision to raise physical activity in primary aged children.

Ben is a dad of two girls, a former professional footballer, PE teacher and now founder of Inspired Schools. Inspired Schools is an organization that then has set up with a vision to raise physical activity in primary aged children. Ben is also a former secondary school teacher – and has seen first hand, time and time again the link between literacy and physical activity.

Inspired schools is an idea designed around a set of playground markings. Marking that they’ve designed themselves. The “special sauce” is the way they train the teachers and children to use these activity stations. There are five stations, and every station has got six elements to it, so your average class of around 30 is instantly socially distance on the markings. It’s a great framework for schools – and gives great early leadership opportunities to children too.

Ben shares an example of a boy who was struggling academically, and after this program his writing improved – but more importantly to him – he was able to ride a bike without stabilisers (his core strength having improved).

Ben engaging more reluctant children in PE – the importance of the PE Teacher in tweaking the lesson slightly in differentiating teams, having children of a similar ability play together and even play within their friendship groups to keep motivation high.

But for lockdown – Ben shares his tips for getting children out and about and keeping it fun.

I know my temptation is “finish this and THEN we’ll go and take a break in the garden”. Ben suggests the opposite.

Ben says if his daughter is doing maths homework and finding it challenging they will have a break and go outside into the garden. And he'll try and weave some maths into some physical activity or If it's a a number problem, he might set up an obstacle course in the garden and have some counters that she needs to get at the end, do some maths that way.

Ben also suggests that at this age – it’s not so much about technique – but enjoyment. Doing things they love.

More information
· Here’s the link to YouTube Inspired Schools: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYaetoScFq75ti-GSnNAhbw/videos

· The Inspired Schools Website: https://inspiredschools.co.uk/

· The Inspired Schools Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/190053748481074

· This Parent Podcast is brought to you by Suzanne Hazelton – author of Great Days at Work, and creator of GenieBubble Making WORLD CLASS educational resources available to every child, to help them find their own interests and flourish. www.geniebubble.org

· And be sure to join the GenieBubble community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/geniebubblegroup

· We appreciate you sharing this information! C’mon – don’t be shy!

“There are so many spoken and unspoken pressures for parents now.”

In this episode, I talk to Kathryn Lovewell. She is an award-winning, international emotional health and wellbeing specialist.  She is a passionate Certified Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher.  She has been providing wellbeing training in Education and the community for over 20 years and teaching meditation and self-inquiry since 2006.  Kathryn is author of Every Teacher Matters, The Little Book of Self Compassion and also her soon-to-be-published book for children: The Voices in my Head.

We start the episode by talking about her forthcoming book, The Voices in my head – which is her first book for children. As a former teacher, I believe her when she says it’s most suitable for children in the 7-10 age range – although it could be suitable as shared reading for a younger audience. I think she’s given the “voices” great names: Booster and Crusher – but she cautions that the voice of Crusher is quite mean – but the book is how to give Booster more of a boost. At the time of recording this episode, and writing this description I haven’t read a copy – but I expect it will be a nice guide for parents too!

Katheryn shares some tips for parents. For her first tip, she suggests treating yourself as you would your best friend - noting that many of us would be harsher to ourselves than others. She gives an example of missing your child perform in the class assembly – and how it’s too easy to “beat ourselves up”. Instead, ask yourself how you would respond if the situation had happened to your best friend. Her second tip is about loving self-touch in stressful situations to release good hormones. Touching your neck, the back of your hand – something deliberate and well-intentioned. Her third tip starts with asking yourself the question “What’s the kindest thing I can do for myself right now?” It’s a question which recognises any constraints that there might be – and she offers a couple of easy suggestions like “take 3 deep breathes”. Kathryn has a lovely calm voice, is full of wisdom and compassion – I hope you enjoy listening to this episode.

More information

You can find more about Kathryn and The Kind Mind Academy: https://kindmindacademy.com/
Or take a look at the Kind Mind Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kindmindacademy
This Parent Podcast is brought to you by Suzanne Hazelton – author of Great Days at Work, and creator of GenieBubble Making WORLD CLASS educational resources available to every child, to help them find their own interests and flourish. www.geniebubble.org
The GenieBubble Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GenieBubbleista 
And be sure to join the GenieBubbleGroup - our small but growing community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/geniebubblegroup
We appreciate you sharing this information! C’mon – don’t be shy!