Parenting Advice Blog
Bethan’s Weekly Parenting Advice blog where she answers your parenting problems.
If you’d like Bethan to answer your parenting problem, email her at hello@bethanoriordan.com
I’m feeling smothered by my toddler
I hear this a lot! You’re not alone. Sometimes we can think too much about avoiding being the parent we had, and too little about being the parent we want to be. Dodging the parenting styles we received growing up can often result in over-compensation and a scrambled...
How to help a child who hates losing
We often talk about this in the Calm Parenting Community and I think the question "how can I help my child who hates losing" is such an important one because it's really setting up their sense of identity and mental health. To preface my answer, I want to share a...
Feeling frazzled? Doesn’t have to stop you being a gentle, respectful parent.
It can be difficult to find time to ground yourself, especially if you don’t know what the practice really looks like for you and what you hope to gain from it. Once you know this, it’s easier to turn a goal into a plan. You’ll find yourself utilising those pockets of...
I’ve no time for me – how can I create some?
Carving time out in your busy schedule for yourself is an important part of being a parent. Here’s how you make the most of those hidden pockets of time in your day. When I read this question, it took me back to my early motherhood days when I couldn’t consistently...
How can I make self-care work for me?
Self-care is not a mythical creature, but as a parent, it can often feel like it. If you’re finding it challenging to make time for acts of self-care you need to clarify your motivation for taking care of yourself. We need to re-frame self-care. Self-care is a mix of...
How can I share the emotional load with my partner?
There’s almost always one parent who thinks of or takes care of more household and parenting matters than the other. Here’s how you can learn to share the challenges and improve your parenting relationship. Sharing parenting responsibilities involves three things -...
I don’t want my child to pick up on my anxiety
Children are more observant and empathic than we often give them credit for. Your anxieties are their anxieties. Care for yourself to care for them. Every parent has a part of their emotional world that they don’t want their children to see, and I am delighted that...
How to help my mental health when I am in the thick of it
Taking care of ourselves isn’t selfish; it’s an important part of being a great parent. Protecting our own mental health is imperative to take good care of our children and their wellbeing Thanks for sharing what’s going on for you. The maternal mind can be complex...
A phone opens a world of influences besides your own for your pre-teen – here’s how to manage them
There are many courses out there to help parents upskill and know how to help make being online safe for their children. However, it is essential that after you’ve learned about blocking sites/what you want your child to access, you have a conversation with them about...