I’ve seen a number of posts recently encouraging mamas to ‘keep going even though it’s hard, even though you’re exhausted, keep going’. And I’m curious about what it is they’re encouraging us to keep doing. Is it not to give up on living? Or is it to keep running ourselves into the ground? I wonder…
Dear Maxine, I struggle with being assertive and worry about it affecting my children. I have always feared confrontation and have never had assertiveness modelled to me growing up. Often, I feel like I will cry (or do cry) and feel panicked under such circumstances. As a result, I tend to avoid situations where confrontation…
Dear Maxine, With lockdown easing, I’m really pleased I can now have some freedom and go back to eating in restaurants and visiting cafes. However, I’m now terrified of taking my daughter to a restaurant. How will she behave? What if she has a tantrum? Or just gets a bit over-excited and starts to disturb…
What do you notice about your child’s play? Recently, I’ve been thinking about how they always push themselves to learn that little bit extra. Have you noticed this? Or maybe your child doesn’t do that. Maybe your child still plays with the toys they were playing with when they were 3 months old, in the…
Dear Maxine, Thank you for your post on finding playing with your children tedious, it really resonated with me. Do you have any advice on how to overcome the intense feelings of guilt I have when my child is playing on her own? It’s worst when I start doing something else. I feel most guilty…
Hi Maxine, I came across you Instagram and blog recently and I just wanted to let you know how much I love the content. So much of it aligns with how I want to parent my children. Do you have any plans to do any posts around ‘mum guilt’ of finding playing with your children…
What comes to mind when you read ‘space: a key psychological need’? Do you think of physical space – enough room to move? Or do you think of metaphorical space? Freedom to move? To think? To feel? Physical space What kind of space makes you feel safe? Do you like things to be ordered or…
I used to be a big fan of Super Nanny. When I got a job as a nanny myself, I believed I was ready. I was armed with her arsenal of behavioural techniques. This made me quick to tell children off. I used the naughty step or ignored them if they weren’t doing what I…
Recently, I’ve been talking to parents about their baby or toddler hitting and how on Earth we get them to stop. “My baby is a great learner! Look at all the things they can do today that they couldn’t even do yesterday! Why can they not learn that I don’t like to be hit?! Every…
The more I write, the more I realise that everything I’m writing about comes back to the power of connection. To noticing our children and acknowledging their experiences, before we make judgments about their behaviour. Because usually, the judgments disappear when we do this. What does connection feel like? Think of a time when you…
