Affirmations or phrases like this not only help kids feel like they can cope with intense feelings (particularly anger), but also helps them feel more in control of, and understand their world better. When children can make sense of their world, including their internal/emotional experience it can reduce distress and helps them feel safe… in turn this can help minimise the intensity of the emotion. Which is your favourite? Don’t forget to share, like, tag, comments etc if you want to keep seeing my content (it ensures I keep popping up in your feed). #emotionalregulation #emotionalintelligence #emotionalhealth #emotionalresilience #feelingsarefeedback #hurtfeelings #childrensemotions #affirmationsforkids #affirmationoftheday #kidsaffirmations #kidsmentalhealth #kidsmentalhealthmatters #parentingsupport #teachersofinstagram #teachersofthegram #occupationaltherapy #speechtherapist #childpsychology #pediatricmentalhealth #childtherapy #towardwellbeing #aussieteachertribe #aussiemums #perthmumboss #motherhooddefined #motherhoodsimplified #motherhoodunited #motherhoodunfiltered #fatherhoodunplugged #fatherhoodmatters

Spotted in the wild!!! Always such a surreal moment as an author to see your book in a local book store @dymocksbooks @dymockshayst I’ve received some absolutely beautiful reviews #imnotcryingyourecrying (link to my page below where you can see some of the reviews if you’re considering buying my book). A Blue Kind of Day is a story of a young boy experiencing depression. It describes how sadness and depression might feel in the body to help children and parents/caregivers understand what to look for! But the main focus is the compassion of Coens family as they support him through his blue day. I used my experience as a #psychologist who has worked with children and families in a variety of settings to help craft this book. It’s perfect for families to read with little ones to help start conversations about wellbeing, but also suits school, childcare, counselling, OT, and other therapeutic settings. I’d love to know if you’ve already read my book? https://www.towardwellbeing.com/a-blue-kind-of-day #childpsychology #childrensmentalhealth #mentalhealth #childrenswellbeing #childrenspicturebooks #australianpicturebook #australianauthor #therapeuticpicturebooks #playtherapy #bibliotherapy #occupationaltherapist #teachersofinstagram #perthteacher #developmentalpsychology #teacherresources #towardwellbeing #abluekindofday #tbrpile #bookinthewild #perthmums #aussiemums #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #mumboss #freelancewriter #raisingbookworms #childrensstories #readingtokids

It’s been a busy month behind the scenes! A few articles are up on @thebabychick about bonding, connection and gentle yet effective discipline strategies… so head on over to take a read 👓 📚 https://www.baby-chick.com/author/rachel-tomlinson/ #parentingtips #freelancelife #freelancewriter #parentingpsychology #parentingsupport #gentlediscipline #gentleparenting #secureattachment #attachmenttheory #attachmentstyles #parentproblems #parentchildrelationship #raisingkids #supportingfamilies #childpsychology #childrensmentalhealth #mamablogger #mamabear #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodjourney #perthmamas #aussiemums #littleoneslearn #littleone #childrenswellbeing #dadblogger #dadtime #towardwellbeing #letthembelittle

Interacting with adults and children during play builds important cognitive skills, language develops, and kids improve self-regulation skills. However learning how to independently play also has benefits. When a child is playing alone, it can help improve imagination, creative play, and it fosters persistence and problem-solving skills, as well as supporting them to become more patience and resilience. When children play alone they aren’t influenced by others perceptions of how toys can be used so they create their own games or use the toys to play out their individual thoughts or needs. When kids play alone they also have the opportunity to fix mistakes or manage situations where they need to try again (I.e block tower falls over so they need to remake their tower) which creates opportunities to be persistent! However please understand that Independent play is not unsupervised play. Independently playing is a children being engaged in play by themselves but a parent or caregiver remains nearby. Not only does it benefit children to learn how to play independently, but it can give parents some space too! Just try and avoid screens when considering toys/activities during solo play! #playtherapy #kidsneedplay #playtolearn #playmatters #playbasedlearning #independentkids #resilientkids #patientkids #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodsimplified #motherhoodinspired #parentingstrategies #parentingtips #childpsychology #childrenswellbeing #bestparentsintheworld #parentingsupport #parentingskills #towardwellbeing #newparent #parentgoals #gentleparenting #toddlerlife #toddleractivities #letthembelittle #letthemplay #letthemexplore #positiveparenting #perthmums #aussiemum

What activities do you do together as a family? Bonding time is important. In our house we love to cook and prepare meals together. There’s something nurturing to me about feeding my loved ones (hi my names Rachel and I’m a feeder 🙋‍♀️), but it’s also good quality time with my little person. She loves to help and be seen as responsible, so she enjoys being in charge of things… so cooking meets a number of our family’s needs. I recently wrote an article for @thebabychick about strategies for how to develop a strong bond with your children - from infants to teens. Head on over to take their page to take a look (link is also in my bio and below). So tell me what are some of the the things your family like to do together? https://www.baby-chick.com/bonding-between-parents-and-children-at-every-social-age/ #childpsychology #familybonding #familybondingtime #qualitytime #happyfamilytime #familygoal #preciousmoments #gentleparenting #respectfulparenting #consciousparenting #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #childdevelopment #secureattachment #attachmentparenting #parentchildbond #parentingteens #parentingtoddlers #parentingtips #infantmentalhealth #psychology #relationshipsmatter #dadsofinstagram #dadliferules #dontmomalone #mumsofinsta #mumsofperth #mummyblogger #perthmama #parentinglife

Want to learn how to increase your child’s resilience? Resilience is being able to bounce back after adversity and helps us keep pushing to reach our goals! This is a skill that will help our kids with school, sports or other activities that require persistence, problem solving (which helps with emotional regulation) and in general increases wellbeing as they feel powerful and confident in their skills. So come and join me in person at Whitfords library in August to learn some practical tips to increase your child’s resilience! There will also be heaps of opportunities to ask questions! Tag any #parents who live in Perth who you think might benefit from attending. There is a small cost to attend. I really hope to see you there…if you can attend make sure you come up and say hi! I’d love to meet you. The link to book your tickets is below (and in bio). https://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/parenting-workshop-raising-resilient-kids #perthparents #perthisok #perthevents #perthmumboss #perthmums #perthdads #parentingsupport #parentingskills #parentingtips #raisingkids #resilientkids #parentingworkshop #parentingblogger #childpsychology #childtherapist #supportingfamilies #bringingupbaby #motherhoodrising #aussiemums #aussieparents #towardwellbeing #perthsocialworkers #perthteacher #perthoccupationaltherapy #perthgram #perthtodo #perthsmallbusiness #perthworkshops #kidsmentalhealth

Gentle parenting doesn’t not = No boundaries. People often think that gentle parenting is permissive and that children aren’t given limits. It’s simply not true, boundaries are essential and healthy for children… it’s just how we communicate them to children, but also ensuring that our requests of them are age and developmentally appropriate. Here are some examples of how a gentle parent might reframe some limits! I’d love if you shared or tagged a friend, and likes and saves (or adding me to your faves list) means My free resources like this will keep appearing in your feed 💕 #gentleparenting #gentleparent #consciousparenting #parentingtools #supportingparents #freeresources #parentingtips #parentinghacks #towardwellbeing #childpsychology #childrensmentalhealth #runwildmychild #candidchildhood #letthembelittle #simplechildhood #simplychildren #theartofchildhood #motherhoodunited #motherhoodjourney #teachersofinstagram #socialworker #occupationaltherapy #motherhoodrising #perthmums #motherhoodinspired #thisismotherhood #fathersofinstagram #dadslife #mommyblogger #mummyblogger

Coming to a school near you! Did you know I’m available for author visits (online and in person) to talk about my book “A Blue Kind of Day”? I’ll pop a link below (with more info) and in my bio in case you are either at a school looking to book author visits, or you could recommend me to a local school near you who might benefit from a visit. So what happens at my author visit? 📚 I read aloud my book to the children 📚 I either cater an English curriculum talk (all about the process for writing a book, what goes into a story etc) or I focus on the mental health element of the book (understanding depression in childhood and exploring coping/wellbeing). 📚 Fun activities and resources for the classroom after my visit (a mix of English activities and wellbeing focussed activities) 📚 An opportunity for kids to speak to an author and psychologist to ask questions about anything book, writing or my inspiration for writing the book. I’m so excited to be out in our community talking about such an important topic with our young people 💕 https://www.towardwellbeing.com/school-visits #raisingreaders #authorvisit #authortalk #schoolvisit #travellingauthor #havebookwilltravel #abluekindofday #psychologisttalk #psychologist #australianauthor #picturebook #picturebookstagram #kidsbooks #booksaboutmentalhealth #kidlit #kidsbookstagram #kidsbookswelove #readaloud #storytime #booksforkids #childrensliterature #teachersofperth #teachersofaustralia #teachersofinstagram #teacherlife #librariansofaustralia #librariansofinstagram #childpsychology #perthmums #australianmumsinbiz

Want to learn how to raise calm kids? I’ll be appearing in person August 10th at Joondalup Library in Perth WA (I know… it feels like so long since I was last able to connect with you all in real life!!) If you’re keen to come along you have to buy tickets, they are kept very low cost (link below and in my bio). Or if you know a parent or caregiver in Perth who would love to come and connect please tag them and share this post! I’m so excited to connect with you all again, it will be an hour long presentation with 30 mins for Q&A… yep a whole 30 mins to pick a registered psychologists brain on parenting and child development… and all things “raising calm kids”. Also… let me know if you can’t make it in person and might be interested in me running this virtually? 🤔 https://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/parenting-workshop-calm-kids #raisingcalmkids #calmkids #raisingkids #parentingworkshop #parenting #parentingsupport #parentingtips #raisingconsciousness #emotionalregulation #childdevelopment #perthparents #perthisok #perthmumboss #perthmumblogger #perthmums #perthpsychologist #parentinglife #motherhoodrising #motherhoodjourney #fatherhoodrocks #fatherhoodunplugged #workshopforparents @joondaluplibraries #childhoodwonders #childhoodeveryday #playtherapy #socialworkers #occupationaltherapist #buildingconfidentkids #happykids #consciousparent

Emotional intelligence is linked to improved quality of relationships, better ability to focus (increasing educational and career achievement), and general overall wellbeing. Here are 5 easy to implement tips to increase the emotional intelligence of your child! Which ones do you already do? If you like seeing my content don’t forget to like, share, tag friends etc. it means I keep appearing in your feed. You can also add me to your favourites so when I post new content you will see it! #emotionalintelligence #childmentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #childtherapy #childdevelopment #playtherapy #childpsychology #parentingadvice #parentingtips #parentproblems #childcounselling #consciousparenting #gentleparenting #attachment #socialskills #socialskillsforkids #playandlearn #raisingkids #emotionalregulation #resilientkids #socialworker #occupationaltherapy #teachersofinstagram #towardwellbeing #parentingstrategies #perthmumblogger #aussiemums #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #motherhoodjourney