From Overwhelm to Empowerment

Lately, parenting has felt especially overwhelming.

The September routine barely settled, and then we were dealing with the sensory whirlwind of Halloween, Bonfire Night, and the upcoming festive season. Sugar highs, late nights, and so many new experiences mean that everyone in the family needs more support and regulation than ever.

At the heart of this season’s challenges, one theme seems to come up repeatedly:

a lack of control.

As parents, we’re constantly adjusting to changes, but now it’s time to face just how deeply our sense of control is being tested. This lack of control can show up in many forms:

• A struggle to regulate our own emotions and reactions [read our Regulation Article to get to the bottom of this].

• Feeling that our routines revolve entirely around our children’s needs.

• Lack of consistency in sleep, which affects everyone in the family.

• And the natural push for independence from our little ones.

Top Tip

Our children are individuals, and our role as parents isn’t to control them but to guide and empower them. Learning to offer them appropriate choices can make a huge difference. For example:

• “We need to leave now to get to school” — a non-negotiable boundary.

Instead, try:

• “Would you like to wear your stripy hat or your blue one to school? You decide and then we will leave for school” — an empowering choice and appropriate option of control for a child.

But sometimes, simply managing these changes isn’t enough. The process of navigating new boundaries, priorities, and expectations can shift how we see ourselves. Our sense of identity as parents—and as individuals—often feels blurred or even lost in the shuffle.

This is exactly what our new Identity Course is here to address. It dives into 13 key areas of change that affect our identity as parents, including control, boundaries, and emotional balance. If you’re ready to explore how these shifts impact your life and discover new tools to navigate them with confidence, join us in the Identity Course. 

Let’s rebuild a sense of control and find balance together.