How creating a Loving and Safe Learning Environment can support Your child’s development.
Some parents come to me and expect me to ‘fix’ their child. There is nothing to ‘fix’ and your child is not ‘broken’. Your child, with their own unique set of challenges can learn much the same way that a typical developing child does.
As a therapist, it is within my expertise to support your child to overcome their challenges, and help them learn to move in more expansive ways. As parents, you can further support your child’s development by creating a loving and safe learning environment at home.
In a loving and safe learning environment, your child can experience their own movements and the consequences of these actions within a fun and non-judgmental context. There is no emphasis on good or bad, right or wrong whatsoever.
When you provide a safe container for your child to make mistakes, you help provide the context with which your child can learn and discover the consequences of their actions in a supportive environment. There are so many new things your child needs to figure out. So many tasks to learn. Endless things to discover!
Like a ‘new kid in town’ your child is learning with your guidance. Your reactions and responses reflect and project meaning onto the consequences of your child’s actions. The thing to remember is to help support your child to learn to make distinctions, and not simply declaring anything right or wrong which could over time foster a sense of guilt.
So on this Valentine’s Day, let us remember how a loving and safe learning environment can further support our special needs children’s development!
Love comes in many shapes, sizes, and colours!
PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR YOU
What would love do?
Ask yourself this question when faced with a challenge or decision regarding your child. Always base your decision on love and not fear. What am I teaching my child when I behave or act like this?
Spare a moment.
Spare a moment each day to really connect with your child. Gaze into their eyes and feel the ‘depth of their heart’. See all the goodness and loving qualities of your child in your mind’s eye and feel that in your heart. Appreciate and be grateful for all the blessings your child has brought into your life.
Engage your child.
When supporting your child at home with their therapy program, ask yourself: How would this feel if you were being your child? Step into your child’s shoes and empathize with their feelings. Are they having fun and connecting with you OR are they disengaged from the process?
When as parents, we can look at what our children are going through everyday with loving compassion, we can then begin to understand the enormous challenges our special needs children are faced with, AND can envision how a safe and loving learning environment is so crucial for their healthy development.
QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO PONDER:
- When was the last time I appreciated and treated myself to something special?
- Which areas of my life need more of my loving support?
- How can respecting my needs and my feelings support my relationships both at home and at work?
Now it’s up to you to engage yourself in this process.
