Articles
Post Natal Depression: Signs and Symptoms
Here at Laura’s Place, we’re involved in a lot of discussion about Post Natal Depression (PND). It’s a topic that comes up frequently because it seems to affect so many.
Having a baby and adjusting to life as a mother can be the most significant life-changing event many woman will ever experience. Adjusting to this change as well as coping with the demands of a new-born baby can make some women more likely to experience depression. Read the rest of this entry »
Parenting the child always on the go or displaying ADHD type behaviour
If you are living with a child with ADHD, you might be interested in article on living with ADHD or ADHD type behaviour. Published in Kidz on the Coast Magazine – March 2012
As many of you know, I’m a parent of a son with ADHD and Dyslexia. In Yr. 6 we were told that William would be unlikely to complete year 10. His behavior and lack of ‘interest in school work’ almost led to him being ‘asked to leave’ his School. As his Mum my gut reaction was ‘How dare you write my son off!’
I knew my son and he was capable of finishing School in Year 12 and go on to follow his dreams. I thought ‘Why should ADHD and Dyslexia limit his potential?’
I hope my telling you our story will offer some hope and ideas to help you if this is causing problems for your Family. I asked William if I could write this and he is 100% behind me telling his story as he wished he had known a positive outcome was possible when he felt the world was against him! Read the rest of this entry »
Bedtime Problems
Tracy and Brad came to see me at ‘Laura’s Place’. They were experiencing problems with their two boys, aged 7 and 5 years at bedtime. The boys came up with all the excuses in the world as to why they didn’t need to go to bed from not being tired to needing an extra hug!
Does this sound like something you have heard in your house?
Poor Tracy was exhausted by this as she was often on her own at bedtime for the boys. She was up and down the stairs all evening, going between the boys and their various requests. By the time Brad walked in the door Tracy was very stressed and the boys were still awake. Read the rest of this entry »
Can you turn off the TV or computer in your home?
Is turning off the TV something that you dread doing because of the arguing and tantrums that will follow?
You might be surprised to learn that you are not alone in your battle!
Kylie came to see me at Laura’s Place. She was having major problems with her two eldest children aged 4 and 7. Television and computer use was the main source of arguments every day. Getting her children ready for school or asking them to do their homework was becoming a nightmare and she dreaded it.
Kylie also had a one year old and was feeling more and more that she was fighting a loosing battle at home.
Does this sound familiar?
What is Emotional Resilience?
I once read a wonderful description of what emotional resilience means; emotional resilience is the ability to bungee jump through life. The pitfalls are still there but you are protected from becoming overwhelmed by the elastic bungee cord around your ankles which bounces you back from hard times to safety.
There are many times in children’s lives when this ability helps, whether it’s facing challenges at school or at home, dealing with changes within the family or even moving house and adjusting to a new area.
Family Meetings: Infuriating but Effective
Sonia and Luke came to see me as they felt that they were fighting a losing battle at home with their 3 children, aged between 7 and 13 years old. They reported that everything was an argument between the kids, from who had been on the computer longest, which TV program to watch, bedtimes, chores, who sits in the front of the car and who fed the rabbit last time!
They felt that there was no communication in the house, just shouting.!
Personally I am a great believer in the saying that ‘the family that eats together stays together.’ The amount of people in for dinner in my household can range from just my husband and me, to all four kids, plus any number of the kids friends that are around. No matter how many of us are in for a meal we make sure that we sit down around the table to eat.
However this is easier said than done! Lives are busy; people need to eat at different times due to work/ sports / dancing etc commitments.
Band Aid Parenting
How do you survive the long school holidays?
With my four kids the long holidays were a mixed blessing, on one hand it meant that all the complex organisation of after school activities with the logistical nightmare of finding two of the kids doing different activities at the same time but in different locations, gave way to a relaxed atmosphere with less limits and lazy days.
All that was great for the first week or two, after that came the arguing between each other, over the smallest thing and constant cries of I’m bored, Mum! Around this time I would find myself saying the sorts of things that I remember my Mother saying, I also remembered that I swore I would never say these things. Read the rest of this entry »
