Hey - are you exhausted?

I talk a lot about how important it is to take care of ourselves because what we deal with each day can be challenging. 

We need to have something left in our tank to weather the storm of life. I am so lucky to show you this series of three short 5 minute videos from our wonderful naturopath friend, Jules Galloway, as she touches on sleep, stress and chronic fatigue.

Today's blog is all about SLEEP 

Jules works with women with fatigue and exhaustion.  She really brings so many valuable tips in these 5 minute videos.

It is well worth a watch, so take a moment where...

I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Kim Hopkins from Lives In The Balance (who works closely with and trains people on Dr Ross Greene's methods (Author of The Explosive Child to help bring his strategies into practice).  Kim was AMAZING and full of incredibly practical information and helpful advice on dealing with challenging behaviours.

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It is time to bring back the family meeting! 

We are a family, but it doesn't always feel that way. Sometimes it feels like we are all running our own race with the intensity of life.  The family meeting brings us back together so we feel connected and know what is going on with each others lives.

The ADHD brain is often an anxious brain.  They are worried about what is coming next.  Their brain is often comforted by routine and consistency.  Having a family meeting shows each family member what is coming up.  It also has the added advantage of sharing the family worklo...

There is no doubt, teachers are magical humans.  Their job is one of the hardest, most important jobs in the whole world. 

One amazing teacher has the ability to change a student's life.  They impact how a student feels about learning.  When a child thinks their teacher likes or gets them, they try harder.

When my husband was in primary school, not much was widely known about ADHD.  He was very disruptive and sometimes aggressive in the classroom - there were not many strategies then for supporting kids with ADHD. He became known as the 'naughty kid'.  The teacher even screamed at him to be ...

How do we actually get our children to do what needs to be done? It is a tough one and it is something we talk about a lot in my one on one coaching sessions.  The truth is, it is a tricky one and we often need to explore what motivates your child specifically.

 Here are some tips to help motivate your child:

1. One step simple instructions.  Please do not interrupt that task with further instructions, as it will distract them.
   
   
2. Be visual have a chart or draw out what they need to do.  Have the action of moving the paperclip down the side of the paper or ticking the task off, so that the chil...

We have all done it.  Our kids slowly wear us down. Our tolerance level gets exceeded and we lose it. We say things we don't mean.  We spew venom out of our mouths.  You may even hate your child in this moment.  You may resent them.  You may want to walk out the door and never come back.

I get you.  I have been there.  Raising kids that have behavioural challenges is hard work. I have freakin lost it.  Out of sheer frustration I have thrown things.  I have said really mean things.  I have googled boarding schools.  I have wanted to drive to a police station and drop my children off and speed ...

So often I see posts on facebook from parents in distress because no one showed up to their child's party.  You can only imagine the heartbreak that they feel in this moment and the distress that they would feel for their child. 

For the child, who may already struggle socially this can be a terrible self esteem blow and it breaks my heart. 

My ADHD husband's memories of primary school is never being invited to any parties because he was considered too 'wild' or 'out of control'.  He has carried that his whole life.

Depending on how your child goes socially, you may have the same fear about...

It blows my mind when the media lead with negative traits of ADHD and special needs in general.  It is everywhere. You see, time and time again throughout history the big change makers, the big hitters, the big risk takers, the greats, the outside the box thinkers, have been people with ADHD.  So why do we only seem to hear of the negatives?  It is something that makes me cranky.  

Well it could be because these are kids are challenging to parent, the negatives are in your face.  Everyday on facebook groups there are parents at their wits end.  They are ready to give up.  They have had enough...

We all know we need to look after ourselves... but life happens and we are looking after children that have special needs and behavioural challenges - somehow every week something seems to come up and our needs fall to the end of a very long to do list.

But the truth of the matter is, we are a seriously high burn out risk. 

Over the years I have come to realise that I was waiting for someone to swoop in and take care of me.  I didn't put myself first, everyone else's needs came first.  Sadly, if we don't look after ourselves, we wont have anything left in the tank to assist our children and ...