CUDDLES

Nurturing Responsiveness, Strengthening Bonds

Parents will be empowered to understand their children’s feelings and corresponding behaviours and encouraged to adopt healthy, timely and responsive strategies that focuses on positive interventions and shift. The programme will highlight parental achievement in investing in their own development and support parental confidence, understanding and resilience to develop and enhance the parent/child relationship.

The impact of neurodiversity on child development and parental coping strategies will be a integral focus of this programme. The social determinants that impact parental functioning and effectiveness like economic stability, education, housing, race, support networks, access to health care etc, will be a key thread throughout the workshops and programme.

WEEKLY PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

1. My Journey into Parenting – Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Parenting

• • This session will introduce parents to the concept of trauma and how neurodiversity and trauma may affect parenting behaviours and child development.
  • Supporting parents to recognise trauma responses in self and their children. Parents will be encouraged to share personal experiences of parenting with neurodiversity or parenting a neurodiverse child, and supported to identify how trauma and/or neurodiversity affects daily parenting practices and emotional responses
  • This will encompass a review of parenting styles and approaches (authoritative, permissive, and authoritarian), and explore what has underpinned these, and impact on children.

2. Child Development, Attachment and Emotional Bonding

• • To foster secure attachment between parent and child, with a focus on building trust and emotional safety
  • To strengthen attachment between parent and child, while addressing the unique emotional needs of children.
  • Parents will be supported to understand how secure attachment forms, and the differing communication and emotional needs of children. They will be supported to read cues—whether sensory sensitivity, self-stimulating behaviours (stimming), or alternative communication styles including non-verbal cues.
  • The session will encourage development of individualised bonding activities that match children’s sensory preferences and explore how sensory needs or overstimulation may affect emotional availability. This session will include the benefits of skin-to-skin contact, eye contact, and responsive caregiving practices to build emotional connections.
  • Supporting language development, development of peer relationships, social skills, age v stage considerations

3. Emotional Regulation, Resilience and Wellness for Parents
   • To equip parents with strategies for managing their emotions and regulating their stress responses, especially when caring for young children.
   • Assisting parents to identify personal triggers related to childhood trauma or stress, and how to de-escalate reactions
   • Exploring perinatal and parental mental health including impact of domestic abuse on family stability, self-esteem, self-worth, functioning.
   • Help parents consider how to foster resilience in their children, ensuring emotional and psychological strength despite exposure to stress or adversity.

4. Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers

• • To understand the emotional needs of children aged 2 and under and how to support their emotional development in a trauma-informed way.
  • How children express emotions at a young age, from frustration to joy, and the role of parents in supporting healthy emotional expression
  • Responding empathetically to tantrums, frustrations, and outbursts—avoiding punitive responses and focusing on emotional validation.
  • past trauma can affect a parent’s ability to be present for their child’s emotions and how to break negative cycles

5. Gentle Discipline and Boundaries

• • To introduce gentle discipline techniques that promote safety, respect, and structure without causing emotional harm
  • Encourage the group to share discipline techniques that promote safety, respect and structure without causing emotional harm.
  • Exploration of how parents can practice responding to children’s emotions with empathy and validation, and use the group to reflect on how it might affect children’s moods and behaviours.
  • The difference between discipline and punishment, and how trauma-informed parenting uses gentle discipline.
  • Setting boundaries, using positive reinforcement, redirection, and creating safe spaces for exploration
  • Empowering parents to identify how to maintain consistency without resorting to punitive measures
  • Exploration of how parents can practice responding to children’s emotions with empathy and validation, and use the group to reflect on how it might affect children’s moods and behaviours.

6. Identifying Support Systems & Community Connections

• • Building strong support networks, family, friends and community resources to include examining the role of extended families as care givers and for emotional and practical support.
  • Accessing professional help including utilising online forums, apps, social media groups for advice and support
  • Children engaging with peers via community programs, playgroups, family hubs etc
  • Reviewing support and influence of significant others – Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Imams.
  • Resilience building via parental socialisation, employment, and community connections

7. Routines and Boundaries – providing clear structures & balanced environments

• • Importance of daily routines, mealtimes (weaning), bedtimes, play times to support children’s understanding of the flow of the day.
  • Defining acceptable behaviours & examining consistency of approach and reinforcement of good behaviour by all care givers to avoid confusion and regulation of emotions
  • Providing structured environments for children with neuro diverse needs – reduce stress and sensory overload
  • Tough love and consistency in enforcing boundaries that are age and stage appropriate – alternatives to smacking, conflict resolution.

8. Safeguarding young children – including digital safeguarding

• • Safeguarding – an overview – early help, and role of statutory services.
  • An exploration of the role of technology in early childhood development. Using technology in a mindful and safe way, highlighting digital risks to establish safe online practices early
  • Strategies for managing parental emotions and regulating stress responses that safeguard children

9. Self-Care & Coping Strategies for Parents

• • Modelling healthy habits and importance of self-care. Building healthy relationships – co-parenting, contact, step-siblings, blended families managing multiple births, households with two or more children under two bereavement and loss.
  • Faith and spiritual wellbeing – integration to promote sense of peace
  • Overcoming guilt and prioritizing self-care, especially for trauma survivors who may feel overwhelmed
  • Developing a personalized self-care plan, considering time limitations and personal needs.

10. Programme Review & Graduation Ceremony

• • Celebrating completion of the program with reflections on personal achievements and shared goals
  • Consideration for ongoing parent support group
  • Award Ceremony