Positively Parenting

03/04/2022

Want to help your son or daughter to be the best version of themselves possible?

For anyone who has ended up here, and wonders what we do, we wanted to introduce ourselves. Positively Parenting is an educational consultancy which aims to empower parents to have more meaningful and transformative conversations with their secondary age children. As well as helping parents to master coaching and communication skills, we will be running regular webinars to give parents confidence discussing challenging topics, connect parents through our course graduates community, and provide individual coaching for parents as well as teenagers.

We are in the final stages of editing our first ecourse - watch this page for details of how to access this with a launch discount!

28/03/2022

Lights, camera, action! So exited to announce that filming for our foundational ecourse, Positively Parenting, is now complete. This affordable introduction to how you can use coaching skills to support your son or daughter and transform your relationship will now enter post production. Watch this page for updates!

11/03/2022

We were reminded on our recent family holiday that sometimes, however much we want our kids to be a certain place, sometimes we have to simply accept where they are at...and meet them there! This might be their mood, how they are achieving at school, how popular they are, or simply what they want to do on a particular day. When a kid doesn't want to go hiking, there's no point trying to force them. It’s actually much more powerful to slow things down and accept their reality. In our case, that was scaling down our plans and spending some more ‘slow time’ together, but it is powerful thing as a parent to be able to see your child where they are at, meet them there, and help them work out where they want to go next.

03/03/2022

For National Eating Disorders Week, we wanted to extend solidarity to parents of teenagers suffering from an eating disorder, and equally parents themselves with eating disorders.

In a world where image is increasingly everything, and young people are bombarded with social media on a daily (and even hourly) basis, it’s inevitable that increasing numbers of young people are diagnosed every year. Additionally, eating disorders are be linked to factors beyond the desire to look a particular way, and control of food can be used by young people who feel unable to control other aspects of their lives.

Young Minds have pulled together an amazing selection of resources for any parents who may be worried that a young person in their care has an eating disorder.

If you're worried your child has an eating disorder or an unhealthy relationship with food, read our tips and advice on what you can do to support them.

01/03/2022

Hey new followers :) You are welcome here! I'd love to know more about you. What age are the teenagers in your family, and what do you hope we can help you with here?

Michaela Louise
Stephanie Robson
Evie Payne
Dinna Burnett
Vicki carter
Natasha Roberts
Hannah Jennings

28/02/2022

News over the weekend has been troubling for all of us, and it isn’t surprising that anxiety is high among teenagers. It’s amazing how much they absorb, from conversations with friends, or news coverage. We have had a number of questions about how best to approach the situation and as always, we encourage open and honest communication. These are some ideas:

- Provide time and opportunities for teenagers to ask questions, whether when watching tv, around the dinner table, or another safe space for your family.

- Don’t be afraid of directly addressing the situation, and equally don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know an answer. Simply responding, ‘I’m not sure, but I will do my best to find out for you,’ is perfect.

- Remember to talk about feelings, not just about facts. Try to REFLECT the language the teenager is using back to them, and CLARIFY what they mean, if you aren’t sure.

Newsround has done some fantastic coverage which is particularly useful for younger teenagers.

Please shout if you have any questions or if we can help at all!

While you're keeping up to date with what's going on in Ukraine, you might be coming across a lot of new words and phrases - we've taken some of the key terms and explained them

25/02/2022

What’s the single most challenging thing about parenting a teenager?

21/02/2022

Did you know the most commonly asked question on Google last week about teenagers was, “why won’t teenagers listen to their parents’ solutions?”

This is such an interesting question, and I’d argue that it’s because their own solutions are often the most powerful ones…we just have to help them find these! There is all sorts going on for teenagers, from the crazy mixture of hormones and brain development they’re experiencing, to a load of social and emotional pressures.

Our e-course, currently in development, will help parents and carers of teenagers to work with them and explore their own goals and solutions, as well as diving into some of the influences which can make teenagers feel like strangers sometimes. Sign up for updates at this link!

Committed to empowering parents of teenagers and secondary age pupils through e-courses, coaching, and making positive parenting skills accessible and affordable for all.

15/02/2022

This week we are thinking about how coaching - and parents using coaching skills in the home - can help young people to reach their goals. Many parents already turn to experienced tutors to help support their secondary age pupils, and tutoring can work hand-in-hand with coaching to empower teenagers educationally.

We speak to Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell, founder of www.prepinyork.com and an expert tutor with 20 years experience, to hear how she feels coaching can help young people identify and work towards personal goals.

https://www.positivelyparenting.co.uk/blog/coaching-helps-teenagers-to-see-a-clear-path-ahead-of-them-to-reach-their-goals

Many parents turn to experienced tutors to help ensure that their son or daughter achieves their potential. However, as education professionals are increasingly acknowledging, academic success is only one jigsaw piece in helping young people to reach their goals. A number of parents have asked us ho

14/02/2022

A big Monday welcome to all our new followers last week :) You are so welcome here. Where are you from? How old are the young people in your home?

Belinda Jayne Whaley
Ali
Kerri Clark
fitzgerald
Jayne Bramwell
Helen M Spence
Helen Downes
Louise
Lees

11/02/2022

Happy Friday! We just wanted to provide some really fantastic links for anyone who has found our Safer Internet series useful. Both as education professionals and parents, these sites are a great starting point when equipping yourself in keeping your teenagers safe online.

NSPCC: Keeping Children Safe Online https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

SWGfL: https://swgfl.org.uk/

Internet Matters: Information, Advice and Support to Keep Children Safe Online www.internetmatters.org

Working with online safety experts, we’re here to guide you through the many issues children can experience when using the internet

10/02/2022

Our next idea for parents this week as we think about Internet Safety is 'Collaboration'.

With teenagers, it is always important to consider ways to negotiate or offer choices.

Work together as a family to find ways to make your time online safe. We suggest filling out our ‘Safer Online Family Template’ (click on the link below to register and receive for free) together, and discussing what you do well currently, and what you could improve. It can be particularly damaging if a young person feels they are being punished by having time online or with a device taken away, and extremely powerful if their caregivers commit to matching any changes made. It isn’t particularly helpful banning phone time if you are sitting on your phone yourself!

Agree together on aims for screentime per day or week (most phones give the option to track this), or designate areas of the house as ‘no phone zones’.

Phones can be particularly problematic when used before bed due to blue light inhibiting the production of melatonin. Some studies suggest teenagers are even more susceptible to this. Discuss ways you can avoid this issue as a family, for example, turning phones off overnight, or putting all phones in a basket at bedtime.

Always explain any reasoning around changes to screentime access, and ask young people to join in or express their feelings.

https://www.positivelyparenting.co.uk/blog/how-can-i-make-sure-my-teenager-is-safe-online