Tantrums and meltdowns are really common in early childhood, but, as a Psychologist, I feel that they are still so very misunderstood. They are not "naughty behaviour" and they are definitely not something to "just ignore" in the hopes that they will go away. As a Psychologist, I recognise tantrums, meltdowns and emotional eruptions are often a "stress response" or a child who is in fight/flight/freeze mode. 

By discussing children's brain development, nervous systems and through our exploration of Polyvagal Theory I will empower you to recognise the difference between intentional behaviour and behaviour which is outside of your child's conscious control.

You will leave with new skills in recognising when your child is "dialling-up" or becoming dysregulated, and with a game plan for what to do when this happens in public or at home. You will feel equipped to navigate these meltdowns from a place of connection that nurtures your relationship with your child during these challenging moments.

Too often, parents and professionals are advised to take a "behavioural approach" to managing these physiological, emotional experiences. Separation based approaches from Behavioural Psychology such as as "ignore the behaviour" or time-out, are (in my opinion) outdated. Behavioural psychology was popular in the 19020s and we have learnt so much more since then! Thanks to up-to-date research in the fields of Neuroscience, Interpersonal Neurobiology and Attachment Science, we now have optimal parenting tools available to us to support brain growth, and self-regulation skills in our children. We will explore these in this workshop.

We will discuss how to navigate behaviours that occur during a stress response including "attacking energy" which can be aimed towards the self or others. 

And, because I know you will have questions, we will squeeze in time for a Q&A at the end