| Our daughter, Hannah, was born in 1993, a sensitive and active child. A close friend had worked as a psycho-social family-centred nurse, working with children therapeutically in the community, at the Cassel Hospital in Ham (Richmond UK), and it was she who made us aware of a child-centred approach to parenting, and some of the reasons why Hannah might be behaving the way she was. Without her support and understanding, we may well have had a very different child from the one we have now.
We made a conscious decision to parent without smacking, but our own experience with a baby and toddler who was at times extremely challenging, made us realise just how important it is for the health and well-being of all families to receive help and support right from the very start. And also, even with the best intentions, how easy it can be for us to slip into a negative cycle, especially if we are tired and exhausted. We began to understand why some people can reach such a low point that they might harm their children. In 1995 we founded The Children's Project and began learning, researching and observing. We believe that by showing why children behave the way they do, parents and carers will be better able to understand them and respond appropriately.
The Social Baby and The Social Toddler are examples of how we bring the studies of academics, and the experience of 'hands-on' professionals and parents together to make information available for all in a palatable form.
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"Parenting is
the single most
demanding and
time-consuming
task we can take on,
yet it is something
we do without
training. It is not
until we have a
sensitive or
demanding child that
we realise how little
we really
understand
about our children."
Helen Dorman |
