Don Neufeld, Social Worker/Therapist

11/13/2025

11/13/2025

Good morning to all my FB followers... I want to give everyone a heads up that I am taking new clients (and welcome returning clients!). I have availability in the near future and would welcome referrals if you know anyone who could use my services. Thanks

11/05/2025

11/05/2025

Two very wise men whose work has informed much of my practice these past 15 years

11/05/2025

11/03/2025

11/02/2025

10/24/2025

Discipline isn’t about punishment, it’s about teaching lessons through love and understanding. When we choose love over fear, we nurture our children's emotional growth and trust. Let’s guide them with patience, not pain. How do you teach discipline with empathy? 💖🌸

10/24/2025

Words Worth Holding Onto is a gentle collection of quotes, reminders and affirmations for children and young people navigating big feelings. Sometimes, the right words at the right time can make all the difference.

This week's topic:
The Child Brain Explained: How the Upstairs & Downstairs Brain Shape Behaviour, a Toolkit for Parents & Educators - available for only £3.75 until 3 November 2025
Electronic download available at link in comments ⬇️

10/23/2025

If it breaks their spirit, it’s not discipline — it’s punishment. And there’s a difference.

Discipline is meant to guide, not to shame. At its core, it should centre a child, not scatter them. It should bring clarity, not confusion; connection, not disconnection.

True discipline grounds a child in safety, structure, and self-awareness. It says: I’m here. I see you. I’m helping you find your way.

Punishment, on the other hand, shames and frightens. It silences curiosity, replaces learning with fear, and severs the very connection that makes growth possible.

Because correction without connection isn’t guidance — it’s fear in disguise. And fear may control behaviour in the moment, but it never cultivates understanding. It teaches compliance, not conscience; silence, not self-awareness.

Many of us were taught that discipline and punishment were the same — that control was the way to teach respect. But fear doesn’t build respect; it builds distance.

Our children don’t learn better when they’re afraid of us — they learn better when they feel safe with us.

So before we call it discipline, we have to ask:
Did it teach?
Did it connect?
Did it leave their dignity intact?

Because when correction becomes connection, discipline transforms from something we do to a child into something we build with them.

Let’s choose tools that build trust, not tear it down.
Let’s raise children who know boundaries — not because they’ve been broken by them, but because they’ve been held by them. ❤️

10/22/2025

10/15/2025

Children don’t misbehave to annoy us; they misbehave to express feelings they can’t articulate yet. As parents, it’s crucial to recognize that misbehaving is often a sign of unmet emotional needs, and our understanding can make all the difference in how we respond. 💔🗣