We Nurture: Waldorf Inspired Parenting

Did you know that when your child plays with a toy, they actually build a relationship with the toy and the material that the toy is made from can affect how they play with the toy. It’s important when we are intentional about the kinds of toys or play materials that we give to our child. Does it have warmth? Does it invite your child to play? How does it feel? How does your child engage with it? These are all good questions to ask. 

Just  by watching your child, you can see how much their toys stimulate their imagination, their curiosity and approach to exploring their world. Children learn about their world through play and the toys and play materials that they use are a medium for this exploration.

The less formed a toy is the more room there is for your child to imagine and create their own ideas. Open-ended toys give children freedom to create and because they aren’t fixed they can be used in any number of ways. 

Join me in this episode to learn more!

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Welcome to the We Nurture Podcast. Today, I will be talking about the importance of doll play in your young child’s development. Doll play can nurture compassion in your child, and give them the ability to care for someone or something else. Waldorf education states that dolls are the archetype of the human being and I have seen this to be true in my experiences with preschool children. I will show you how doll play can lead to you, as a parent, being more mindful, what to avoid when you are handling a doll in front of your child, how a doll as a toy can be your child’s best friend, and how a simple doll will allow your child to fully express their feelings. I’ll take you on a journey through the experiences I had when introducing my children to their Christmas dolls, and how my kids (and others) built relationships with their cuddle companions. Doll play can help your child work through their thoughts, feelings, and experiences, so you, as a parent, should always be mindful when showing nurturing care to your child. Tune in to find out why doll play is one of the most important types of play that a young child can have. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• Exploring how you can nurture your child’s ability to be compassionate through doll play.
• Doll play is valuable to all children, boys and girls. 
• How dolls are the archetype of the human being in Waldorf education. 
• The way a child will imitate how you, as an adult, handle a doll. 
• How doll play can lead to a parent becoming more mindful. 
• What to avoid as a parent when handling a doll. 
• Why a toy can be a young child’s best friend. 
• My experience of seeing a Waldorf doll for the first time.
• How a simple doll allows a child to fully express their feelings. 
• The perfect Christmas gift: a make-your-own doll kit. 
• How kids build relationships with their dolls. 
• How children are able to work through their thoughts, feelings, and experiences through doll play. 
• The importance of being mindful when showing nurturing care to our children.

Waldorf Education

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Today on Mindful Monday, I will be talking about the four temperaments as a tool to better understand your child’s personality. By understanding temperaments, we, as parents, can meet our child's needs in a more effective way. The four temperaments, which can be defined as traits and characteristics, are known as air (sanguine), water (phlegmatic), earth (melancholic), and fire (choleric). 

“Although each temperament has specific qualities, we can expect that every one of the qualities will be seen in each individual.”— Chinyelu Kunz [

I talk about how, although each person has one or two dominant elements, qualities of each temperament is present in everyone. I advise on how to recognize, observe, experience, and manage each temperament in your child. Plus, I offer a guide to understanding how to bring all four elements into balance and harmony. I hope you will join me for this episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

• The power of understanding your child’s personality.
• The four temperaments and how they relate to the four elements.
• How Waldorf uses the temperaments as a tool to bring children to balance.
• Exploring how each element can present itself in children. 
• A perspective from a Waldorf teacher and Waldorf mother.
• How to support our children by understanding and recognizing their characteristics as a part of their elements. 

Books on Temperaments (short list)

Between Form & Freedom by Betty Staley

Children and Their Temperaments by Marieke Anschutz

Authentic Parenting by Bari Borsky & Judith Haney

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

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In this Q & A Friday Episode , I’ll be talking about Self-Care for Stressed Parents.

This question was asked on our instagram poll when we asked parents to submit their questions for Q & A Friday on the podcast. It received a lot of votes which made it the clear choice for this episode. 

If you would like to ask a parenting question you can submit it on Instagram @we (underscore) nurture on Mondays during season 6!

 Listen in as I guide you through how to acknowledge your stress, process stress triggers, and even potentially prevent stress altogether. You’ll learn the negative effects of high-stress levels and how you can recognize this through your elevated emotions. 

When your self-care practices make it possible for you to have a deeper understanding of why your stress exists, this helps you understand ways to heal yourself. 

However, you need to remember that your stressors and emotions are valid, even if they make you feel like you are an incapable or imperfect parent. With examples such as going for a walk, having a bath, and resting when your child does, you'll begin to understand how you need to nurture the parts of yourself that needs it the most. 

I hope this episode will inspire you to dig deep and start your daily self-care practices today!

Listen to hear more and learn ways to reduce your parenting stress!

Key Points From This Episode:

• The knockdown effects of high-stress levels. 
• Recognizing the beginning stages of elevated stress levels.
• The implications of emotional disconnection.
• The feelings of regret at the end of the vicious stress cycle.
• How to determine the origin of your stress.
• Examples of emotions that trigger stress.
• Different practices to incorporate into your day-to-day life to alleviate stress.
• The deepness that should take place during your self-care practices. 
• Examples of self-care practices that nurture the parts of yourself that need to be nurtured. 
• Different parts of self: emotional, social, physical, sensory, intellectual, creative, and spiritual. 
• How to achieve personal growth while you’re on the journey of reducing your stress. 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

We Nurture Collective

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In this episode, I talk about Forest Bathing, the benefits and why it's a healthy activity.

What is it about forest life that draws us, heals us, and brings us joy? 

What does it mean to bath our senses in the atmosphere of the forest?

In the forest, nothing is asked of us so we find ourselves listening, observing and noticing what’s around us. We relax. And when we are in a place where we can calmly take in our surroundings, particularly in a forest where our senses are bathed, we become peaceful just by the very fact that our body is in a restful state and that we’re breathing more deeply.

Join me as I take you on a journey through the forest to experience how and why it's healing for the senses and the soul.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Understanding what forest bathing is.
• The health benefits of forest bathing.
• Why I built a forest at a Waldorf pre-school program.
• Why forest life heals and nurtures our emotional well-being, physical bodies, and soul.
• What it means to bathe our senses in the atmosphere of a forest.
• How to craft and cultivate a simple and better forest experience.
• Nature as a powerful antidote for sensory overload and challenging behaviors.
• The ways children absorb experiences and how to use this to foster healthy development.
• The four foundational senses as our child’s sensory building blocks.
• How to observe your child in a  forest bathing experience. 
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

We Nurture Collective

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Association for Healing Education - Article - Observations Based on the Lower Senses

http://box5157.temp.domains/~healipj6/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/12sensesahe.pdf

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As parents, we know how important play is for young children. For the young child, play and learning are one and the same. Through play, children try out their ideas and develop new capacities at their own pace and in their own timing. 

It's been said that the most effective way for a young child to be educated is to let them learn through play at their own pace. - To let them learn when they are ready and interested. 

The types of play that I’ll focus on is based on research that was used as a tool for assessing whether play in early childhood programs was providing adequate opportunities and materials for all types of play. Although this research came out of this need, it’s also a useful tool for us as parents to know if we are providing the variety of play that our child needs and if they have access to different types of play in the program they attend.

Listen to learn more!

Here are a links to Alliance for Childhood articles

Crisis in the Kindergarten - Why Children Need to Play in School

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d24bb215f3e850001630a72/t/5d389f785f713d0001a33797/1563991929109/Summary+Crisis+in+Kindergarten_8-page_summary.pdf

Alliance for Childhood - Importance of Play

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED485734.pdf

12 Key Types of Play

https://images.shulcloud.com/1039/uploads/docs/Resource-Bank/Parent-Resource-Bank/Twelve-Key-Types-of-Play.pdf

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Welcome to another inspiring edition of Blossoming Tuesday on the We Nurture Podcast. 

Today, I talk about how to nurture your child’s ability to self-regulate. I highlight three stages of learning - supporting self-regulation, co-regulating, and achieving self-regulation  that, when nurtured, builds your child’s ability to regulate. You’ll come to understand what role your triggers, as a parent, play in your child’s self-regulation journey.  I share insights on the importance of breathing, talking, seeking help, and, of course, the undeniable benefits of play. Finally, I take a detailed look at the importance of self-regulation in children and adults alike.  Tune in to listen and  please share this episode with family and friends. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• The three stages of learning that build your child’s ability to self-regulate.
• Stage 1: Supporting self-regulation.
• How to be a calm, nurturing presence for your child.  
• Stage 2: Co-regulating. 
• Stage 3: Achieving self-regulation.
• Why understanding your triggers as a parent will help your child’s self-regulation. 
• How children develop self-regulation through self-directed play. 
• The reasons why self-regulation is essential. 

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Welcome to a new episode of the We Nurture Podcast! Today on Mindful Monday, I will be chatting about the effects of screen time on our young ones. I'll open a dialogue around why screen time should be limited for younger children. I'll talk about how I raised my children, the research and resources I used, and the methods of observations that better equipped me to create and maintain a screen-free home. While acknowledging that this is a difficult task, I'll give advice, tips, and powerful questions to ask ourselves which will help listeners to better observe and perceive the ways children behave and interact when having screen time. From understanding important cognitive, sensory, and physiological nervous system developments in our children, to the power of boredom and nature, I talk about how to take on the challenge of minimizing screen time in your homes to improve all aspects of your child's life. I'll talk about how chronic stress, overstimulation, and concentration barriers can be combated with simple play-oriented, movement-centered, grounding techniques. I hope you can join me to feel empowered to tackle minimizing screen time in a world that revolves around screens!

Key Points From This Episode:

• A brief look at my personal parenting style with regard to screens. 
• The age at which I introduced screens into my children's lives.
• Discussing the development of a young child’s brain with respect to certain age markers.
• The developmental processes a brain misses out on when a child is having screen time.
• Why I avoided screen time when raising my children in their early years. 
• The importance of children feeling and processing their boredom.
• The effects of screen time on children's cognitive, sensory, and physiological nervous systems.
• How screen time can affect your child’s focus, attention span, and sleep.
• A scientific understanding of a child’s developing brain. 
• Three critical questions you can ask yourself when making decisions around children’s screen time.
• How to look out for and pay attention to the negative effects of screen time.
• 10 key points from Dr. Dunckley’s book, Reset Your Child's Brain.
• The power of observing your child.

PDF Reset Your Child's Brain - A Four Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades and Build Social skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen Time

Reset Your Child's Brain by Dr. Victoria Dunckley

What Do We Really Know About Kids and Screens

The Case for Screen-Free Childhood

Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children

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Today on Q&A Friday, I talk about how to mindfully navigate resistance and aggressive language in our children. With no simple one-size-fits-all approach, I guide you in understanding that each situation requires a personal tailored response: one that is in the best interest of your child. You'll learn the importance of a child being able to express themselves, and how to look beyond their behavior with kindness and empathy for underlying issues that they may be trying to express. Discover seven reasons that can cause resistance and aggressive language, which include being overwhelmed, the inability to express emotions, mimicking their personal experiences, and changing communication styles. Plus, you'll get some suggestions to navigate this behavior, from creating consistent home rhythms to holding boundaries, remaining calm in resistant situations, and acknowledging major developmental milestones. I hope you’ll join me for this informative and encouraging episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Navigating your child’s resistance while considering potential underlying causes.
• How allowing your child to express themselves builds connections and strengthens relationships.
• A list of seven things to consider when understanding resistant behavior.
• Suggestions on how to combat resistant behavior. 
• Why adults must make bigger decisions and let children choose between two smaller choices. 
• How being overwhelmed can mirror being resistant. 
• The ways an adult can support their child through situations that trigger resistance.
• What the Waldorf Education system defines as the individuation process.
• The healing power of telling stories.
• How to tame, work with, and deal with aggressive language and behavior

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

We Nurture Collective

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“Gardening isn’t just an activity that we do. In so many ways, it shows us the essence of the cycles of life, from the seed to the aging, dying plant.” Today on Seasonal Thursday, I’ll be talking about a Waldorf inspired approach to gardening with young children. Once again, I will invite you to place yourself in the young child’s world of feeling instead of knowing, experiencing instead of overthinking. I'll take a look at the importance of nature in early childhood before taking a deep dive into ‘the willing phase’. Then, onto gardening, where you’ll learn how to plan your garden and decide what to plant, making sure that you have the right tools, as well as the importance of designated gardening clothes, and so much more! And, of course, you’ll get some ideas for fun gardening activities, some of which are there to extend the experience beyond just gardening. Make sure to tune in and come grow with us.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Living into an experience, instead of thinking your way through it. 
• How ‘feeling‘ is more important than ‘knowing‘ for the young child. 
• The importance of nature in early childhood.
• Waldorf Educations’s three phases of the growing child, paying closer attention to ‘the willing phase‘.  
• Planning your garden and deciding what to plant.
• The importance of organic seeds/food. 
• Making sure that you have the right tools. 
• How to create a separate play area for your child.
• Another reminder that children play themselves into life. 
• Some fun gardening activities for children aged 18 months and older. 
• The importance of having the right clothes and why distinctively different clothes for gardening matters. 
• I talk about how to keep it simple. 
• Little things that you can do to add to the experience, beyond just gardening.
• Creating a small, personal garden bed for the slightly older child. 

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