Parentline NI - Your Guide to Parenting – Details, episodes & analysis

At Parentline, we are experiencing a large number of calls from parents and carers who are struggling with the issue of Anxiety Based School avoidance. 

Many of these parents feel like they are the only ones going through it, which is so far from the truth.

In this very special episode of the Parentline NI Podcast we share some of the stories and experiences from parents, and shine a light on this issue.

Our host Kerry McLean chats to Courtney, Lyndsey and Fiona, as well as Elaine from Strive NI in this episode.

https://striveni.co.uk/

https://www.ci-ni.org.uk/parentline/

Parentline NI is a FREE confidential helpline for parents and carers throughout NI. 

If you need us, we’re here. Call 0808 8020 400

Kate McKeown and Sarah Carvell chat to Kerry McLean about their experiences with dyslexia - they discuss their barriers to support, trusting their own judgements around their childrens' needs, and navigating a path for a better outcome. 

If you would like to talk to Parentline about dyslexia, or about any other parenting matter, you can call us on 0808 8020 400. 

This episode is the second of our 'Parenting through...' series. Kerry talks to Casey and Becca, the recent founders of Melted Parents NI - their aim is to share the human stories behind the childcare crisis and it's impact on our society. 

They discuss the impact of childcare costs on whether parents (mainly women) are willing and/or able to return to work after having a baby. In addition, they talk about childcare being more than just someone looking after your child, and how nurturing a place nurseries can be.  Check out their Instagram after this episode to see the stories of many local parents. 

Resources related to this episode:

Parentline - https://www.ci-ni.org.uk/parentline
Melted Parents NI - linktr.ee/meltedparentsni

Remember Parentline NI are here on 0808 8020 400 to listen, offer support or guidance on any area of parenting.

To avoid missing an episode of our podcast, click ‘follow’ wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening!!

The thought of our children or our young people going through emotional pain and hurt is horrible.  As parents or carers, we want them to have a perfect, stress-free, pain-free life. But of course, that's not possible for anyone. And sometimes that pain and hurt can lead to them having thoughts of self-harm, or worse still, thoughts of suicide.
Kerry McLean talks to Connor McCafferty of Zest NI - Healing the Hurt, on how our own emotional literacy can help us provide the right kind of support to our children. 

http://www.zestni.org/

Remember Parentline are here on 0808 8020 400 to listen, offer support or guidance on any parenting issue. 
https://www.ci-ni.org.uk/parentline/

In this episode, Pam Nugent, co-founder of The Laurence Trust, tells her story about the loss of her son, Laurence, to an eating disorder.

For #eatingdisorderawarenessweek2023, there is a focus on men, and how eating disorders, contrary to popular belief, affect men as well as women.

Pam shares the heartbreaking story of Laurence's eating disorder,  and her motivation for founding The Laurence Trust; a safe and compassionate space for men and their loved ones to find support, so that tragedies like this one can be avoided.

https://www.thelaurencetrust.co.uk/

Freddie Flintoff: Living with Bulimia: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000n1xx

Remember Parentline are here on 0808 8020 400 to listen, offer support or guidance on any parenting issue. 

In this episode we were delighted to have Rebecca from Eden Consultancy  back with us to chat more about autism. Kerry and Rebecca chat about next steps after diagnosis, as well as discussing stigmas and dated views. Rebecca gives some excellent tried and tested techniques as well as advice for parents and carers to try involving the whole family in using a consistent approach for their children. They also chat about normalising a diagnosis - it does not change your child and is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

If you would like to talk one of our Parentline NI support officers please call 0808 8020 400. We are here to support you without judgement.

Useful links:

https://www.edenconsultancyni.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Edenconsultancyni

https://www.ci-ni.org.uk/parentline/
https://www.facebook.com/parentlineni

Lisa and Kerry chat about the impact of childhood trauma on the person we become, and in turn our own parenting styles. They discuss the vocabulary we need to talk about trauma and it's impact on our mental health. They also discuss self care, and how empathy and compassion can make such a positive difference to those carrying the weight of trauma. Lisa discusses how having those conversations about the legacy of trauma, don't always make things better, but that addressing things can lead to valuable learnings and realisations.

Lisa Cherry is an author, researcher and leading international trainer and consultant, specialising in assisting schools, services and systems to create change that supports working with the legacy of trauma. Lisa has been working in Education and Children’s Services for over 30 years and combines academic knowledge and research with professional skills and personal experience.

Conversations that Make a Difference, by Lisa Cherry
https://www.lisacherry.co.uk/

We hope you enjoy the conversation, share with friends and family and let us know what you think.

Remember Parentline are here on 0808 8020 400 to listen, offer support or guidance on any parenting issue. 

This episode, Kerry talks to Col Bignell, founder of DadBods - a group for dads to get together and connect through what it's like to be a dad!
Every Sunday they get together in a new outdoor location for a walk and a chat - and bring their babies and toddlers of course!
Col explains what it has done for him as a parent, as he feels he can connect with the other dads about how much of a life changing event parenthood is.

If you'd like to get in touch with Col, find him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dadbods.ni/

Patrick McIlwee, from New Ways NI - Tailored Mindset Coaching, chats to Kerry McLean about ways to use mindfulness in our parenting, both for ourselves and for our children. 

Resources:

https://5lovelanguages.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NewWaysNI/

Ed Sipler, a Health Development Specialist in the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust, talks to Kerry McLean about building resilience in ourselves and our children.
It's been a tough few years for us all, and with the current cost of living challenges, we have all had a lot to cope with and try to overcome.

Ed talks about resilience in this episode, and how it's more effective to build our own resilience first, before modelling it to our children. Ed talks about his own family, and his twin granddaughters, giving us an insight on the challenges we all face, and how to work through them using our own resilience and instilling it into our children and grandchildren. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:
CYPSP - https://cypsp.hscni.net
Family Support Hubs - https://cypsp.hscni.net/family-support-hubs
Parentline - https://www.ci-ni.org.uk/parentline

Remember Parentline NI are here on 0808 8020 400 to listen, offer support or guidance on any area of parenting.

To avoid missing an episode of our podcast, click ‘follow’ wherever you get your podcasts.
Thanks for listening!!