Blossom Counselling

02/06/2026

02/02/2026

How to Deal with Bullies
Credit Introvert Doodles

02/01/2026

02/01/2026

We need each other more than ever 💕🌍 Join us for Friendly February and take action to boost your relationships and be a good friend to others https://actionforhappiness.org/friendly-february

02/01/2026

If you’ve ever been told your child “should be able to calm themselves by now”, this matters.

Decades of developmental research show that emotional regulation is not something children learn alone. It is built, slowly and repeatedly, through co-regulation with a safe adult. Before the brain can self-soothe, it needs to experience being soothed. This isn’t permissive parenting — it’s how nervous systems develop.

Studies on parent–child synchrony, the Still-Face paradigm, and social biofeedback consistently show the same thing: regulation is social before it becomes internal. Children borrow calm, learn meaning, and gradually build the capacity to regulate themselves through relationship. Co-regulation isn’t a parenting trend — it’s the cornerstone of emotional development.

Research references (evidence-based)
Ruth Feldman – Bio-behavioural synchrony research demonstrating that attuned caregiver–child interactions predict later self-regulation and emotional competence (Feldman, 2003; 2012).
Edward Tronick – Mutual Regulation Model and Still-Face paradigm showing that infants rely on caregiver responsiveness to regulate distress before self-regulation emerges.
György Gergely & Watson – Social biofeedback model explaining how contingent adult responses teach children to understand and regulate internal emotional states.
Murray et al. (2019) – Applied developmental model positioning co-regulation as a core mechanism through which self-regulation develops across childhood.
Bornstein et al. (2023) – Reviews framing co-regulation as a multilevel biological and relational process foundational to emotional regulation.

01/31/2026

Now more than ever, finding joy in your day-to-day experiences can improve your quality of life and enhance and protect your mental health. As many of us are mired in intense and heavy information from the news and social media, financial instability, and political and civil unrest, it’s become more and more difficult to find peace—both internally and externally.

https://ow.ly/qfOL50Y45cK

01/31/2026

Life skills support executive functioning: https://www.theottoolbox.com/chores-and-executive-functioning-skills/

Here's a list of daily tasks and how they support brain skills:
🌿Chores- Teach responsibility, sequencing, time management, and persistence.
🌿Cooking & Meal Prep- Build planning, working memory (recipes/steps), and organization.
🌿Managing Money – Strengthens prioritization, decision-making, and foresight.
🌿Laundry & Cleaning – Support routines, task initiation, and self-monitoring.
🌿Time Management (schedules & alarms) – Grow planning, transitions, and flexible thinking.
🌿Homework/Project Planning – Strengthen goal setting, breaking tasks into steps, and working memory.
🌿Self-Care Routines (hygiene, packing a bag, bedtime prep) – Build consistency, independence, and foresight.
🌿Decision Making in Daily Choices – Strengthen impulse control, flexible thinking, and reflection.
🌿Problem-Solving Around Mistakes – Teaches resilience, emotional regulation, and adaptability.
🌿Community Tasks (shopping, errands, volunteering) – Build organization, prioritization, and real-world executive skills.

01/31/2026

Not all learning differences look the same.
Some affect reading. Some affect writing. Some affect numbers. Some affect movement.

What they all have in common is this:
these are brain differences — not effort problems, not motivation issues, and not a reflection of intelligence.

This visual gently compares dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia to help adults recognise what might be underneath a child’s struggles, and respond with understanding rather than pressure.

Save this for those moments when something feels harder than it “should” — and you want language that explains why.

01/29/2026

I have been working with a child who raised concerns for me - the gap between spoken and written word was very marked.

In this morning's session I used the dysgraphia prompt to run through the statements and record responses.

As you can see ALL the statements resonated.

I have recommended parents seek assessment and have suggested strategies in the meantime.

An example of how these style prompts can be used to raise awareness of young people's struggles and highlight strategies.

01/28/2026

If your child goes from “fine” to furious in seconds… this is why logic doesn’t work in the moment.

When the brain senses danger (even if it’s not a real danger), the body flips into survival mode. The alarm system takes over, stress hormones surge, and your child’s behaviour changes because their nervous system is trying to protect them.

That’s why calming down isn’t a single step. It’s a pathway.

First, the body needs to RELEASE the stress energy (movement helps). Then it can SLOW DOWN (steady breathing, lower intensity). From there, CONNECTION brings safety back online (your calm presence matters more than your words). And finally, RESTORE happens through quiet, routine, and gentle repair.

So if your child can’t “just calm down”… it’s not defiance. It’s biology.
And you don’t have to fix it perfectly — you just have to guide them back to safety, one stage at a time.

To SAVE, click on the image, tap the three dots, and choose Save. Facebook only.

01/26/2026

Executive functioning isn't just one thing!

via Lively Minds Tutoring