Play is Therapy

25/06/2025

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17/06/2025

17/06/2025

04/05/2025

26/03/2025

Please parents, connect with your kids and redirect their connections from social media to connecting with you. It's such a sad reality.

25/02/2025

Quote of the Day

19/02/2025

UNDERSTANDING YOUR TEEN: It's Not Personal, It's Neurological! 🧠

Yesterday I was asked by the dad of a teen girl for some ‘What the heck?!’ guidance. 🤯 If you feel like you’re navigating the trenches too, here’s some reminders:

Maybe you're reading this while hiding in your bathroom from your eye-rolling, door-slamming teen… take a deep breath. That surge of emotions you're feeling? Your teen is feeling it too - except their brain is literally under construction right now. ⚒️

Think of your teen's brain as a house undergoing major renovations. The workers are in there rewiring systems, tearing down walls, and building new connections. Would you expect perfect functionality during such an extensive remodel? Of course not! Yet we often expect our teens to navigate complex emotions and make sound decisions while their neural architecture is getting a complete overhaul. 🏠

Here's What's Really Going On:

Your sweet child who used to share everything with you now responds with "whatever" and retreats to their room? That's not attitude - that's development. During adolescence, the brain goes through a necessary process of pushing away from parents to develop independence. It's not personal (I know it feels that way), but it's actually right on schedule developmentally. 🧠

When your teen can't seem to regulate their emotions and goes from sunshine to thunderstorm in 2.5 seconds? ☀️ ⛈️ Their prefrontal cortex - the brain's rational thinking and emotional regulation centre - is still under construction. This renovation won't be complete until their mid-twenties. Yes, you read that right - mid-twenties! 😳

So What Can You Do?

1. Be Their Calm
When your teen is in emotional chaos, they need you to be their lighthouse - steady, consistent, and calm. Remember, a calm brain helps calm an uncalm brain. Your regulated presence helps their brain develop regulation skills. 🧘‍♀️

2. Hold Space, Not Lectures
When your teen is having a meltdown about something that seems trivial to you (like not being invited to a party), resist the urge to minimize their feelings or jump into problem-solving mode. Sometimes they just need you to sit with them in that hard space and validate their emotions. Key words here: Zip it! 🤐

3. Keep Showing Up
Even when they push you away (especially when they push you away), keep showing up. Your teen may act like they don't need you, but they do - just differently than before. Be there, be consistent, be patient. 🫶🏽

The Hard Truth:

Some days you're going to be the emotional punching bag. 🥊 On those days, remember - your teen is punching where they feel safe. They're showing you their worst because they trust you'll still love them at their messiest. Your job at those times is to prove them right.

The Silver Lining:

This phase doesn't last forever (I promise!). Every time you respond with patience instead of reaction, every time you stay calm in their emotional storm, you're helping build the neural pathways they'll need for future resilience. 🌈

Important reminders to maintain sanity:
- Your teen's behaviour isn't a reflection of your parenting
- Their push for independence isn't rejection
- Their emotional turbulence isn't permanent 🌪️

You haven't lost your child - they're just remodelling. Your job isn't to fix them or change them (read that again!), but to be their safe harbour while they figure out who they're becoming. Stay steady, stay present, and keep breathing (lots and LOTS of breathing!). 🧘

On those really rough days, remember that somewhere inside that moody teenager is still your child. A child who needs you. Not your judgement, criticism or nagging. You. There. Arms ready. This season, like all of them, won’t last forever, and one day, you just might be wishing it back…

One last thing- the teens I work with are some of THE most phenomenal human beings I know. Even on those days you just CAN’T see it, try really, really hard to find the awesomeness within them. It’s absolutely there. 🙌🏽 You may just need a few more of those extra deep breaths and some alone bathroom time to remember it. 😉

With love
Naomi ❤️

25/01/2025

Truth

24/11/2024

Don't flip your lid. What's in the box?

24/11/2024

What was in the box?

24/11/2024

Day 2 of the Anger Management workshop. Kids were exhausted, but learnt so much. A big thank you to Curamus School for Autism for allowing the use of your facilities and play ground.

23/11/2024

Day 1 of our Anger Management workshop. So much fun!