Chatabout Children Podcast with Sonia Bestulic Sonia Bestulic

When Dani was 29, she got a tattoo which read, ‘to thy own self be true’. There is courage required to be true to yourself and she shares how she struggled with post-natal anxiety. Dani says, ‘It’s about leaning into the unknown, leaning into fear even though it is scary and not being afraid to be who you are’. 

Children keep us young. We discuss the importance of play as this leads to being present. Sonia says, ‘Children are authentic, vulnerable humans and they remind us who we are.’ It’s important to keep those child-like qualities as an adult. 

So sit back and enjoy this episode of the Chatabout Children Podcast with Sonia Bestulic as she interviews Dani Vee.  

Links:Chatabout ChildrenFlourish for Mums by Sonia BestulicConnect with Dani Vee 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dani shares her own experience of Mother guilt and taking on the masculine stereotypical traits, rather than her own strengths of vulnerability and humour. Mother guilt is a real phenomenon – Dr Rose Sociologist discusses this in her research and she states that it comes from not meeting societal and cultural expectations. We discuss how to counteract this subconscious nature of being a ‘good mother’ or ‘good wife’ and the unrealistic expectations.

‘The golden thread of humanity is human connection’ says Sonia, ‘and this can only be achieved through vulnerability’. Sonia shares her tips for re-claiming our human-ness and says, ‘the challenge is not to be perfect, but to be whole.’ It’s all about giving yourself permission to be YOU and being accepting of your whole self. This should become our narrative - self-care in motherhood is not just a possibility; it is a necessity. 

So, sit back and enjoy this episode of the Chatabout Children Podcast with Sonia Bestulic as she interviews Dani Vee.

Links:

Chatabout Children

Flourish for Mums by Sonia Bestulic

Connect with Dani Vee 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since our last chat with Dani Vee in Episode 67, she has released a picture book 'My EXTRAordinary Mum'. 

In this episode we discuss, ‘Are you a human being or, a human-doing?’ As mums it can be easy to adopt an outer focus, and feel at a loss when it comes to our identity. Dani share’s the reason she wrote 'My EXTRAordinary Mum' after discussing her life with her children and realising they didn’t know who she was. ‘When you have children there is a breaking down of your identity. But, that’s ok – the positive side of breaking down is being able to re-build.’  Although it has been a difficult few years for us all, Dani has focused on celebrating the ‘wins’ and, more importantly, celebrating and practicing the celebration of others. 

So sit back and enjoy this episode of the Chatabout Children Podcast with Sonia Bestulic as she interviews Dani Vee.

Links:Chatabout ChildrenFlourish for Mums by Sonia Bestulic

Connect with Dani Vee 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Harvard’s longest study of adult life, relationships play the most important role in making human beings happy. Social connections not only enhance mental and emotional well-being, but they also affect our physical wellness. This fact is noticeably true even early in childhood. However, certain difficulties may affect a child’s ability to interact with his or her peers, teachers, and even family members. How can parents, teachers, and professionals help children develop great social skills? We bring in Alex Kelly to talk to us about this topic.

Alex Kelly is a speech and language therapist with over 30 years of experience working with children and adolescents who have difficulties with their social skills, self-esteem, and relationships. Alex is best known for being the author of 13 books including the hugely popular Talkabout Resources, a collection of books that teach social skills to children. Together with her husband, who was a teacher, Alex runs Speaking Space, a business that provides training and consultancy work as well as speech, language, and occupational therapies for over 40 local schools. The business also provides a day service to adults with intellectual disabilities and autism. Speaking Space is the only speech and therapy service in the United Kingdom to be accredited by the National Autism Society and the only day service in England to have advance status. Alex also conducts research and lectures internationally on her field of expertise.

Listen to my conversation with Alex Kelly and learn:

The critical role that social skills play in the lives of children.The definition of social skills.The components of social skills and how they develop from birth to school age.Why assertiveness is the final stage of social skills.Why getting help for social skills when your child is already at school is already quite late.The most common problems Alex encounters in her work.How important a child’s environment is in building his or her social skills.The relationship between self-awareness, self-esteem, and social skills.Being alone and not wanting friends is not necessarily a bad thing.How technology can help build social skills among children.Alex Kelly’s top three tips for teaching social skills to children.Find the child’s motivator and work with that.Look at the child’s environment and modify it to support the child’s confidence.Teach social skills in a safe space.

So sit back and enjoy this episode of the Chatabout Children Podcast with Sonia Bestulic as she interviews Alex Kelly.

Listen to the full episode here. 

Links:Chatabout ChildrenFlourish for Mums by Sonia BestulicAlex Kelly’s websiteAlex Kelly’s work website
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even if we wish they were, our children will never be immune from the setbacks and failures inherent in life. These setbacks could be experienced by our children very early on, whether they be in the form of friendship dramas, academic pressure, or internal self-doubt. Getting back up after a setback is what we call resilience. Resilience is therefore an important skill to teach our children. In this episode of Chatabout Children™, we bring in author Michelle Mitchell to talk to us about how parents can raise resilient children.

Michelle Mitchell is an award-winning speaker, author, and educator who has incorporated years of grassroots experience into her books. After leaving her profession as a primary school teacher, Michelle focused on helping teenagers, particularly teenage girls, learn vital life skills to support them while at school. Her latest book, Everyday Resilience: Helping Kids Handle Friendship Drama, Academic Pressure, and the Self-Doubt of Growing Up, tackles the very interesting topic of teaching resilience to children and teenagers, and we ask her to talk more about this subject in this episode.

Key Learnings: - How Michelle transitioned from being a primary school teacher to teaching kids how to be resilient. - Michelle explains “Resilience is the capacity to thrive regardless of the circumstances’ and shares the importance and challenge of connecting with your child.- The seven characteristics of a resilient child- She shares some strategies on helping children develop resilience in their everyday lives, for both girls and boys. - Addressing a child’s “I can’t” mindset- Teaching why it’s okay for kids to start doing something poorly.-We discuss perfectionism in kids.

Michelle says to parents and educators - It’s all about connection. Connecting with our kids is vital. Kids need the loving support of adults in their life so that they are not afraid to take risks. In replace of being connected, sometimes we over-parent kids, whereas we really need to be focusing on connection and allowing our children to fail.

So, sit back and enjoy this episode of the Chatabout Children Podcast with Sonia Bestulic as she interviews Michelle Mitchell.

Listen to the original episode here.

Links:Chatabout ChildrenFlourish for Mums by Sonia BestulicMichelle MichellFollow @michellemitchellspeaker on Instagram
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attention is a very basic skill for human beings, so basic that we don’t usually talk about it.

But for some, attention is not a skill that comes easily and this problem can emanate early in childhood. This is where Occupational Therapists like Jacky Peile enter. They help children with attention difficulties live a better life. In this first episode of a two-part series, we chat with Jacky about attention, learning, and your child.

Jacky Peile established EarlyLinks in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire in Australia in 2010. Today, she leads a team of occupational therapists who support children, teens, and young adults with anxiety and sensory-processing difficulties through practical strategies that make their daily life easier. 

Key Learnings


What attention is and how it develops early in life.
How attention problems arise in childhood.
How a shift in a child’s social environment (i.e. pre-school to school) affects attention
The different subtypes of attention: shared attention, sustained attention, selective attention, alternating attention, and divided attention.
The relationship between motivation and attention.
How a child develops divided attention.
How parents can identify attention issues in their child and when they should get professional help.
What sensory-processing difficulties are and how they are related to a child’s ability to sustain attention
The “Purple Mat” technique to teach your child selective attention

 

Jacky’s questions for parents who want to test children for attention difficulties before consulting a professional:


Can your child maintain attention to something that is important or motivating to him or her?
Can your child achieve basic short periods of attention?

So sit back and enjoy this episode of the Chatabout Children Podcast with Sonia Bestulic as she interviews Jacky Peile.

Listen to Part One and Part Two of the Attention, Learning and your Child episodes. 

 

Links:

Chatabout Children

Flourish for Mums by Sonia Bestulic

Early Links

Connect with Jackie on LinkedIn
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.