In this episode of the podcast, I talk about Empathy Buddies. Aletha Solter, the founder of Aware Parenting recommends listening and support for parents in her books and I share the why and the how of this type of support. I discuss the 3 reasons for difficult behaviour in our parenting and how having an empathy buddy supports us to work through our thoughts and our feelings and to identify our unmet needs. I talk about how receiving and sharing compassionate listening with our EB increases our capacity to offer compassionate listening and play to our children and to practise all the other aspects of Aware Parenting. I share how to find an EB from the Aware Parenting community so there are shared and aligned values and understanding between you. I share the powerful value of having emergency EB’s to reach out to on the days in parenting that we all experience at times when things feel horrible, to get us back on track. I share the power of modelling this to our children so they grow up to be adults who normalise feelings and reach out for support when they need it. I share how to set up an EB partnership, the different types of EB’s, how to share and how to listen, so it is easier for us all to be the parent that we want to be.

To learn more or to set up an EB please visit this group, set up by aware parenting instructor Carolina Valenica Coleman https://www.facebook.com/groups/2562318203992646/