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elainenichollsnvr
Jan 11 min read
Courageous parenting
Happy New Year from one courageous parent to another. This year, I’ve seen so much quiet courage - tough decisions that needed to be...
elainenichollsnvr
Dec 30, 20242 min read
Clear is kind
“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind” – Brene Brown This quote comes to mind often, because it’s so true - for our young people but also for...
elainenichollsnvr
Dec 3, 20241 min read
Changing our parenting ways
As babies and children learn new things, their brain grows. There's a time for learning different things and if the opportunity's there...
elainenichollsnvr
Dec 2, 20242 min read
Does your child have an AI friend?
Content warning - suicide. Having recently discovered and started to engage in the world of AI, I'm impressed. Chat GPT and Copilot are...
elainenichollsnvr
Nov 24, 20242 min read
Tigers and teddy bears
I love Suzanne Zeedyk's analogy of tigers and teddy bears to explain attachment. Unique and highly personal neural pathways significantly...
elainenichollsnvr
Nov 23, 20242 min read
NVR - evidence base and adaptability
NVR as a parenting approach was developed in the 1990s to help parents take a firm stance around harmful behaviours - like drugs,...
elainenichollsnvr
Nov 21, 20242 min read
It’s not about what happened to us as children
One of my favourite quotes is from one of Dan Siegel’s earlier books - parenting from the inside out. He explains that it isn’t what...
elainenichollsnvr
Nov 20, 20241 min read
Sometimes we just need to let off steam
In an NVR group for kinship/connected carers we talked about the importance of venting. Sometimes we don’t want advice - we just want to...
elainenichollsnvr
Nov 19, 20241 min read
What's the story?
The stories we tell ourselves matter. Whether emotions shape our narrative or our narrative shapes our emotions is up for debate. But one...
elainenichollsnvr
Nov 17, 20242 min read
How to be angry
Let’s face it - expressions of anger in our children can be overwhelming. The shouting, stomping, crashing and banging. The “I hate you...
elainenichollsnvr
Nov 16, 20241 min read
From 'carnage' to calm
Finished an incredible journey with a neurodivergent family this week. We started working together about a year ago. At that point every...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 31, 20242 min read
Disenfranchised grief in adoption
Disenfranchised grief in adoption (and other similar family set ups) is a topic close to my heart - grief that society (and often family)...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 24, 20241 min read
Working with the system
Today started with a school meeting. Usually, families are referred to NVR to learn different ways to parent in very difficult...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 19, 20243 min read
Family values - compliance to commitment
I have great respect for Brene Brown & love her perspective here. She’s all about family values - taking children on a loving journey...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 18, 20242 min read
Emotion Coaching
Emotion coaching has come up a few times this week in work with parents. When the first emotion we see and feel from our children is...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 13, 20242 min read
Different types of self care
It’s very unusual for us to have a day out that’s not on the beach or in a field - the highlight being a cup of tea from a tin kettle in...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 11, 20242 min read
Supporting the teachers of our children
Haim Ginott was a teacher, educational psychologist, child psychotherapist, parent educator, and loving stepfather. He was also a...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 9, 20241 min read
Parental presence when we're burnt out...
I'm delivering an NVR group at the moment and this morning we were thinking about increasing our presence (in their minds and hearts)...
elainenichollsnvr
Oct 3, 20241 min read
Life story conversations with kinship children
Yesterday I had the honour and the privilege of spending the day with a group of kinship carers - thinking together about the difficult...
elainenichollsnvr
Sep 30, 20242 min read
Accept your humanity
Some children need ‘Superparents’ - the premise of Amber Elliot’s book for therapeutic parents. But striving to be the perfect parent for...
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