Parenting is a tricky business at the best of times, and nothing feels more soothing than meeting up with like-minded individuals to share stories of our successes and failures!

This was the motivation that led the Prem Learning Support team to host a Parent Book Club during the months of December and January. During that time, we read a book, “The Whole Brain Child” by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. We learned how the brain works and develops and parenting strategies based on scientific research. The discussions among parents from both Junior and Senior School were full of real-life experiences as parents and teachers, but also with reflections about ourselves as individuals. 

While each session was focused on one or two sections of the book and strategies that parents could try at home, some of the most valuable conversations came from simply sharing our own experiences with children, emotions, and even thinking back to our own childhoods! Understanding more about the brain helps us to interpret the behaviours of the kids we love more compassionately, but also helps us to better understand ourselves. One parent in the group remarked: “This morning was healing for me. I feel I got to share and I am understood as a parent.”

Another parent reflected: “It is quite beneficial that we got the pathway of a well-integrated left and right brain. This knowledge does not only apply to our children but fundamentally to ourselves. I believe it should be applied to ourselves first.”

“So grateful to meet and study with all of you, I am very much looking forward to the next book club!” We are hoping to see even more of you for another Book Club opportunity next year. 

Agnes, Akane, Keiko and Katie (Learning Support Team & Wellbeing Coordinator) 

Agnes Agnieszka Wdowik

Learning Support Teacher