Tim Walker. Mental Health Clinician The Tiger Who Came to Tea is a children’s book. A young girl is surprised when a tiger enters the house at dinner time. Naturally this is an unexpected and difficult disruption! Rather than avoiding or resisting the tiger, the young girl offers it some tea. In fact, the tiger eats absolutely everything! The girl decides to accept him. The more food the tiger needs, the more she offers him. The girl and her family make room for the tiger, and finally it leaves. If we think of the tiger as anxiety knocking at the door, this story is a great example of using mindfulness and flexible thinking, individually and as a family, to manage anxiety. Whilst not based on mindfulness concepts, this story is a good analogy for sitting with anxiety in our lives, to better manage mental health. Seeing what is true, we hold what we see with kindness
Dr Dan Siegel is a neuropsychiatrist and pioneer in understanding the relationships between the developing brain, emotional experiences and attachment.
Dr Siegel's resources and videos on “Connection before Correction” and the “Hand model of the brain” are extremely valuable video resources explaining complex neuroscience terms in easily understandable ways, and in ways that are easily applicable to parents in supporting their children when dysregulated. Why do I love it? I love recommending Dan Siegel’s approach to emotional literacy to all parents who seek help in how to better support their children who experience dysregulation. Dan Siegal’s books and resources help parents gain a better understanding of helpful ways to respond to a dysregulated child. He stresses the importance of empathy and feeling more connected with their child through teaching effective co-regulation skills. What is a key takeaway? Connection before correction may seem like just 3 words, but it encapsulates a whole lot more than just what those 3 words mean. By helping parents understand the importance of increased connection and understanding of their children’s needs/barriers, we can also help them explore and develop their emotional literacy. This then helps create more meaningful and positive relationships between parents and children, and more open communication and emotional expression between children and parents. Why my clients should read it? All parents can benefit from increasing their understanding of their emotional experiences, common triggers of these, and also what can be done to help manage certain emotions. You can purchase "The Whole Brain Child" here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Whole-Brain-Child-Daniel-J-Siegel/9780553386691 Learn more about Dr Dan Siegel's work here: https://drdansiegel.com/ |
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