Familylife4u

04/09/2023

FREE mini Series to break free from feeling overwhelmed, stuck, uncertain in midlife....

09/05/2023

Parent of tween or teen?

I found this video really helpful in understanding what is happening and how to respond to teens at this sometimes challenging time:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/kajabi-storefronts-production/file-uploads/sites/2147565270/themes/2153641939/downloads/a6700fe-4c2-de6b-5a0a-5c7208a22e28_GMT20230427-170337_Recording_avo_640x360_1_.mp4

Free recording available until this Thursday 11th May from Parenting Teens in Uncertain Times Summit

02/02/2023

Words of wisdom from Maggie Dent ....

28/01/2023

Cool egg carton art!!

EGG CARTON PORTRAITS 🦒🐘🦊🐊

Photo credit: https://instagram.com/nylah.khan

23/11/2022

13/11/2022

10/11/2022

Time to reframe bedtime with our kids, even if we are desperate for then to go to sleep!!

Saying goodnight is about separation. It is a challenging time for young kids (and parents!) because their need for connection is high. It is natural they should want us. We get to decide how we provide proximity at night - there is no one prescription or one size fits all. What we can do is offer connection by bridging the distance between us. This means we offer them something to hold onto that represents our relationship. It might be focusing on the plans for the next day or telling them you will meet them in their dreams. Bridging means we focus on the next point of connection instead of the distance that comes between us. When we offer connection, reduce their alarm over separation, their body can do the rest to get them to sleep.

You can download the infographic here - https://macnamara.ca/downloads/

23/09/2022

Sharing my latest post about Intuitive Eating, please check it out!

So it has been over a week since I learnt more about Principle 2, Honour your Hunger (or Honor if you are from North America!) as part of my Intuitive Eating journey. I am enjoying the process so far…

13/01/2022

I don't think I am alone, but sometimes it feels lonely. Maybe that's life. We all feel lonely sometimes. But the pandemic has certainly heightened and exacerbated any loneliness or isolation we might…

29/04/2021

Some handy tips for dealing with transitions or change with kids of all ages from Inner Expat

Whether it is starting school, moving to a new country, illness, separation or a new baby (to name just a few!) dealing with transitions with children can be a challenge.

In my blog post and first ever interview with Estie Alessandrini as a blogger (!) I share my tips including the L.E.G.S anachronym to help support parents and families navigate and adapt to change:

- Listen
- Empathise and Normalise
- Guidance
- Support.

What tips do you have to help deal with big changes?
http://innerexpat.com/4-tips-to-help-with-transitions-for-children/

27/04/2021

Too true...

So true. In fact, conjugating verbs in any language.....

23/04/2021

Great info here....

There are few parents who haven’t struggled to know what to say or do in light of their child’s behaviour. Sometimes they say things to a child that they later regret or sometimes they think what they are saying is helpful. Based on my conversations with parents, I have pulled together the top 5 statements that adults say to kids that can turn the tables on a healthy relationship with them. While they may make sense to adults, they often don’t to kids.

If there were one thing that mattered most in parenting it would be to convey to our kids that we know how to care for them. Their need for connection and attachment is what nourishes the roots from which their psychological growth occurs. It isn’t about parenting perfection but about the consistency of care, the generosity to connect with them, and how they come to take for granted we are there for them.

When it comes to preserving and protecting our caretaking role, the following five phrases can backfire. While many of these are in popular usage, they don’t seem to be well thought out in terms of the impact on the adult/child relationship. A consistent and steady diet of these phrases could court a child to take the lead in their relationship with adults and press down on emotions that are critical to their development.

To download the infographic - http://macnamara.ca/why-do-kids-do-that/

To read more see - http://macnamara.ca/portfolio/5-things-parents-say-to-kids-that-can-turn-the-tables-on-their-relationship/

22/04/2021

Sharing my other page where I recently had the pleasure of doing my first 'blogger' interview with Estie Alessandrini where we talked about dealing with transitions in parenting.

There are so many transitions to deal with as a parent whether day to day mini transitions or larger ones like starting school, moving to a new country, family separation, a new baby to name just a few. I share my 'LEGS' acronym:

🧡 Listen
🧡 Empathise and normalise
🧡 Guidance and Support

To help with these transitions regardless of whether you are an expat or not:

Here is the post:
https://healthyfamilyandme.com/family-transition/

Here is the YouTube interview:
https://youtu.be/wg-sprPb6a0

As ever, I would love to hear any ideas or feedback you have on expat life and, of course, parenting through transitions 🧡

Does family transition leave you feeling stressed or stronger? Change is an inevitable part of our family life cycles, but it doesn't mean it's always easy t...

14/04/2021

I know it is not easy to hear about, but this interview is really interesting and important for anyone that wants to learn more about the practical realities of human trafficking (in this part of Africa), how to help support those out of it and to ultimately end it.........

Real Life Stories: People Trafficking in Cameroon This is Cameroon, Africa. I grew up in a village called Nwa in the North West Region of Cameroon, not far from the border with Nigeria. It is a trafficking prone community. I lived here and observed girls and boys trafficked out of this village to ci...

28/03/2021

11/03/2021

According to a recent survey conducted by BCG's The Network, these are the top 10 most coveted destinations for expats to live in.…

02/03/2021

Always worth following AhaParenting.com and Dr Laura Markham's work.....

Meet one of our Virtual WOW Summit Keynote Speakers, Dr. Laura Markham!
Dr. Laura Markham is the author of the Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids by Dr. Laura Markham series. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology at Columbia University and has worked as a parenting coach with countless families across the world. Her website, ahaparenting.com, serves up aha! moments for parents of babies through teens.
Learn about more of our speakers and register online now!

25/02/2021

How we decided where was the best place to live in Spain, where we wanted to live and work with our family and settle for the long term.

22/02/2021

Love this post from Conscious Transitions:

https://conscious-transitions.com/this-is-one-way-to-create-self-trust-in-kids/

The tasks of parenting have changed over recent decades. Our children are not here to fulfill our needs and reams. We're here to support theirs.

27/01/2021

For anyone else that runs an online biz or is thinking of starting one......

A 5 day online event with 50+ industry experts designed to help YOU spend less time blogging and start seeing bigger results.

14/01/2021

Would love to hear any feedback you have!

Thank you :)

Blog name – my epic fail. Here is my story: how to totally screw up your blog name. So, when choosing the blog name I did the usual, brainstorming, asking friends and family, thinking about my audience, the topics etc.   I read articles like this one to help me get creative, used a thesaurus, etc...

07/01/2021

Latest post on This Expat Life

New One of the things that I have loved about starting a new life in a different country or location is that opportunity it presents.  A chance of a new start to do things differently.  Granted it is a little extreme to do that just for the sake of starting something new, but it does feel like a b...

23/12/2020

Just as we got used to the idea of a quiet family Christmas of just the four of us, it looked like it would all change, or would it?

http://innerexpat.com/index.php/2020/12/23/unexpected-family-christmas/

20/12/2020

Changing plans for Christmas can bring up a lot of emotions and disappointments....

A couple of weeks back I spontaneously started crying in the supermarket. This Christmas has certainly been a rollercoaster ride - and even more so for some these last 24 hours. More in my latest post.......

http://innerexpat.com/index.php/2020/12/12/christmas-apart-from-loved-ones/

18/12/2020

Please come along and check out my new blog all about the realities of expat life.......

02/05/2019

For anyone else that might be interested in signing up and getting a $20 discount, and we will too!

Thanks!

A whole family social-emotional class for exploring character, critical thinking, and decision-making​ skills.

02/05/2019

More with seeds!

02/05/2019

Some cool recycling tips...