This episode is brought to you by Aqua Aligners, clear, nearly invisible custom aligners designed for comfort, confidence, and real life. Visit aquaaligners.com and use code BNB10 for 10% off your treatment. From the tantrum that catches you completely off guard… to the moment you realise that how your child handles big feelings has less to do with personality and more to do with what they've been taught, and shown, every single day. Host Judy Daghestani sits down with Sara H. Samawi, early years educator and founder of Wonderroom, a children's playroom and learning environment design studio in Dubai rooted in emotional regulation, child development, and the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Born in Sudan, raised across Qatar and the United States, Sara grew up between cultures, feeling unseen in the stories, books, and environments around her. That experience ultimately shaped everything she creates today. Together, they explore what it actually means to raise emotionally aware children in a world that is louder, faster, and more overwhelming than ever before, and why the answer begins not just with what we say to our children, but how we show up, what we build around them, and whether we ourselves have the tools we're trying to pass on. Because the way your child handles stress, conflict, and big emotions was largely shaped before they turned eight. And most of us were never taught any of this either. This isn't a conversation about perfect parenting. It's about giving children, and ourselves, the language, the space, and the skills to actually feel calm from the inside out. We dive into: - Why calm is a skill, not a personality trait, and how it's learned - Co-regulation: how children borrow emotional regulation from the adults around them - What happens when the adult in the room is dysregulated - How the physical environment shapes a child's emotional state - The Reggio Emilia philosophy in plain language, and what it looks like at home - Why tantrums aren't the moment to intervene with breathing techniques - Tools Sara uses in the classroom: colour monsters, puppets, picture cards, timers - How to stop over-helping and give children the chance to grow - What a world of children raised with these tools would actually look like - Why honesty with children about your own feelings is one of the most powerful things you can do - Myth or fact: busting common parenting assumptions about behaviour and emotion At its core, this episode is a reminder that raising emotionally aware children starts with the adults becoming emotionally aware themselves. The cycle can change, and it starts with us. If this conversation resonated, share it with a parent who needed to hear this today. 🎧 Listen on Apple, Spotify & YouTube @balancednotboringpodcast 🔁 Share with a parent or woman who needs better answers 🔔 Subscribe to Balanced Not Boring for real conversations about modern life, wellness, and womanhood
