Dear Hand in Hand, “I’ve heard a lot about the parent listening tool, Listening Partnerships, but what makes them so different to the good, easy chats I have with my friends about parenting? I have
As parents, we devote our time to the care and well-being of others. We hear a lot about self-care, about why it’s important to take timeouts for ourselves, or about how being mindful and calm
A Guest Post by By Emilie Leeks Our four-year-old daughter had a growing tendency to be very melodramatic around ‘pain’. If she was in a certain kind of mood and just got touched or gently bumped,
Traditionally in classrooms, teachers talk and children listen. While curriculums are updating to include self-directed learning, children in many classrooms may still feel unheard, and if they have worries or concerns outside of learning –
I was chatting with a friend that has recently taken a Hand in Hand course of mine. She commented that since doing the course she feels like I am an extra voice in her head, and
My daughter was a very capable girl at eight years old. She was smart, strong, clever, and so resourceful. But at the same time, she sometimes acted helplessly. As a single parent, it would drive
I have a weekly appointment with a Listening Partner and I know that this scheduled time helps me work deeply on topics that feel heavy to me in my family life. But it happens quite regularly
Listening Time There’s nothing like raising kids to bring tension into a family. Right from pregnancy it can seem like every decision you make comes under scrutiny, and then feeding, sleeping, schooling, behavior and
My kids were with their grandparents and I was spending time with my husband. We were relaxed and talking and everything felt perfect until he mentioned the upcoming marriage of someone that is close to
By Lauren Stearns Last year when my son entered 7th grade it seemed like EVERYTHING changed. The connection that I had worked so hard to build with him using Hand in Hand tools felt broken.
Two good friends and mothers we’ll call Emma and Carol had been living 2500 miles on opposite coasts for several years now. Carol finds her middle child, Cammy, deeply challenging. During Carol’s last two months of
“Play with me?” That one question is asked at least 100 times a day in most houses, by kids to their parents. Time and time again we hear that play improves connections. Greys Anatomy-creator (and former
Most of us are taught to hush children when they cry, but parents using Hand in Hand’s approach learn how valuable crying can be for a child’s emotional health. When crying is supported with a
“I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival. – Audre Lorde When parents learn about Hand in Hand’s five Listening
A good friend of mine is following my work with Hand in Hand with great admiration, so one day I asked her if she’d be interested in doing a Listening Partnership. She said yes, but reluctantly,