Coping with Early Parenting

This book is a supportive guide for parents in the early years, empowering readers to make informed choices about parenting, tailored to their own family. Written by a clinical psychologist with personal experience of early parenthood, the book blends an honest account of the challenges faced by the modern parent with an understanding of child development and what babies and children need to thrive. Helping parents to feel more confident about their parenting, more excited about getting to know their unique child, and more inspired to tune in to their own experiences, needs and values, the book explores topics such as: - the structure and development of the brain - the importance of self-care and how to integrate it into real life as a parent - two central theories informing parenting today: attachment and behaviourism - practical ideas to support children with their feelings, help them make sense of their experiences and nurture them through play - "good enough" parenting and how it supports resilience Parents will be supported to enjoy their child and feel good about their parenting, even when things are messy and imperfect. Informative, accessible, and deeply compassionate, this is essential reading for anyone navigating or preparing for early parenting. It is also a useful resource for anyone providing support to families during this important developmental period.

Dr Hannah Guzinska is a Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in the well-being of babies and very young children and their parents. With extensive experience in working with families, she currently mainly supports practitioners, offering training, consultation, supervision, and reflective practice. She is a passionate advocate for providing emotional containment, co-regulation and compassion to family practitioners, and for helping them make sense of difficult experiences, to create a culture of support which filters down to parents and their babies and children.

Introduction 1. My Parenting Journey Part 1: The Big Picture 2. Parenting in Context 3. The Baby's Developing Brain 4. The Adult Brain and the Stress Response Part 2: Taking Meaningful Care of Yourself as a Parent 5. Realistic Self-care 6. Meaningful Self-Care Part 3: The Science of Parenting 7. Behaviourism 8. Learning through Relationships Part 4: Getting Practical 9. Seeing the World Through Your Child's Eyes 10. Managing Big Feelings 11. Playful Parenting Part 5: You Do You 12. What Matters to You? 13. Getting to Know Your Baby Part 6: Embracing the Mess 14. Rupture, Repair and Resilience 15. A Compassionate Approach to Parenting Differences Epilogue: Parenting is Messy