Holistic Community and Home Care Services

01/04/2025

When we see a kid who's in a stress response [like a meltdown], consider if you can shift your thinking to ...

“They're not doing this on purpose. Their body is out of control.”

Here's why this works.

"With this in mind, the first emotional experience that can come forward is compassion. That's because you recognize the child in front of you suffering and struggling. Being stuck in a threat response which you can't get out of on your own is frightening, destabilizing, and disabling." –Amanda Diekman.

Compassion changes everything.

And compassion for yourself as a caregiver – and compassion for your child – are at the heart of what Amanda Diekman - Low Demand Parenting teaches.

Want to know how to make this shift for yourself?

Join us for a FREE live webinar on April 5th at 2:30 PM ET, where Amanda will cover a gentle mindset shift and safety planning strategies to help you manage aggressive meltdowns – without overextending your own nervous system. (Recorded replay available afterward).

Get the details and grab your spot by visiting parents.learnplaythrive.com/meltdowns

Image ID: One slide that reads, "Bringing more compassion to your child's meltdowns."

11/03/2025

30/12/2024

Let them mix the playdough.

It’s going to be OK, really.

Let them build bridges for toy cars with blocks, . . and bring spoons and bowls into the sandbox.

Let them pull blankets and pillows off their beds to make forts and have tea parties for stuffed animals. 🧸

I know it’s a lot . . . and maybe the thought of the colors mixing makes your eye twitch . . . but . . .

Their imaginations are vast and expansive, they can create magical worlds of make-believe and vibrant art, if given the opportunity.

Let them make mud pies, at least once, jump in the puddle . . . and every now and then, let them mix the playdough.

Let them show you how beautiful the world can be.

Shared with permission from Mom Seeking Coffee

04/11/2024

09/10/2024

08/09/2024

I really do love my job so much .. no two days are ever the same.
Last week we went for a nice long walk along the beach and came across “Cuttlefish henge”. How random and creative yet how beautiful that someone had taken the time to make this!

05/07/2024

A few days ago a lovely parent I work for surprised me with a bunch of beautiful flowers to show me how grateful she was and how much she appreciated me.. I was speechless (for once).. it was so unexpected and such a wonderful surprise.

Owning my own business has been the best thing I’ve ever done, but also the hardest. I absolutely love the practical and hands on side of things but there’s so much work behind the scenes that goes on that sometimes I just want to run away and hide as it all gets very overwhelming. All of the book keeping, chasing invoices, planning activities and outings, buying resources, organising and paying for all of the insurances and overheads etc, the list goes on.

So much mum guilt for having to work to provide for my child 100% with no child support or government help, but also the guilt of not being able to say yes to every single shift so feeling like I’m letting people down.

I can’t believe it’s been 2 and a half years since I started working for myself… it’s been a huge journey. Ups and downs. I’m still learning to try and look after myself and set boundaries (which sometimes means upsetting people which I then dwell on for months) but it’s honestly been the best 2 and a half years and I’m so grateful to all of the families I currently work with or have worked with in the past. I genuinely love what I do and love the beautiful bonds we have created and I’m excited to go to work every single day!

07/06/2024

Sometimes big feelings just need a safe space ###

21/04/2024

Go to the crying child. The wrong coloured pencil, the sand in their shoe, the book that they didn’t want to read - it’s all a big deal to them.

Think about the life experiences they’ve had. They haven’t experienced what we have and therefore have no frame of reference for how big their problem objectively is (or from an adult’s point of view).

Children under 7 are also still in the egocentric stage of development, where everything is all about them.

Plus, their prefrontal cortex isn’t anywhere near as developed as an adult’s, meaning they don’t have the ability to regulate themselves, or are only just beginning to learn this.

Dismissing their feelings (e.g. “you get what you get and you don’t get upset”…) or leaving them to deal with their emotions on their own can stay with them. If it happens consistently without a caregiver acknowledging or repairing afterwards, it can be stored in their brain and body along with other similar experiences (in their implicit memory), and contribute to their core beliefs (schemas), perceptions, and assumptions about the world as they grow up.

Meeting a child’s feelings with shame, ridicule or punishment also puts their nervous system under stress and their brain in a more reactive state, meaning they will remain in a heightened state and be more likely to become upset or triggered again.

There is just too much research and evidence behind this for it to be ignored.⠀
⠀
If a child is upset, go to them.

And as always - parents, teachers, anyone caring for children - we don’t have to get it right 100% of the time. We just have to be good enough. We’re all still learning and doing the best we can with the resources we have.