Parent.prosper

Academic readiness is the easiest thing to measure and the least important thing for how September actually goes
What actually matters is whether your child can handle a disappointment without it derailing their whole day
Whether they can wait their turn. Whether they can say goodbye to you and trust they will be OK..
Those skills are teachable. And the summer before school starts is the single best window to build them.

More on this all week. Dm me SCHOOL if you want the course I built around exactly this. 399baed , 5 modules , everything you need 🌱

Today’s lesson in parenting:

Just because you can do the extra thing doesn’t mean you have to.

A few weeks ago I had a lovely idea. My daughter has a July birthday, so I thought it would be nice to celebrate with her nursery friends before they break for summer.

Fast forward to last night and there I was making a giant mermaid tail from Rice Krispies, assembling party bags, juggling family visitors, and wondering why I do this to myself.

This morning I was so overwhelmed that I pulled over and cried.

And the truth is? Nobody asked me to do any of it.

As parents, we often carry invisible pressure to make everything special, magical and memorable. We add more to our plates and then wonder why we’re exhausted.

Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is lower the bar a little.

Not because our children deserve less.

Because we deserve support too.

Now excuse me while I go explain to a nearly 4-year-old why she’s having a birthday celebration on a day that is definitely not her birthday. 🙃

👇 Tell me I’m not the only parent who creates their own problems sometimes.

The UAE has announced that children under 15 will no longer be permitted to have social media accounts.

As both a parent and a child development professional, I welcome the conversation this creates.

For too long, we’ve expected children to navigate a digital world that many adults struggle to manage themselves.

And whilst I agree that the primary responsibility lies with the platforms, this doesn’t mean parents have no role to play.

Because this has never just been about screens.

It’s about childhood.

It’s about protecting the years when children are learning how to build friendships, tolerate boredom, solve problems, manage emotions, develop confidence and discover who they are away from an audience.

Will this solve everything? No.

Children will find workarounds. Parents will face pressure. Platforms will need to prove that age verification actually works.

But I do think it’s a step towards asking a much bigger question:

Are we giving children access to technology before they have the developmental skills to manage it?

I’d love to know your thoughts.

🌱 Root to Rise is for parents who want to raise emotionally healthy, resilient children in a world that often pulls them in the opposite direction.

Five minutes of screaming. One exhausted mama. Zero giving in.
This is what holding a boundary WITH connection actually looks like- and it’s not pretty, but it works. She wasn’t punished. She wasn’t ignored. Mum stayed calm, stayed present and waited her out.
Then offered the bite anyway.
That last moment is everything. We don’t take things that don’t belong to us- even when we really, really really want them🙂

And she got there . All in her own.
Save this for the next time you’re in the thick of a tantrum and wondering if any of it is worth it.
It is 🩵

There is something that happens when parents get to be honest with each other.
Not the “oh we’re all fine, just tired!” version.
The real version. The one where someone admits they shouted this morning and felt terrible about it. When someone says they have no idea if they are doing this right. Where someone cries a little and nobody makes it weird.
That is what my Coffee Morning’s are for.

If that sounds like somewhere, you would like to be- next one is the third Tuesday of July at the The Hood. 65 aed . Small group on purpose..
Dm me COFFEE and I will put you on the list ☕️

As parents, we often wear self neglected like a badge of honour. We tell ourselves we’ll rest when things calm down, book the appointment next month, focus on ourselves once everything and everyone else is sorted.
But our children don’t just need us present. They need us well.

So if your body has been whispering to you lately, consider this your reminder to listen before it starts shouting.
What is one thing you’ve been putting off when it comes to your own well-being?