The standard of exams seems to have gone sky high! I remember when an A was a great grade and was a real achievement. But now young people have to get an A* and lots of them. Getting a mere A is just not good enough! Young people and children are under ridiculous amounts of pressure these days. The number of cases where young people are suffering from acute anxiety has risen dramatically in my practice. More and more frequently, […]
Having a child brings out the Mama and Papa Bear in all parents. It’s not only mother’s protective instincts that become apparent – fathers fall in love with their new-born child too! Even before the birth, fathers are affected by hormonal changes during the pregnancy. Their testosterone levels drops, making them less aggressive and more attentive. And so, the parenting journey starts for both parents before the birth. We are primed to become protective and hyper-vigilant over our children. Children […]
The right hemisphere of the brain has a considerable growth spurt in the first year. It is in charge of recognising faces, experiencing and coding emotions, colour recognition, images and more intuitive, thoughtful and subjective thinking. As mentioned previously the amygdala is linked to the visual-affective interactions in basic proto-conversations (basic ace and eye contact) and is reliant on pleasant eye to eye contact. If the amygdala is, so to speak, stroked with frequent and gentle interactions the right hemisphere […]
One of the reasons why human population has increased so prolifically is by the learning of ‘cooperation’. In fact the reason why humans have been so successful is because neonates are ready to participate in any culture. By imitating parental heritage, supports greater integration, stronger identity and the creation of secure reference points, As if parents are installing a software in the brain of the baby, they define their child. Babies are primed for imitation as soon as they are born. Given […]
The most important and yet simple interaction between a parent and child is in the visual communication. Babies respond to the loving gaze of their mother and father. A parent falling in love with their baby feeds into the baby falling in love with the world and this is the basic structural paving stone for curiosity particularly later at 10 to 18 months. So seeking or appreciating eyes and facial features are encoded within babies preferences, they prefer to see […]
Babies are not ‘blank sheets’ but have a sheet with ‘certain tentative outlines’. They are endowed with three brains with adaptive outlines and potential for further wiring. These brains are the reptilian, mammalian and rational. All these are part of a cerebral symphony that needs a conductor, a carer to help them work together. 90% of brain growth happens in the first year, emotions and social intelligence are stimulated or possibly trimmed prematurely with synaptic pruning by the second year and is […]
In Utero Relationships are essential to us and are the cornerstones of our civilisation. As humans we are highly social beings and as a result we have thrived as a species. Our incredible brains are designed to be social, helping us to relate and seek relationships. In just the same way, the brains of all babies are primed to relate. Their brains are social instruments, ready to tune into strong relational chords from the moment they are born. The sensitive […]
In my role as a child counsellor I have often observed how certain children and the roles they play within the family can become severely adjusted and more extreme when their parent separate. The Eldest child May exhibit a tendency to become overly mature. They may start acting in a pseudo adult fashion i.e. demanding more independence; starting to ‘take care’ of their parents; becoming increasingly involved with their siblings’ welfare or become too involved in the ‘family situation’ in […]
