At first, even for me, it felt like an obscure term — not something we were expected to understand while managing homes, building careers, raising children, and holding everything together with a smile. It wasn’t until I began researching deeply for the Tadpole curriculum that I came across extensive clinical research on how central nervous […]
Most parents are parenting from their own unresolved experiences. Not intentionally. Not consciously. But instinctively. The phrase I hear most often is: “My parents did this, and I turned out fine.” And I always want to ask — gently, honestly — did we? Did we turn out calm? Did we turn out regulated? Did we […]
Behaviour is what we see and respond to. The volume. The defiance. The tears. The refusal. We name it quickly. We try to correct it. We look for ways to stop it. But for children, behaviour is communication — especially when they do not yet have language for what they feel. A child who hits […]
It is not availability. It is not proximity. It is not being in the same room. Presence is not multitasking while listening. It is not answering while thinking ahead. It is not watching without really seeing. Presence is attention without agenda. It is the ability to pause long enough to notice what a child is […]
Because of course we love our children. And of course we keep them safe. But for a child (and really, for anyone), love means something else entirely. Love is unconditional. Love does not expect them to change. Love accepts their unique traits — not as flaws, but as markers of who they are, and perhaps […]
It came from the expectations placed on a new mother. Expectations shaped the way I mothered — not because they were right, but because they were loud. They made me look outward for approval instead of inward for instinct. Over time, working closely with many children and mothers, I began to notice the same pattern […]
Noticing the pressure placed on mothers — quietly, consistently, and without acknowledgment. Pressure to raise children well, to build a life alongside them, to fit into social structures that assume support exists where it often does not. Pressure to be present, capable, emotionally available, socially engaged, professionally functional — all at once. And to do […]
