What Can I Do When My Child Says "I Feel Sad"
07/10/23 • 35 min
As a parent it is normal to want your child to be happy and have positive experiences. And one of the hardest things to learn is that you cannot make your child happy, and fixing their feelings is not your job. Dr Martha speaks about emotion to help you make sense of what your child means when they say "I feel sad", how to work with the emotion rather than trying to fix it or remove it, and the things to watch out for if sadness is getting stuck around your child and it's not longer a temporary emotion but low mood impacting on their quality of life.
Pre-order my first book 'How To Be The Grown Up' here:https://bit.ly/HowtoBetheGrownUpAMZ
Pre-orders are a ‘promise’ between you and me - that I will deliver a book that I think you will love and find useful, and you will support me by promising to buy it first. No money gets taken out of your bank account until the day the book is launched.
The Confident Parent course is out! Do you have, or look after, children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years old? The Confident Parent is a practical, video-based course for parents and caregivers from Clinical Psychologist Dr Martha. Over eighty 3-6 minute videos to guide you through the main challenges of the early years (including sibling rivalry).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As a parent it is normal to want your child to be happy and have positive experiences. And one of the hardest things to learn is that you cannot make your child happy, and fixing their feelings is not your job. Dr Martha speaks about emotion to help you make sense of what your child means when they say "I feel sad", how to work with the emotion rather than trying to fix it or remove it, and the things to watch out for if sadness is getting stuck around your child and it's not longer a temporary emotion but low mood impacting on their quality of life.
Pre-order my first book 'How To Be The Grown Up' here:https://bit.ly/HowtoBetheGrownUpAMZ
Pre-orders are a ‘promise’ between you and me - that I will deliver a book that I think you will love and find useful, and you will support me by promising to buy it first. No money gets taken out of your bank account until the day the book is launched.
The Confident Parent course is out! Do you have, or look after, children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years old? The Confident Parent is a practical, video-based course for parents and caregivers from Clinical Psychologist Dr Martha. Over eighty 3-6 minute videos to guide you through the main challenges of the early years (including sibling rivalry).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
I Just Saw My Child Touching Themselves. HELP!
We don't tend to talk about little ones' sexual behaviour. As adults we may find this is wrong or perverse, and yet there is a difference between 'sexual behaviour' that comes from curiosity and exploration and 'sexualised behaviour' with an intention for sex. Children are born wanting to explore the world and learning about their bodies is a part of it. When it comes to little ones masturbating this conversation is often taboo, can feel embarrassing or bring shame to adults. And yet - it is healthy and natural for children to explore their own bodies. There are however some 'red flags' to be aware of to differentiate developmentally appropriate behaviour from something that may need further professional guidance and support. Dr Martha talks about all these topics with sensitivity towards you, the adult navigating these situations, and appropriate developmental understanding of your child, to guide you to think about ways to set safe boundaries and explore conversations around privacy, consent, and safeguarding.
Pre-order my first book 'How To Be The Grown Up' here:https://bit.ly/HowtoBetheGrownUpAMZ
Pre-orders are a ‘promise’ between you and me - that I will deliver a book that I think you will love and find useful, and you will support me by promising to buy it first. No money gets taken out of your bank account until the day the book is launched.
The Confident Parent course is out! Do you have, or look after, children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years old? The Confident Parent is a practical, video-based course for parents and caregivers from Clinical Psychologist Dr Martha. Over eighty 3-6 minute videos to guide you through the main challenges of the early years (including sibling rivalry).
The NSPCC "Pantosaurus" song I discuss on the podcast is linked below:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/
Three of my favourite books on sex and bodies are linked below. For a full list of recommended books see: https://www.drmarthapsychologist.com/recommended-books
- Sex is a Funny Word: https://amzn.eu/d/a318aYn
- Let's Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent, and Respect: https://amzn.eu/d/dluyo04
- Making a Baby: https://amzn.eu/d/bd8D6Rd
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Oh No! I Just Lost It. How Do I Repair With My Child?
As a parent there are going to be times when you lose it, shout, say things you don't mean or put in actions you regret. This doesn't make you a bad parent, it makes you human. In these moments, repairing the relationship with your child is the step you need to take. But how do you do this when they are little and when they get older? What if your child doesn't seem to respond or even acknowledge your apology? What do you need to be mindful of and what work might you need to do to make repair a meaningful act, not just saying the words "I am sorry"? Dr Martha talks you through this with scripts, developmental science about children and things to reflect on to guide you next time.
Pre-order my first book 'How To Be The Grown Up' here:https://bit.ly/HowtoBetheGrownUpAMZ
Pre-orders are a ‘promise’ between you and me - that I will deliver a book that I think you will love and find useful, and you will support me by promising to buy it first. No money gets taken out of your bank account until the day the book is launched.
The Confident Parent course is out! Do you have, or look after, children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years old? The Confident Parent is a practical, video-based course for parents and caregivers from Clinical Psychologist Dr Martha. Over eighty 3-6 minute videos to guide you through the main challenges of the early years (including sibling rivalry).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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