I'm Here and I'm Listening: Empathic and empowering responses to needs, feelings, and behaviours with Aware Parenting (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780645998504)

Become the parent you want to be

Imagine knowing exactly how you can help your child feel deeply relaxed, so that they are cooperative and gentle and sleep peacefully.

In this compassionate book for parents of 1-8 year olds, you'll understand the attachment-based, trauma-informed, reasons why children:

-have tantrums;

-hit other children;

-get playful before bed;

-cry over small things;

-suck their thumb; and

-do things that we ask them not to do and laugh.

This culture often sees children as 'flawed', 'bad, ' or 'inferior'. As an antidote, I'm Here and I'm Listening can help you understand and work with your child's innate wisdom. Listening to their big feelings when they cry and rage, and playing with them in particular ways helps them to heal from trauma and everyday stress. They become calmer and more compassionate, as well as clear-thinking, competent, and confident.

In I'm Here and I'm Listening, Dr. Rose describes elements of the Aware Parenting approach, created by Aletha Solter, PhD. Learn how you can also apply this paradigm to your own reparenting, to value your own needs and feelings, and create a more loving inner dialogue. Drop guilt and self-judgment and be compassionate with yourself, especially if you revert to cultural conditioning of rewards or threats, or if you get reactive because painful feelings from your own childhood emerge.

In their behaviour and feelings, children are asking us: Will you stay here with me? Will you listen to me? Will you help me know I'm safe to feel my feelings? Do you love me, whatever I feel? This book will help your child know that the answer to each of these questions is a resounding yes!

"I am delighted to recommend I'm Here and I'm Listening, which is packed with helpful information for navigating through the early childhood years without the use of punishments or rewards. Parents who are not yet familiar with Aware Parenting will learn compassionate and effective skills for responding to children's uncooperative or aggressive behavior and for resolving everyday conflicts about bedtime, sibling relationships, eating, and screen use. For those who are already familiar with Aware Parenting, this book will deepen their understanding of the approach. Throughout the book, Marion Rose invites her readers to explore the root causes of children's behavior and to question common cultural assumptions. She also encourages parents to delve into their own childhood memories to better understand their reactions to their children's behavior. Perhaps most importantly, this book will help parents feel good about themselves while becoming the kind of parents they want to be." - Aletha Solter, PhD, founder of Aware Parenting

"This book offers a clear description of how we can remember who children are by nature, why they behave in ways that are not enjoyable for parents, and how we can support them with each challenge in the most loving and effective way." - Joss Goulden, Level 2 Aware Parenting instructor