Meet the Parenthood App specialists

Being a parent is tough, which is why Parenthood App was created – to give parents support, advice and a place to chat with other parents, who not only have similar interests but who are also going through the same thing as you.

Here, some of the apps top specialists share their expert parenting tips…

Katie Wormald is a weaning specialist – also known as The Weaning Queen. She shares all her fab tips regularly in the app and can be found in the weaning group.

She says, “My top weaning tips are:

When you start weaning your baby is a blank canvas, they will learn whatever you teach them to eat.
Weaning is about more than just the food you offer a baby, it is about igniting all the senses, the smell, the taste, the touch, the sound and the look of it that will entice a baby to eat.
Variety is the key to weaning. Experiment with flavours, allow your little one to explore the foods and most importantly enjoy the process together.

You can follow Katie here:

Website

YouTube

Facebook group

Laura Atack is a life and parenting coach

and the founder of Encouraging Parents

“Parents often ask, “How can I get my child to listen to me?”, but actually, that’s not quite what they’re asking, Laura reveals ”It’s more, “How can I get my kid to listen, and then DO the thing I’m asking them to?”

Know that feeling? Here’s Laura’s top tip:

“Ask” She advises, “Don’t tell.”

“Instead of ‘Brush your teeth, eat your breakfast, put your stuff in the sink, wash your hands, put on your coat, it’s time to go to school’ – imagine if instead, your child heard;

“Do you want to hop or skip to the bathroom? What do you need to do with your bowl when you’ve finished breakfast? What do you need to wear to be warm outside?”.

“When we ask our child a question” Laura explains, “We are giving them (limited) choices and we’re inviting them to co-operate with us.”

Laura also suggests, “Even better, get down to their level, put a hand on their shoulder, and then ask the question. It’s much easier for our child to listen when we have their full attention, and when they can read lots of verbal and non-verbal clues from us.”

You can find Laura in the app and over on her;

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Sarah Alder is a Family Meal Times Mentor who shares some fab recipes and useful tips in the app on how you can make mealtimes stress free.

Here, the founder of Kitchen Titbits shares her tips for getting your children on a journey of exploration…

Sarah explains;

“Very rarely are children happy to dive straight in to eating new foods (though with my children any bread products, cakes, sweets, chocolates or biscuits pose no issue!). The vast majority of the time, it’s going to take a multitude of offerings before they’ll be comfortable enough to take a bite.”

Sarah recommends that, “Rather than focussing on getting your child to eat or encouraging them to try a food, Consider that in learning to like new foods, children go on a journey of exploration.”

“First, they need to repeatedly see a new food (in real life, in books and as play food) and they need to see you eating and enjoying it.”

“They’ll become comfortable enough to start interacting with it using all their senses – touching it, smelling it, helping to prepare it, serving it to others at the table or using it in play and craft activities.”

Then, Sarah says, “They’ll be able to move on to trying the food.”

“Initially, they may lick it, then put it in their mouth and spit it out, then chew and spit, eventually eating a pea-sized amount and hopefully then increasing how much they ingest.”

“Keeping the pressure to eat off and going on this journey together, you’ll be able to support your child to develop a love of food.”

To find out more about Sarah, head to the app or check out her;

Theresa Petzold is an independent careers adviser specialising in helping teenagers and their parents to explore all the great education, training, and career options out there for young people. Covering topics like GCSE choices, college and 6th form options, apprenticeships, university, work experience, gap years, and career ideas and inspiration, Theresa supports parents of teenagers in the app.

Here she shares how you can help your teen with their choices around their education options…

Theresa recommends that, “You get in the habit of asking lots of “why?” type questions about your child’s ideas and plans. Getting used to thinking about their “whys” is great to explore underlying motivations and check “realities”. This might include vague ideas like “It’s a good career.”, and checking assumptions about things like entry requirements or what a job might involve. Of course, you can use variations of “why”, like “How did you decide this?” or “What made you think about this option?” and so on.”

“Be gentle and ask “why” in variations so they don’t feel interrogated.” She suggests, “But you want to basically behave a little like a four-year-old, who after every answer still keeps asking why (remember those days?).”Some are really up for the experiment and to see when they start to get stuck. You might even be amazed by how well-researched and reflected your teen’s ideas already are.”

“When they struggle to answer, it’s a sign that there is more scope for reflection on personal motivations and ideas, as well as researching ideas in detail and maybe getting some work experience or talking to people in the industry. This can be over time of course – They don’t have to have it all worked out by 15!”

You can find out more about Theresa here;

Website

Facebook group

Facebook

Zana Parker is an antenatal educator, hypnobirthing teacher and counsellor, who supports parents in the app who are just starting out on their parenting journey

Here Zana shares what to look for when choosing an antenatal class…

“Is this the kind of thing you envisaged?… As a pregnancy, labour and birth education specialist I recommend that if you’re looking for antenatal classes, rather than focus on ones that mostly fill you with medical knowledge about birth, go for classes that focus much more on how you might feel and what you might do to feel better in labour. We can often be fooled into thinking that “knowledge is power” – and it often is – but in labour, although some knowledge and understanding is always good, the journey is very much a physical and emotional one. When you reflect on your birth experience in years to come it’ll be how you felt that you remember most.”

You can find out more about Zana here;

Website

Sven Lauch is an Emotional logic coach, supporting parents in the app with their relationships.

Here Sven suggests that you, “Put the your partner first, not your child.”

“We want to meet all our children’s needs” he says, “and want to be the best parents. I want that too. Here is the catch though. You’ll only be as good in meeting your child’s needs as you are good in meeting yours. “

“To love your children is hard work and, I’d argue, impossible without being loved yourself first. The relationship with our partner can be (and should be) a source of love. To receive that love though we need to nurture that relationship because if that relationship falls apart you likely fall apart, too.”

So, here two mindset shifts to ponder on:

Nurturing your relationship is selfcare, not selfish.
Nurturing the relationship with your partner is part of nurturing your child, because a healthy relationship will nurture your child’s ability to have healthy relationships.

You can find out more about Sven here;

Kate Hoyle is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Rapid Transformational Therapist. This involves using hypnosis to access subconscious emotional beliefs attached to past events.

Kate specialises in helping teenagers overcome anxiety and low self-esteem, having lived through the impact of her daughter’s mental health issues and can be seen supporting parents of teenagers in the app

Here she shares some of her favourite tips when it comes to parenting teenagers…

be available: it’s unlikely they will want to talk to you when it’s convenient to you but it is important to be there when they need you

use active listening: don’t just wait for your turn to talk, really listen to what they are saying and accept it without shock or judgement
see the world through their eyes: understanding what’s going on for them means you can really start to help
forget the expectations of everyone else: parent your child according to their needs, not the needs of school, family or friends.

You can find out more about Kate here;

Laura Darby is a Trauma-informed youth mentor and coach. Working in the frontline child protection arena for around 10 years, specialising in sexual harm for the last 5 years, Laura specialises in supporting victims of abuse, specifically sexual harm.

“There’s no such thing as a ‘bad child’. Every behaviour gives us information.” Laura says.

“Yes, children display behaviours that range from irritating to disruptive to dangerous, what can we learn from that?”

“Children do well when they can. Big things happen when adults shift to this mindset, a mindset of “this child is having a hard time” rather than “giving me a hard time.””

“Instead of disrespectful, unmotivated, lazy, stubborn, or manipulative, we can see a child who is overwhelmed, distressed, unsupported, lost, stuck, or just trying to survive the best way they know how – maybe because its worked for them in the past.”

“Children and adults, need someone they can trust, someone who believes in them no matter what, with unconditional positive regard, they can start seeing themselves as something other than bad. Actions need to show this support, steering away from blame related punishments.”

You can find out more about Laura here: