Hey there parent or carer, I see you. I see how much love you have for your child(ren), how you want the best for them but that sometimes you feel overwhelmed, lost or stuck as to how to help them. I hear how you're longing to build that deep connection, but instead often find yourself triggered by your child's big emotions, meltdowns or anger and you're not sure why.
I understand the concern as you endlessly try to help them learn emotional regulation and build their resilience to the daily challenges, but your attempts often go right over their heads.
I know you want to ensure they become kind, strong, thoughtful individuals, but trying to hold boundaries around these values is more challenging than you'd thought. You wonder why your child doesn't listen or ignores you. You want to be able to find that energy to connect and play with them, but the only energy you can find is in several cups of coffee!
I see you, I hear you, I understand you - that's because I am a parent like you and I too have faced these (and many other) parenting challenges (and still do). This parenting lark is a tough gig, that no one in the world could have ever prepared us for. It's funny that you don't get any training for this job - it's the toughest and most rewarding going, but there's no training for it! That's where I can help.
The 'Empowered Parenting Programme' helps you overcome massive barriers by challenging your perceptions of your child, yourself and generational patterns of parenting that haven't served our families well. Most importantly it gives us the tools to become your child(ren)'s emotional coach so they can be resilient, emotionally intelligent, problem solving individuals who can flourish throughout their lives.
If you're struggling with parenting right now (let's face it we all struggle at some point) or if you're interested in how you can help build your child's resilience and ability to emotionally regulate, read on to understand how this programme works and how I will help you to find the joy in parenting. If you're ready to do the hard work, I'm here to help.
How does the programme work?
The 'Empowered Parenting Programme' uses all the latest scientific research, covering attachment, nervous system, brain and child development science to help you learn how to be your child's emotional regulator, modelling the behaviours we're asking them to embody, so they can learn from your actions all those skills you've been trying to teach.
Over the course of 12 weeks, you'll access a whole host of materials to develop your understanding and thinking around parenting. Each week in the online learning area you'll work your way through videos, articles and workbooks allowing you to reflect deeply on what you've learnt and what it means for you and your family.
We'll then meet for 1hr each week where I'll coach you through which perspectives are shifting or challenging for you from the online learning. This can be 1-2-1 or in a coaching group. We'll begin to make sense of the narrative that links your childhood experience with your current parenting experiences and how you can use this understanding to aid you in meeting your parenting goals moving forward. You can bring weekly challenges and struggles to each session and we'll get curious together to find new ways forward.
This programme is parent-centric, it's focused on helping you as a parent to reflect, learn and develop how you can adapt your own behaviour to positively influence your child, rather than enforcing your child(ren)'s behaviour to change.
The 12 step process - week by week breakdown
Week 1: Welcome & orientation
We'll take you through the journey you can expect over the 12 weeks, set emotional & social safety, as well as bringing clarity to your parenting intentions and end goals for doing this programme.
Week 2: Setting intentions as an empowered parent
Here you'll discover your goals for this programme: for yourself, relationship with your child(ren) and for your family as a whole. You'll also consider your strengths and support system to help sooth you in difficult times.
Week 3: The 10 pillars of empowered parenting
You'll get to know the 10 pillars of being an empowered parent, by considering which you feel comfortable in and which you'd like to develop. You will also explore the power-over/ power-under parenting paradigms.
Week 4: Making sense of attachment science
We'll delve in to attachment science: understanding what this means for your childhood and your relationship with your child. Plus, how to earn a safe attachment with your child so they feel safe, seen, soothed.
Week 5: Making sense of the nervous system
Here we'll get in to the physiology of empowered parenting. Understanding when both adult and/ or a child are dysregulated and actions you can take to bring both of you back to calm and safety.
Week 6: Making sense of brain science
You'll learn the latest in child development and the ability to master 'mindsight'. This is a focused attention allowing you to see the inner world of a child's mind. Learn what blocks it and how to strengthen it!
Week 7: Making sense of emotional intelligence
This week considers how empathy is a parent's superpower. It challenges you to consider what keeps you from empathy, your limiting beliefs about your children & the 8 basic needs of a child.
Week 8: Empowered conversations
You'll learn a new language of life called 'nonviolent communication' which promotes your ability to speak so a child will listen and listen so a child will speak.Promoting connection
in conflict rather than distancing.
Week 9: Establishing boundaries from values
You'll discover the 'PEACE' process that can be learnt in any given parenting scenario from sibling squabbles to conflict resolution. We'll help you connect the process to your family's values and boundaries.
Week 10: Exploring anger and healthy agression
Here you will begin to make peace with anger. Learning how it is a valid emotion like any other and healthy ways to release it. You'll learn how to have self-empathy for your own anger, as well as your child's.
Week 11: Playful parenting & storytelling
Play is where the magic happens in Empowered Parenting. You'll learn what keeps you from being able to play. As well as how to use it to connect, teach and develop new skills with your child.
Week 12: Your personal transformation
We use this week to cultivate resilience through self-reflection and appreciation for each victory on your journey. We celebrate how far you've come & consider how to keep moving forwards to your goals.
What participants said
"I've been blown away by the impact this programme has had on me. Kathryn creates a wonderful safe space for learning, she brings such warmth and empathy and real learned experience of the full potential impact of all the tools and strategies she shares."
Abby Taylor, Parent
"Kathryn is an excellent facilitator who is able to bring together the different perspectives and experiences of the group to ensure we get the
most out of the sessions. But more importantly, she is caring and supportive and has created a safe space for the group to share our thoughts without judgement."
Elizabeth Phillips-Rennie, Parent
"Kathryn was expert at introducing our group to new tools and theories to support us. All of these are incredibly accessible and useful to every area of life and I’m going to enjoy applying them more and more. I’ve stopped trying to multi task (and be super mum) and am focusing on one thing at a time and doing that really well, which is noticeably impacting my relationships positively too."
Katie Cox, Parent
"I couldn't recommend Kathryn enough as a coach. Kathryn spent just 90 minutes with me, in that time she held the space with such skill and really listened to my topic and concerns and where I wanted to go. Kathryn is excellent at reflecting back and has such a calming presence. I can see the impact of our conversation in so many positive ways and areas of my life. I walked away from our session with a huge amount of clarity on next steps. Kathryn's coaching conversation has contributed to my significantly improved wellbeing and mental health. I am beyond grateful to her. Thank you so much Kathryn."
Nadine Nelson, Coachee
"Kathryn immediately makes you feel at ease and comfortable in the sessions. She facilitates conversations beautifully allowing
participants to speak confidently in a non judgmental and safe place. Kathryn is very perceptive and takes time to get to know all the
participants so that she can support as best she can in achieving the goals and results that we want."
Olivia, Participant