Episode 197: Supporting sleep from infancy to the teen years with Belynda Smith

I'm so delighted that Belynda Smith is back on the podcast, after she interviewed me about The Emotional Life of Babies in episode 151. Belynda is an Aware Parenting instructor and a Hand in Hand Parenting Instructor. She is also the Editor of my trilogy of books. In this episode, Belynda shares about her passion for – and deep experience with – the vital importance of receiving lots of listening if we are wanting to listen to our children's feelings. Belynda shares about the details of Listening Partnerships, which is a term from Hand in Hand Parenting and which offers specific parameters to create deeper safety and healing. Belynda shares about her experience of coming to Hand in Hand Parenting when her children were in early childhood, after experiencing both frequent night waking (every 40 minutes) and, once her second child was born, her own unexpressed feelings starting to bubble up. She shares the breakthrough experiences she had when she first came across Hand in Hand Parenting, and when she had her first session with a Hand in Hand Parenting Instructor and Trainer, Ann Hefferan, which inspired her to go on and become a Hand in Hand Parenting Instructor herself. Belynda shares about the next part of her journey, and discovering Aware Parenting. She also talks about the process of having lots of LP support when editing the books. She shares about her experience of Aware Parenting and sleep and her teens, and the subtle difference between Hand in Hand Parenting and Aware Parenting with sleep. We also discuss what we experience is the vital foundation in parenting. Belynda has a new free offering on play coming up. She also has a monthly online listening circle and offers 1:1 Aware Parenting support. You can find out more about her and her work at https://belyndasmith.com.au/ and https://belynda-smith.newzenler.com/aware-parenting