Laura: Encouraging Parents

09/09/2025

👉 Imagine starting a new job every September: new office, new colleagues, a new boss with different rules. Exciting for some, overwhelming for others.

For our children, that’s school life every year. New classroom, new teacher, new expectations – and often new friendship groups too.

No wonder it can feel bumpy at home in those first weeks back.
✨ Find the link to my latest blog on why “difficult behaviour” is often just adjustment at work in this week's newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/c796fe2119b3/allchangeplease

04/09/2025

Wednesday morning I sit and think to myself… kids will be home at lunchtime, amazing – we can make jam, or cinnamon rolls, or…

By 3.30, we’re all in separate rooms, having yelled or grumped at each other over some silly thing (homework, whether we need the yellow or the blue books for English this year – arrrgh, fournitures).

You (I) really really would like to show up with patience and clarity as a parent… but you keep putting getting support to the bottom of the list?

Here’s the reality:

Without a community and practical strategies, burnout is almost inevitable.

The parents I work with have discovered that the real shift happens when they combine:
✔ Practical ADHD-friendly tools
✔ A safe space to share the tough stuff
✔ Connection with people who understand

That’s why I created the ADHD Parenting Collective – a 3-month programme with a maximum of 8 parents, starting 26 September.

Participants leave with:
✅ Strategies that work for ADHD brains
✅ A renewed sense of confidence
✅ A community they can lean on

Early bird pricing is available until Friday 5 September.
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to invest in support, this is it! (message me, or comment, and I'll get in touch)

02/09/2025

La rentrée hits different when you're a parent 🍂

Whether it's your first September in France or your child's last first day of school, there's something beautifully messy about this transition season.

This year I'm embracing the uncertainty - shifting toward more ADHD coaching work without having all the answers figured out. Maybe that's the point? Maybe growth happens when we step forward anyway.

If you're an ADHD parent feeling the September overwhelm, know that you don't have to navigate this alone. Early bird pricing for The ADHD Parenting Collective ends Friday 💛

Newsletter link: https://mailchi.mp/a3f26f12913c/growthorsafety

28/08/2025

Feeling overwhelmed parenting your ADHD child? You don't have to navigate this alone.
After supporting hundreds of families, I know that the combination of practical strategies AND emotional support makes all the difference. That's exactly what The ADHD Parenting Collective offers.
What makes this programme special:
🔸 Small group (max 8 parents) - everyone gets heard
🔸 Mix of expert coaching & peer support
🔸 Real strategies for sleep, emotions, school challenges
🔸 Focus on parent wellbeing too (burnout is real!)
🔸 New body-doubling sessions to tackle those tasks you keep putting off
This isn't about fixing your child - it's about supporting YOU to feel more confident, connected, and calm in your parenting journey.
The next 3-month cycle starts soon. Ready to find your village?

🎯 EARLY BIRD PRICING: Sign up by September 5th to secure your spot at reduced rates!
Sign up: https://www.encouragingparents.com/adhd-parenting-coaching-group

What's your biggest ADHD parenting challenge? Let me know in the comments - You might be surprised how many others are facing the same thing! 👇

26/08/2025

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes—including you." - Anne Lamott
Just spent a few days in Normandy gardening for my mum, and it's reminded me of something we parents often forget:
We don't have to earn our rest.
This week's newsletter explores the radical idea of working FROM a place of rest, rather than constantly chasing that mythical moment when "everything is done" and we can finally take a break.
With an intense weekend ahead (visitors, activities, one exhausted child returning from Scout camp), my instinct is to rush around over-preparing. But what if I didn't? What if I prioritised maintaining my calm center instead?
It's not about being lazy - it's about showing up better for the people we love.
This week's newsletter dives deeper into this idea, plus some exciting updates about the ADHD Parenting Collective starting soon.
Read the full newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/81e4f5e85d65/backslowlyslowly

What's your biggest challenge when it comes to prioritizing rest? Share in the comments - you might inspire another parent! 👇

21/08/2025

"How did you become an ADHD coach?"

I get this question a lot, so here's my story:

From teaching dreams to OECD corporate life to... well, here 📍

🎓 Moved to Paris to teach (like my mum) - quickly discovered I lacked the patience!
💼 A friend mentioned the OECD was hiring - I worked my way up from conference assistant to office manager
⚡ Hit a challenging period and took some time to reassess what really mattered
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 During my break, discovered positive discipline through my children's school - it changed everything
💡 Retrained as a parenting coach, then life coach, and this summer completed ADHD coaching certification
🎯 Today: I support parents of ADHD children and ADHD entrepreneurs who are tired of constantly firefighting
What I love most? Helping create systems that work WITH your brain, not against it. Moving from overwhelm to confident decision-making.
Sometimes our biggest challenges become our greatest strengths ✨

If you're juggling ADHD family life or entrepreneurship and feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone. Let's chat about building rhythms that actually work.

19/08/2025

🌍 Four ferries, a surprise birthday party, coaching sessions from the beach, and even a Zen campsite in the Vosges...
This summer was not what I expected—but it was exactly what I needed.

It reminded me that even in the chaos of parenting and plans, there’s space for saying yes:
✅ Yes to learning in unconventional places
✅ Yes to joining kids with additional needs on their terms
✅ Yes to real rest (even just for an hour)

This week’s newsletter is a postcard from my summer and a gentle invitation to join me this autumn—whether that’s through the ADHD Parenting Collective, an in-person Positive Discipline session, or a free coaching call to map out your next step.

📝 Tap the link in bio/comments to read.

25/07/2025

I sent an invoice to a client for a session that never happened!

We're in 2021.

At that point, I'd been running my parent coaching business since 2019 and was finally hitting my stride.

Everything was going rather well:
✅ Regular clients booking sessions
✅ Business growing steadily
✅ Feeling more confident as a coach

Until the day I sat down for my quarterly URSSAF declarations.
I felt completely lost trying to remember which sessions had actually taken place versus which ones were cancelled.
I realised that my memory simply wasn't reliable enough to hold all my clients and life's inevitable changes - something many of my ADHD clients could relate to.
In the moment, I felt ashamed, and found myself telling white lies to clients about why I'd accidentally billed them.

Except that making up little excuses felt exhausting and showed no integrity to myself or my clients.

I understood that:
❌ I couldn't keep doing double work (invoicing, then cancelling)
❌ I needed systems that worked WITH my brain, not against it
❌ Integrity mattered more than avoiding embarrassment

So I changed two fundamental things.
I moved to 45-minute sessions, giving myself 15 minutes for admin after each client.
And I switched to weekly accounting and monthly URSSAF declarations.

The result? No more shame-invoicing, better client relationships, and systems that actually support how my brain works.

💡 This experience taught me that:
Our brains need buffer time, not packed schedules
Shorter deadlines often work better than longer ones
Our "flaws" can become our greatest systems innovations

These strategies work brilliantly for ADHD brains too
👉 Sometimes our biggest business problems are actually invitations to create better systems.

What systems have you created to work WITH your brain rather than against it? Whether you're neurotypical, have ADHD, or somewhere in between, I'd love to hear your wins in the comments.

----------------------
If we've not met before - Hello!
I'm Laura. I work with parents of children with ADHD and ADHD entrepreneurs who are juggling family life, big emotions, and the pressure to keep all the plates spinning. Whether it's school meetings, bedtime battles, or burnout at your desk, I offer practical tools and heart-led support to help you move from daily firefighting to confident decision-making. Together, we'll build a rhythm that works with your brain and your values — so you can show up for yourself and the people you love. I'd be honoured to walk alongside you.

09/07/2025

That unexpected Eurostar delay last week? It should have been frustrating. I lost a whole day of prep before a five-week summer holiday…

Except I didn’t really lose it.
I gained a bonus day in London—wandering, chatting, connecting with my eldest. No checklist. No agenda. Just presence.

It was a gentle reminder that summer doesn’t need to be perfect to be memorable.

✨ Forgetting the right gift?
✨ Leaving something behind?
✨ Losing your cool for a moment?

It’s okay. We get to choose the relationship over the checklist.

If you’re heading into the holidays with that rising sense of “have I done enough?”—breathe. Focus on how it feels to be together.

And if you’d like a few ideas for creating calmer summer moments with your children, I’ve written a short blog series for you.
☀️ You can grab the first one through my newsletter (link in comments/in my bio)

🧠 P.S. If ADHD is part of your parenting journey, our September support group is open! Early sign-up = early bird perks. More in this week’s newsletter or drop me a DM.

01/07/2025

Laughter, music, and letting go of ‘cool’.

This week’s newsletter dives into a tough one for me, from The Gifts of Imperfection — the guidepost on cultivating laughter, song and dance.

Honestly? I’m not ready to dance. But I am taking small steps:
🎲 A board game with my eldest
🎬 A comedy film so we all get a belly laugh
🎶 Music in the kitchen (yes, really)

✨ Want to join me in Brené’s challenge to “dare to be goofy”? What are you going to do? Comment below...

Want to read more ? Easiest thing is to comment below and I'll send you a link to this week's newsletter 💌

12/06/2025

I'm very much looking forward to speaking with Justyna Simmons from Your Friend in Paris- Relocation Agency next week to talk about all thing parenting and moving with a family...

Justyna Simmons and Laura Atack will discuss the most important things for expat families when choosing a school in France, and address the biggest challenges faced by children and parents during the relocation process.