ABOUT
SEMINAR 1: EATING, SLEEPING, AND POOPING
Becoming a new parent and having a new baby is possibly one of the most meaningful as well as difficult and complex experiences one can have. Why do some babies breastfeed easily and others not? Why do some babies sleep through the night and others don't? What happens when parents and their babies have to negotiate separations, for example, night-time crying, weaning, crawling, and walking? What if your baby’s distress makes you feel that you cannot cope?
Babies and young children do not have language to communicate their feelings, and often these are expressed through their physical needs, such as eating, sleeping, and pooping. This is a space to understand the emotional aspects that can make feeding, sleeping, digesting, and expelling food through pooping challenging.
This panel can offer a balanced, sensitive, and non-judgmental approach and understanding to help/support parents in their care for their babies and young children. We can offer some professional guidance on a range of topics, including setting boundaries, managing separation, sleeping, and toileting. Our main focus is that babies and young children develop their own identities through their growing relationships with their parents, families, and friends.
Panel: Terri Blaszkiewicz (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist), Melanie Horwitz (Clinical Social Worker), Dr Anusha Lachman (Psychiatrist)
SEMINAR 2: TOO BIG BUT TOO SMALL: MUDDLING THROUGH PARENTING IN MIDDLE CHILDHODD
Parenting a child in primary school is a little like being Goldilocks: your child is too big to be babied but too small to be independent. As parents, it can be difficult to get it just right. This talk will give parents some psychological theory to help them balance the dependence and the independence that children need. Building strong relationships between parents and children so they can weather the bumps in the road. An approach to parenting that is both flexible and structured will help parents and children feel competent and capable.
Common parenting worries and common challenges for primary school children will be explored. There will be lots of time to ask questions and hear answers from the expert panel of a clinical psychologist, an occupational therapist and a school counsellor.
Panel: Carol Long (Clinical Psychologist), Tracey Wood (School Counsellor), Mush Perrins (Paediatric Occupational Therapist)
SEMINAR 3: HOLDING ON WHILE LETTING GO DURING “THE HOUR OF THE STRANGER”
Adolescence can be a time of profound change, growth, and complexity. Teenagers may feel like strangers to themselves and to the parents who walk alongside them. We understand how challenging, frustrating, and at times painful this “hour of the stranger” can be, as parents navigate both the loss of what feels familiar and the unfolding of something new. This panel of adolescent experts invites parents into a compassionate dialogue, offering insights into the psychological challenges of adolescence while guiding them on how to nurture trust, strengthen communication, and sustain relational connections with their adolescent.
Panel: Dr Lynne Goldschmidt (Counselling Psychologist), Dr Halyey Haynes-Rolando (Educational Psychologist), Dr Candice Jacobson (Psychiatrist)
If you have any questions you would like discussed at the seminar, please email us at [email protected].