Relationships

• All Relationships in Our Lives are Important
• It’s the basis of our societies. The Structures we live in family, groups, Communities, Cultures

Healthy Relationships – Partners, Family Members, Co-workers/Employee’s/Employers

• More Fulfilling Lives
• More Support
• Easier Life/Less Conflict

Healthy Relationships with Other Parents

• Better support for the child
• Modelling how to be in Relationship
  • How to treat others
  • Conflict can be resolved (Disagreeing is normal)
  • Example of how to Interact with the Opposite Sex
  • Children don’t feel caught in the middle
    • Children don’t have to take on parents’ emotions/stress
    • They don’t have to pick/choose sides

A Healthy Relationship with our Children – What might it look like?

• They feel safe to explore life
  • Make mistakes
  • To ask questions
  • A place to come back to regroup/make sense of their experience
  • A place/space to emotionally regulate their nervous system
• Safety
  • Physical
  • Emotional
  • Psychological
  • Mental
• Understanding/Compassion (When the world is too much)
• Letting our Children know how they impact us
• Some Consistency/Structure in their Lives
• Joy/Connect/Laughter/Warmth
• Open Communication
• Space (Time to self, Space to make mistakes, Space to figure it out on their own)
• Emotional Expression (Different for different families/Cultures)

What does a Healthy Relationship Provide Us and Our Children?

• A sense of personal fulfillment
• The Environment for our Natural Parental Wisdom to Come Forward
• A place to learn/explore who they are
• A compass Point for the child (they must rely on someone to find their independence)
• Easier Repair When conflict/disruption occurs (this is healthy)
• Influence (especially as children get older)
• An opportunity to Learn from our Children