Meerilinga - Positive Childhoods and Parenting

Parents can often feel consumed by the urgent tasks of the day, leaving little room to think about the world that their kids are going to enter when they’re older. Sonya Elek has gone through this journey and worked to make sure that her time and energy align with her values – especially around taking action on climate change.

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Parenting is seen as ‘natural’ but we need MAPS to navigate us through the challenges, especially in the first few weeks of parenthood.

Manager of Meerilinga Parenting Services, Belynda Smith, and Sharon Cooke, a parent-infant therapist, discuss the need to slow down and be present with their little one. Sharon shares her experience helping to develop Mother-Baby Nurture and how this short, 10-week programme can form a foundation...

We’re looking at how proprioception, our sense of our body, can be used as a different set of MAPS for our children's emotions and wellbeing. Featuring The Occuplaytional Therapist, Kelsie Olds, we discuss strategies around enabling children to use their senses and movement to act out feelings and feel good about themselves.

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Author, Educator and Mother, Gen Muir speaks to Manager of Meerilinga Parenting Services, Belynda Smith, on how parents can attune to their children’s emotions and help guide them through the challenges. Self-reflection remains key along this journey, and Gen discusses ways our own emotional history can impact the moment and that we need to remain kind and compassionate towards ourselves.

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There’s a whole bunch of MAPS out there, but it’s important that we don’t lose sight of what we value most.

In our conversation with Karen Young, expert on paediatric anxiety and the neurodevelopment of children, we explore the importance of sticking to our core values as parents, whether it’s honesty, kindness, courage or respect. When parents embody these values themselves they can more easily nurture those same qualities in th...

Sometimes the MAPS that we need are right in front of us. That’s what Jason Hyde discovered when he was looking for some direction as a single dad of four. He sat down with Manager of Meerilinga Parenting Services, Belynda Smith, to discuss his lived experience and how he is helping organisations tailor their parenting programs to the needs of fathers.

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Spend some time on the couch with Dr Theresa Kidd and Dr Miriam Kirby, clinical psychologists at The Kidd Clinic. Alongside host and Manager of Meerilinga Parenting Services, Belynda Smith, they discuss the different MAPS that parents can use to navigate neurodiversity and relieve the pressure on themselves and their children.

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MAPS For Parents Episode 4

Mindfulness doesn’t always require extra time. With the help of parenting consultant and program facilitator, Jo Wiese, we explore practical ways that mindfulness can support you through the chaos of the everyday.

Discover MAPS for Parenting: mindfulness, attunement, play and self care by following us online or viewing our YouTube playlist.

Find more support at Meerilinga: https://www.meerilinga.org.au/

MAPS For Parents Episode 3

Putting the P into MAPS, puppeteer Kylie Bywaters speaks to Manager of Meerilinga Parenting Services, Belynda Smith, about how Play can nurture a child’s emotional wellbeing and creativity, and build stronger connections with their parents.

Discover MAPS for Parenting: mindfulness, attunement, play and self care by following us online or viewing our YouTube playlist.

Find more support at Meerilinga: https...

MAPS For Parents Episode 2

Books are one of the best tools in your kit when raising a child with mindfulness, attunement, play and self care. Jennifer Donovan, Education Officer at Better Beginnings shares her experience of working with families to develop early literacy and some practical techniques to encourage children to learn in a way that suits them.

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MAPS For Parents Episode 1

Annette Harwood, CEO of Playgroup, knows that it takes a village to raise a child.

In a conversation with Manager of Meerilinga Parenting Services, Belynda Smith, they discuss the messiness and magic of the early years and why connection and community matter when raising a child, both for their benefit and yours.

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