Securely Attached Dr. Sarah Bren

In this episode, sleep specialist Eileen Henry and I discuss a common challenge: how to get your child to make it all the way through the night in their own bed.
 
Eileen helps us unravel this complex issue by addressing:
 
Assessing the Situation: When to let it be and when to make a change.
Understanding Motivations: Identifying whether the desire to reclaim your bed is for personal space, relationship reasons, or concerns about your child's development.
Balancing Needs: The importance of ensuring everyone gets quality sleep and how this impacts overall family wellbeing.
Setting and Holding Boundaries: Strategies to help your child transition to their own bed while maintaining emotional security.
Attunement and Emotional Health: Teaching kids to recognize and respond to negative emotions in a healthy way.
Practical Tips and Tools: Using physical boundaries like gates, incorporating dress rehearsals for bedtime, and the power of storytelling and play in easing transitions.
 
Whether you're struggling with co-sleeping, managing separation anxiety, or just seeking better sleep for your family, this episode is packed with practical advice and compassionate support!
 
 
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT EILEEN HENRY:
https://compassionatesleepsolutions.com/
 
BOOK A CONSULTATION WITH EILEEN HENRY:
https://compassionatesleepsolutions.com/free-consultation-process/
 
DOWNLOAD MY FREE TODDLER SLEEP GUIDE:
7 ways to help create a more peaceful and effective nighttime routine
 
LISTEN TO MORE EPISODES WITH EILEEN HENRY:
Navigating sleep with a baby
The basics of toddler sleep
 
CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL EPISODES WE REFERENCED:
RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) from birth with Deborah Carlisle Solomon
Evolving the principles of RIE to grow into respectful parenting with Janet Lansbury
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) with Eli Lebowitz
 

Beyond the Sessions is answering YOUR parenting questions! In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Hershberg, Dr. Emily Upshur, and I talk about...
 
 
1:50 - It's very developmentally typical for toddlers to have trouble with sharing and also there are things you can do to encourage and build this skill.
 
7:25 - At 2.5 years-old, kids will likely need an adult to narrate and also facilitate the sharing so they learn how it's done.
 
11:40 - Kids can become territorial at this age, so it can be helpful to have playdates at neutral places, like a park or a playground.
 
13:40 - When you see your child start to get territorial, try to see this as an indicator that they need to take a break rather than a cue to teach them the importance of sharing - that can be done later, when they are more regulated and in control.
 
16:47 - To build the skill of sharing, it's helpful to break this down into smaller tasks like tolerating frustration, setting healthy boundaries, and perspective taking.
 
19:30 - We also want to be mindful not to encourage our kids to share without any limitations or we risk them feeling compelled to become more of a people pleaser.
 
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN PARENT YOUR DAUGHTER SO SHE DOESN’T BECOME A PEOPLE PLEASER?
Listen to the podcast episode we reference in this conversation
 
 
✨We want to hear from you! Go to https://drsarahbren.com/question to send us a question or a topic you want to hear us answer on Securely Attached - Beyond the Sessions! ✨

When a child is born, so too is a mother.
 
In this episode, we'll explore this metamorphosis and how the abrupt shift into motherhood can shatter our former identity into many different parts (and why that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing).
 
Joining me is Rebecca Geshuri and Jessica Sorci, the brilliant creators behind The Mothercentric Approach, which blends Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy with maternal mental health.
 
Rebecca and Jessica will help listeners understand IFS and how "parts work" can be vital for mothers. By acknowledging and accepting these different parts, mothers can begin to heal and integrate them, forming a more cohesive and balanced sense of self. This integration can shift how we feel about ourselves and how we show up as parents, leading to a more compassionate and effective approach to motherhood.
 
 
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MOTHERCENTRIC APPROACH - FOR MOMS:
https://www.mothercentric.com/for-moms
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MOTHERCENTRIC APPROACH - FOR PRACTITIONERS:
https://www.mothercentric.com/for-practitioners

Beyond the Sessions is answering YOUR parenting questions! In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Hershberg, Dr. Emily Upshur, and I talk about...
 
 
2:27 - Reframe your goal from being about maintaining the specific friendships to be about maintaining the social skills your child has acquired over the school year instead.
 
4:13 - Using summer as your child's opportunity to get to try something new and allow them to explore different parts of themselves.
 
6:26 - If a child has struggled in the past, the friendships they have may feel precious and fragile now, and that can make kids and parents alike feel anxious that this might go away.
 
10:12 - It's helpful not to measure your child's social success based on their age and encourage them to have friends who are a year or two younger, if that they are lacking some social skills.
 
14:43 - Tangible tips you can implement to support your child's social skills and encourage their building and maintaining deep friendships.
 
19:10 - Having a plan-b with a singular person activity can be helpful for your child to have in their back pocket to play with if they struggle to join into a social group.
 
 
✨We want to hear from you! Go to https://drsarahbren.com/question to send us a question or a topic you want to hear us answer on Securely Attached - Beyond the Sessions! ✨

Reduce stress around mealtimes and help your child be more flexible with what they eat!
 
Joining me today is Dr. Yaara Shimshoni, a clinical psychologist and a clinical assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine, Child Study Center.
 
We'll explore the complexities of Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and its distinction from typical picky eating. Yaara will detail how this severe eating disorder impacts children's health and social lives, and offer practical strategies for parents to reduce stress around mealtimes, encourage flexibility in eating habits, and break the cycle of accommodation that often exacerbates these issues.
 
Plus, we'll help parents take the guiding principles of a therapy approach called SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), and learn how to apply it with kids who are showing more normative picky eating challenges, that are not clinical, but still can be frustrating and exasperating for parents to navigate.
 
 
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT YAARA:
Yaara Shimshoni
 
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SPACE, CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW WITH THE CREATOR, DR. ELI LEBOWITZ:
Listen to the episode

Beyond the Sessions is answering YOUR parenting questions! In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Hershberg, Dr. Emily Upshur, and I talk about...
 
 
1:53 - What "positive parenting" really is from a psychological perspective.
 
4:20 - Our child's development is not always linear, it's important to consider their regulation level and other situational factors when we set our expectations of them.
 
5:20 - As parents, we're often more triggered when our elementary-aged and older kids exhibit "bad behaviors."
 
7:19 - How to have a productive conversation with your child to pregame, collaboratively problem solve, and reflect on hot moments together once they are back in a regulated state.
 
9:10 - For older kids, you may need more structured behavioral interventions beyond just validating emotions and reflecting their feelings back to them.
 
14:17 - How to tailor your parenting approach to your unique child, rather than just accepting universal parenting strategies that may not be a good fit for you and your family.
 
 
✨We want to hear from you! Go to https://drsarahbren.com/question to send us a question or a topic you want to hear us answer on Securely Attached - Beyond the Sessions! ✨