Rita Berglund, LPC

03/02/2025

03/01/2025

/ Anne Frank /
"Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness."
"Anne Frank, (born June 12, 1929, Frankfurt am Main, Ger.—died March 1945, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, near Hannover), German diarist. Frank was a young Jewish girl who kept a record of the two years her family spent in hiding in Amsterdam to escape N**i persecution. After their discovery by the Gestapo in 1944, the family was transported to concentration camps; Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen. Friends searching the hiding place found her diary, which her father published as The Diary of a Young Girl (1947). Precocious in style and insight, it traces her emotional growth amid adversity and is a classic of war literature." (Britannica)
Anne Frank (2008). “Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annex: A Collection of Her Short Stories, Fables, and Lesser-Known Writings, Revised Edition”, p.114, Bantam

03/01/2025

✔The "Art of War," written by Sun Tzu, was required business school reading for us.

Sun Tzu was a renowned Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period, specifically during the Spring and Autumn period (c. 722–481 BC) or possibly the early Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC).

His treatise -- The Art of War -- is a comprehensive guide to military strategy, focusing on the importance of knowing the enemy, adapting to circumstances, and using deception to gain advantage. It remains a widely studied and influential work in military and business strategy.

02/27/2025

A beautiful watercolour painting of The Bear & Billet in Chester by Louise Rayner in 1924, compared to its view today.

The Grade 1 listed building has been described as "the finest 17th century timber framed town house in Chester and one of the last of the great timber framed town houses in England."

05/13/2023

Neuroscience tells us that there are elements of self-control, empathy, and creativity that even very young children can learn. The brain is always developing; connections between neurons are always being refined. So when we practice these skills, we build the connections for them in our kids, regardless of their ages. This simply requires a refocusing of the parental lens, starting with an agreement these skills are important. In 1890, William James observed that “my experience is what I agree to attend to.” This is true for our kids as well: they will attend to the things that we as parents require them to experience and, eventually, to the things that they habitually notice.

Focused attention is rare and unbelievably important, since what parents pay attention to are the things that families end up valuing the most, whether intentionally or not. If parents focus on empathy, creativity, and self-control in an environment that allows for autonomy in personal decision making, then we will raise creative thinkers who get things done in a way that benefits others, as well as themselves. In a kid, these skills come together in the form of self-regulation and ownership. If life is presented as a problem that you figure out, then you accept the conclusions you come to, and you accept responsibility for not just your thoughts and actions, but also your own learning.

Byproducts of developing these skills are increases in grit, critical thinking, social responsibility, and personal accountability—all those missing ingredients that we’re trying to instill in our kids so they are not weak reeds in a windy world. We’re not here to raise bystanders. Instead, let’s raise a generation of people predisposed towards kindness and proficient at being uniquely human.

Brought to you by one of Neurochild’s Brain Trust, Dr. Erin Clabough at https://linktr.ee/ErinClabough. Dr Erin Clabough is a scientist, author, and mother of four. She is a professor at the University of Virginia, where she researches basic brain development and teaches neuroscience. Erin is also the author of the book Second Nature: How Parents Can Use Neuroscience to Help Kids Develop Empathy, Creativity, and Self-Control. Learn more about teaching your children empathy by reading Dr. Clabough’s article here: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/five-ways-to-teach-your-kids-empathy/

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[ID: an older child fixes the boot of a smaller child as she sits on a rock in the woods, holding a stuffed bear. The words “We’re not here to raise bystanders. Instead, let’s raise a generation of people predisposed toward kindness and proficient at being uniquely human.” Dr. Erin Clabough is written on top of the image.]

05/13/2023

shared via Raised Good

🌷🌷Our fabulous issue 50 is on sale in NZ, Australia and the UK!! It's packed full of inspiration, tips, advice and real-life experiences to guide you on your journey through pregnancy, birth and motherhood. You can pick up a copy from your local Countdown or selected stockists in NZ, from your local newsagent in Australia, or from WH Smith High Street stores, selected Waitrose & Partners and independent bookstores across the UK. Issue 50 is also available to purchase locally and internationally online: https://thenaturalparentmagazine.com/product-category/shop/magazine

05/13/2023

Did you know that the term "parenting" didn't even appear in the U.S and elsewhere until 1958? And according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary only became commonly used in the 1970s.
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Alison Gopnik, professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley, says that "People sometimes use “parenting” just to describe what parents actually do, but more often, especially now, “parenting” means something that parents should do. “To parent” is a goal-directed verb; it describes a job, a kind of work. The goal is to somehow turn your child into a better or happier or more successful adult—better than they would be otherwise, or (though we whisper this) better than the children next door. The right kind of “parenting” will produce the right kind of child, who in turn will become the right kind of adult.
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The idea that parents can learn special techniques that will make their children turn out better is ubiquitous in middle-class America—so ubiquitous that it might seem obvious. But this prescriptive picture is fundamentally misguided. It’s the wrong way to understand how parents and children actually think and act, and it’s equally wrong as a vision of how they should think and act."
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Dr. Gordon Neufeld describes parenthood as a state of being. which I love and resonate with deeply. Attachment gives us that state of "being". In secure attachment, children can rest in our unconditional love. Our children's attachment to us is what gives us our true power to parent.
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Parenthood isn't about a set of strategies or a checklist of to-do's. It’s about relationship and connection.

So lean in, invest in connection and the magic will follow. 

05/13/2023

Pondering on Guidance & Partnership
Of course the way adults choose to 'guide' children will have an effect on the child, so it's worth thinking about what kind of effect. The prime consideration is the relationship: will the proposed 'correction' keep us in 'connection'? If it doesn't, it isn't the discipline required for guidance in the situation, it is punishment. Two different things.