Our Story
Rather than seeking to control or “train” children, our approach is based on how much children look to us for love and want to be close and connected. Human beings need connection in order to function well. Nurturing that connection is the key to resolving many of the common difficulties in parenting.
Hand in Hand Parenting offers practical, parent-tested tools, based in current understandings of neurobiological development. These Tools help build the closeness and connection which is a precondition for change and growth, and provide a way for parents to get the emotional support they need.
Madeleine offers interactive seminars and workshops and groups around NSW and Sydney, Australia. She also offers phone based support to parents worldwide, and delivers online training and support through www.handinhandparenting.org.
Madeleine says “the best thing I ever did was become a parent. My wish for the world would be that no parent ever feels bad about themselves as a parent. The truth is, every parent is always doing the very best that they can. No matter what the struggle, we parents are the bravest, most dedicated bunch of people I ever came across, and I feel so proud to be one.”
We make mistakes in our parenting and in our relationships with our children and families, all the time. Hand in Hand Parenting offers practical ways to recover from those mistakes, learn from them, and prevent difficulties in future. “It means we can support and love our children the way we dreamed we would, when we first became parents.”
Madeleine was lucky to be introduced to Hand in Hand many years before becoming a parent. Seeing that her child knew how to use these Listening Tools from the beginning has only confirmed how useful they are.
“Hand in Hand has helped me to understand that parenting is hard work, good work, and real work. It’s not a hobby, although it is treated that way, with no pay and little support. One of the hardest things is not having colleagues – people to plan with, share with, problem solve with, get help from.”
Madeleine is passionate about building a network of parent colleagues and professional carers using these Listening Tools. “There’s nothing more of a relief as a parent than the knowledge that someone else knows, is committed to and is thinking about your children. And it turns out we can do this for each other.”
Madeleine is part of a small team of experienced Hand in Hand Instructors providing Hand in Hand Parenting’s nine month long Instructor Certification Programme. She provides phone-based coaching and support to Certification Candidates around the world. Hand in Hands Instructors are drawn from the ranks of parents who have learned the approach by using it in their own families. At the core of our approach is a peer-based support process that parents can use to build support around themselves. In doing so, they are building support around the families they have contact with, and more broadly, their communities. It is a natural next step for many parents to join the ranks of Certified Instructors.
Madeleine often works with her husband, Roewen Wishart. Together, they use the Listening Tools in their own parenting and relationship with one another. They love to share these Tools with friends, and like nothing better than a good old Saturday night family-and-friends wrestle.
Madeleine has worked a lot with communities for whom English is not the first language, and welcomes all who work and play with children.
Hand in Hand Parenting (www.handinhandparenting.org) is not-for-profit based in Palo Alto California, and working worldwide with parent leaders and educators. For over 20 years, Hand in Hand has given parents practical tools to resolve universal family challenges. Unlike other parenting methods, which rely on systems of rewards and punishment, our philosophy is centred on children's strong, innate desire to love and be loved. This fresh and effective framework is consistent with the latest research and results in long-term family success.
Hand in Hand’s work is based on the following assumptions:
-When children feel connected, they learn readily, love easily, and become caring leaders among their peers. A healthy parent-child connection enables a child to fully access his intelligence and ability.
-When parents feel connected with their children and with other parents, they have greater success at solving problems at the heart of family and community life. Parenting becomes more fun, and more rewarding.
-When children’s behaviour goes “off track,” they are asking for closeness, connection and understanding. Parents can use the tools of Special Time, Playlistening, Setting Limits or Staylistening to rebuild the connection with their children. The child offloads stress, reconnects, and can then make thoughtful decisions and learn from his experience.
-When emotional stress sends parents' behaviour "off track," they need the support of a listener who appreciates how much they care and how hard they try. Parents need the safety to offload feelings that interfere with their ability to guide their children with love and sensible limits, kindly held.
You can learn more about Madeleine’s work here: www.madeleinewinter.com You can learn more about Hand in Hand Parenting by visiting http://www.handinhandparenting.org/ You will find answers there to many common parenting problems: aggression, sleep, sibling rivalries, fussy eating, separation anxiety, sharing, building resilience, school struggles, fears, weaning and much, much more.
