Next Course

This next course will be running over 4 Sundays every 2nd Sunday commencing April 29th 

There will be a $50 discount if paid in advance however is possible to pay it fortnightly as you attend.

To register please contact Prue

About the course
What is Parenting? How to Parent?

Raising children whether it is single parenting, or blended families or couples creating a new life can be fraught with confusion, there is either too much or not enough help for parents, often little parental support and practical parenting skills difficult to manage in a busy and time poor world.

What do we need to know about parenting and how to do it differently from the way we were parented?

Parenting is a sacred task and one of the single most important activities that you will participate in - in your life. It is a task for which little training is available and what is available and what is out there focuses predominately on the child and their cognitive development.
In this course, the focus is on the relationship between the parents and the child - and addresses the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of the whole family.

It doesn't matter what kind of family you come from or are currently creating - if it involves a child, this course is for you.
It looks at how we were shaped and formed and is designed to help you to not 'unconsciously' hand on the things that may have made your childhood a difficult and painful journey. How to create a loving, safe and supportive environment in which your child may flourish and fulfill their own potential while you can heal the wounds of your own childhood in learning to do things differently.

We cover all the normal developmental stages from conception to adulthood, what the child is capable of and geared to learn at what ages. The problems and difficulties you will encounter and how to effectively deal with them, for the benefit of the whole family.
This course is an extraordinary opportunity to do things differently, to maximise the potential of all family members and to heal the pain and grief of your own childhood - thus extending the arcs of possibility for all participants.

Broad Paradigms of Understanding the Process
There are no experts in parenting, only works in process. A great deal of work has been done on understanding the nature of adults and children but not much has been on the nature of the relationship between them.

Our choice of partner as adults is affected by the unconscious internal picture we carry inside ourselves of our parents. The way we parent our children is powerfully influenced by the way we were parented ourselves.

Conscious parenting is a healing activity in which ordinary experiences and conversations become the medium for emotional and spiritual growth. When a parent provides the child with what he or she needs, the parent returns to themselves the care they need to heal their own wounds, thus completing a circle of love that reaches far beyond the two of them.

Every parent and every child is unique and every relationship is more amazing and filled with possibility than you can possibly imagine. This course is for all, single parents, couples, blended families, parents who have had therapy and those who have not.

This is not about blame for the difficulties you may be experiencing. It is simply to show how in our imperfect world in incomplete states of evolution that all of us have been parented imperfectly and repeat this with our children in ways that can be understood and changed in the here and now.

People come together as adults for survival, hoping their partners will meet the unmet needs of childhood. Children are often produced unconsciously to meet these needs as well – this places an intolerable burden on the child. Know that what was done to you as a child will be handed on to you until it is brought to your conscious awareness.

In an adult relationship it is appropriate to grow together and learn to meet each others needs. It is not appropriate for a parent to try and heal by having the child meet their needs. The child is not equipped to do this.

If we want to take better care of our children we need to take better care of ourselves. Your emotional, psychological and spiritual care and nurturance for yourself will be reflected in your children.
Knowing what to do comes from knowing how to be.

With the birth of a child, parents experience what it is like to love unreservedly and without conditions – usually for the first time. This ensures the survival of the young. In the presence of an infant, we are open to Martin Bubers’ thoughts on the sacredness of everyday life, we feel the connection between ourselves and the rest of creation. We remember Buber’s sadness at the thought that babies are born forgetting their cosmic connection.

Conscious parenting is about helping them maintain the balance within the paradox of life. Separateness within connection. Our job as parents is to experience oneness with the child while helping it to grow into an independent person [who is not the parent] and to honour and appreciate the differences between us.

Each child is born with a combination of potential and limitation that forms their temperament - and the interactions they have in the world with parents and society influence how the personality develops. Here we emphasize the role of the parent to maximize positive environmental factors and to recover from the negative ones.
This course is about helping you to understand that your child is born whole and how you, as parents, can help preserve this while they are under your care. It is to help you become self-reflective and make the changes you need to make as part of the process of becoming a conscious parent.   

For more details ring Prue on 0419819089 or email prue.blackmore@thrivebydesign.com.au

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