Cradle Psychology

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Cradle Psychology

Parent and child clinical psychology support

22/10/2025

I was thinking last night about how my smallie chats to us every day, often with the intonation of a full adult conversation, even though she might not be making much sense yet verbally! She is conversing and learning to do so.

This post explains some of that!

15/10/2025

Some tips about using grounding tools with kids:

✨Grounding tools are not about getting rid of emotions, or even about stopping emotional outbursts. Grounding tools are a way for children and adults to re-establish contact with the present moment, when our brains and bodies are responding to a perceived threat.

✨Start by practicing these strategies with your child during calm moments, and let them explore which if any feel more comfortable for them

✨Give strategies a special name (eg our colour naming trick)

✨Let your child see you using these tools yourself.

Let us know if you have found any other tools that work well for your children!

30/09/2025

How does your temperament align with your child or children’s? Have you ever considered this before?
Let us know your thoughts on this!

22/09/2025

The hard days can be incredibly tough on your own mental health as a parent, we know that. But we also know there is huge learning for your child in the moments where they see you take in their big feelings, understand them in your own body, and feed them back in a way that provides soothing care.

We know these moments sometimes go completely unnoticed by parents during periods of intense dysregulation for your child.

That makes it even more important to tune in to your containing capacity! And that is one of the most important things we do here at Cradle. You’ll notice very few consult slots on our website over the last while, as we are working hard with so many families. If you feel you or your child would benefit from supper, please email us: hello@cradlepsychology.com and we’ll fit you in at our next availability!

17/09/2025

Tuning into self-compassion can sometimes be easier when we practice seeing ourselves through someone else’s eyes.

We can very often become stuck in cycles of criticising ourselves, especially around our parenting (because this is often such an important part of our identity).

This reflective question is a gentle re-frame which might allow us to access a different perspective of ourselves and our strengths and values.

15/09/2025

A simple idea that sometimes helps in those tricky parenting moments!

09/09/2025

There are no quick fixes or solutions for emotional distress or dysregulation, but there are strategies that give us some space to choose what we might need or want to do next.
These are some of our favourite, comment if you have found other go-to strategies!

05/09/2025

Do you ever notice parts of yourself showing up from time to time that feel more child-like than adult-like in the needs, desires, or fears that they exhibit?

We can be hard on those parts of ourselves.

We can say things like, “I need to stop being so childish/silly/immature”.

We can expect our wise, adult brains to be online, front and centre all the time.

But what if we imagined that those “child-like” parts of ourselves as though they truly represented the child version of ourselves, who continues to live on and show up from time to time. With all the same needs, wants, and fears that we might remember holding as a child.

How might we speak to that child?
How might we relate to them?
How might be care for them?

Today, we invite you to ask yourselves what that child part of you might need or want. Be gentle and understanding with them. And notice what happens!

(As always, this is general and not clinical information; if you feel distressed and would like support please reach out to us to discuss our services or contact your local healthcare professional for other options).

27/08/2025

Often traditional parenting advices highlights the importance of “holding boundaries” with our children.

We are told that if you say no, you have to stick with this!

Holding boundaries in this sense is framed as being critical to the establishment of consistency - with the added implication that this will reduce the emotional outbursts that come in response to being told “no”.

This isn’t advice that we want to totally throw out the window. It’s true that children can benefit from predictability, knowing what to expect from a parent’s response.

At the same time, parent and child interaction are - at their core - human interactions. And human interactions don’t always follow a neat formula! Especially where we are working hard to see and know our children as people with their own opinions, experiences, and wishes.

So it’s ok if you change tack, or re-consider, or reflect, or even do a complete 180 on something you’ve said or decided.

Here at just some of the reasons why I’ve done the same recently! Let us know if you can relate.

11/08/2025

One thing we have become so aware of through both our work with parents and our own personal experience is the way that the demands of being a parent can shift, intensify, and in some cases completely disrupt our emotional landscape.

And in the context of the neuroscience and psychology of parenting, this makes total sense. But what often comes with this change in emotional experiencing is a self-judgement and a sense of “what is wrong with me?” that can trigger and perpetuate shame.

Moving away from the self-judgement and towards the emotional experience itself always starts with noticing and naming.

We hope you find this helpful. If you are struggling with anger or any other emotional experiences please do not feel alone, and please reach out for support if you need it.

07/08/2025

We are so thrilled to be running this again!
Book at the link in our bio and please share with any expectant or new parents who might find this useful

04/08/2025

These are some of my parenting struggles right now - among lots of enjoyable and lovely moments within these stages also!
Let us know if you relate, if you are noticing different challenging experiences, and where you are finding joy in your current parenting experience also.

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http://www.cradlepsychology.com/

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