I decided this week it was time to focus on Brand Energetics for a while....and as usual whenever I think I know what I am doing the kids start to turn up. On Monday we had a visit from a client who is training in dog behaviour. As she was describing her approach to training dogs Bill and I looked at one another and said, "That's exactly what we tell parents about their children!'" She was explaining how dogs are incredibly sensitive and often reflect the emotions of their owners. Much of their behaviour can be explained by stress and the best thing an owner can do is manage their own energy. The parallels were remarkable....so much so we are thinking of asking her to come and do a talk for us at the Creative Space Centre.
On Tuesday, I took a call from a lovely and stressed Mum who is being driven nuts by her wonderful and very demanding daughter. As we chatted, the solution that emerged seemed to be to allow her daughter to watch as much television as she wanted at the moment and to have her meals in front of it.....in other words to "rip up" the parent handbook and be guided by her instincts.
Wednesday was, I seem to remember, child free - although I did have a chat with Felicity Evans who runs Nature Kids up in Hertfordshire on Tuesday night!
Thursday we had three of Holly's friends from Film School over for pizza. The are about to shoot their first short film and Faith is going to be acting in one of them. They came over to introduce themselves and to make sure we were ok with it. I left the kitchen to take a phone call and when I came back I found Patrick, Faith and Holly sat around the table with her friends discussing their favourite James Bond films and reciting excerpts from Monty Python. I thought about all the energy I had spent over the last thirteen years worrying about them at school. The awful parents evenings, the tears over the lack of friends and the depression. One of the things I really value about working with Bill is his utter certainty that the kids will be fine....in fact that they are fine. On Thursday night I realised he is absolutely right. But my week hadn't yet finished!
Friday, we had a call from Allan and Maureen Churchman who we haven't seen for many years. Like Bill and I they became involved with Jane's work when their sons were turning them grey. They happened to be passing and wondered if they could pop in. We spent a lovely couple of hours swopping "horror" stories about our kids when they were younger....although I think their son James trumps anything Patrick has done. What was exciting though was to hear about the extraordinary work their sons are now doing. James Churchman.....remember that name...you read it here first...is about to launch an amazing business. Charles is a product designer. Both of them are very very dyslexic and were nightmares at school. They are both now talented, inspiring young men.
When I got home I found Faith on the phone to our old nanny, Jane. She was at her wits end as her son Alex (aged 7) was sitting in the bath staring at the wall saying he wanted to die. He had had a tantrum over his homework, a regular occurrence. Alex has been tested for ADD ADHD autism, everything. All I see is the most delightful little boy who is loved by everyone he comes into contact with. Jane tells me she can't walk down the street without having to stop and talk to a builder, postman or someone else who is Alex's friend.
What was brilliant was I was able to tell her all about James and Charles...who actually made Alex look an amateur on the behaviour front....although I think he will give them a good run for their money. It's easy to laugh about it all afterwards but at the time it is tough.
So thank you kids for an amazing week and yes we will keep going with Conscious Parenting. Interestingly we have a workshop next Thursday....coincidence? I think not. As they say, The Kids Are Alright!
Tracy
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