Nurture Parenting

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Nurture Parenting

Nurture Parenting has created a world class online Nurture Sleep Program from newborn to five years o She has recently relocated back to the North of England.

Nurture Parenting is an infant sleep, toddler behaviour, parent support education service. It was established in February 2011 by Karen Faulkner, a Registered Midwife and Community Specialist Practitioner/Child & Family Health Nurse. Karen emigrated from the UK in 2002 and gathered a heap of experience, skills and qualifications working in Community Health in Melbourne and Sydney. Our Mission
We want to help parents everywhere get more sleep and spread the love. Our Vision
Nurture Parenting wants to challenge and change the current parenting paradigm and treatment models of sleep training and introduce parents to baby sleep learning. And to inspire and provide confidence in all parents to become the best they can be. We help with children from newborn to 5 years old (0-5 years). Our sleep training methods are kind and based in attachment psychology. We believe in conscious parenting.

14/11/2025

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1️⃣ This mother didn’t hire tutors or force her child to study harder. Every night before bed, she asked him one simple question: “What are you grateful for today?” At first the answers were shallow, but within a week his entire perspective began to shift. He started noticing small details, and his teachers soon observed he was more focused and confident in class.
2️⃣ Psychologists explain that this practice strengthens the brain by creating new neural pathways. By searching for gratitude, the child was training his mind to look for solutions instead of problems. One teacher remarked: “he stopped freezing when he made mistakes and began finding ways forward.” That shift is rare even in adults.
3️⃣ The real power was in repetition. Seven nights in a row created the threshold for a new habit of thought. His early answers were things like “my toy” or “dinner.” Soon they became deeper: “my friend helped me,” “I solved the problem on my own.” That transformation marked the birth of self-agency.
4️⃣ In Japanese education, there’s a principle called “reflective gratitude.” It teaches children not only to appreciate but to analyze why they feel grateful. This process strengthens memory, imagination, and connection-making. Unsurprisingly, within weeks his performance in both math and literature improved.
5️⃣ The greatest shift came when he stopped fearing mistakes. Gratitude moved his mindset from “I am not good enough” to “I have resources and support.” That’s when his thinking switched from reactive to creative. The deeper question is — how many of us still fall asleep with problems instead of programming our minds to grow?
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13/11/2025

Follow for more positive discipline + gentle parenting tips 💜🥹

Your child sees the world through their own eyes, and it’s natural for them to believe that everything revolves around them. When you’re upset, they might think it’s their fault.

When plans change, they may feel personally impacted.

This isn’t selfishness-it’s part of their developmental stage. Understanding this can help you respond with more

patience and compassion when they react in ways that seem confusing or frustrating.
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Tips

Kids

10/11/2025

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Feel like kids aren’t listening?! 😅 I use these phrases on repeat!

🔥 these phrases help you set and hold boundaries in a CALM way.

🔁 Looking to reset as a family? Comment ✨RESET✨ if you want my FREE step by step guide to reset your space and routines for more independent play + positive behavior!

This is perfect for you if you’re looking for support with toddler discipline, adhd parenting, or respectful parenting with boundaries!

09/11/2025

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Every time you distract your child when they experience pain you teach them that discomfort must be escaped not felt.

This creates adults who numb, deflect or overfill their lives to avoid discomfort.

There are 4 types of responders

1. Rescuer
2. Dismisser
3. Controller
4. Container

The rescuer over- comforted
The dismisser distracts or downplays
The controller corrects or blames
The container validates and guides

The rescuer, dismisser and controller all aim to end the pain immediately.
But the container holds space for it to naturally process.

07/11/2025

.ozo 💜🥹
1. “You’re safe with me.” Kids don’t listen to logic — they listen to nervous systems. When parents say this, it teaches the brain that love isn’t performance-based. In long-term studies, children who consistently heard safety words had 40% lower anxiety rates as teens. The message isn’t “I’ll protect you” — it’s “You can relax now.”

2. “I love watching you be you.” This phrase separates love from achievement. It tells the child their value isn’t in grades, manners, or medals. Developmental therapists call this unconditional mirroring — a moment when the child’s identity feels fully accepted. Hearing it regularly raises self-esteem more than praise ever can.

3. “It’s okay to be mad — I’m still here.” Most kids don’t fear emotions; they fear abandonment after emotions. When you name anger as safe, it wires emotional regulation instead of repression. Children who grew up with emotion-tolerant parents scored 2x higher in empathy and self-control. The tone matters more than the words — calm equals trust.

4. “You don’t have to be perfect to be loved.” This phrase breaks the most common adult wound — conditional worth. When kids internalize that love doesn’t shrink after mistakes, their stress hormones drop instantly. One Swedish researcher said, “This sentence protects better than any therapy later.” It’s emotional armor that lasts decades.

5. “I’m glad you’re here.” Not “I’m proud of you,” not “I love you” — but simple existence joy. It tells a child they’re not a project, they’re a presence. Hearing it daily builds what psychologists call secure belonging — the quiet belief that “my being is enough.” Adults who heard this growing up show stronger emotional resilience and deeper relationships.

Would you dare to make these five lines your daily ritual — and see how your child’s confidence grows not from pressure, but from peace?

Follow me .ozo for more insights :)

06/11/2025

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This is what happens to baby development without emotional safety.

In the 1940s, psychoanalyst René Spitz studied babies raised in institutions, without one loving caregiver. where food and nappies were provided but connection wasn’t.

He documented the effects of emotional neglect:

👉🏻 Loss of curiosity
👉🏻 Delays in baby development
👉🏻 Blank stares, still bodies
👉🏻 Emotional shutdown

🧠 This is why baby development depends on more than care - it needs connection.

They were surviving.

Why?
Because without responsive parenting, a baby’s brain doesn’t feel safe enough to play.
It shifts from exploring to protecting.

Baby development starts with connection.
And responsive parenting isn’t spoiling. It doesn’t create “bad habits”.
It’s what protects babies from shutdown before they even have words.

04/11/2025

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Find out HERE ⬇️

Save for later 🥂

1️⃣ Weekly Round Table  No “because I said so.” The father looks the child in the eye and asks, “What’s your view?” Then waits. This isn’t about respect; it’s about teaching a child their voice has weight. Most kids learn to obey. Kids in leadership homes learn to influence, even if they’re wrong.

2️⃣ Morning Vision Check  At breakfast: “What’s your plan for today?” Not “be good” or “don’t mess up.” Families who lead teach kids to lead themselves. A child who can set goals at seven doesn’t wait for orders at twenty-seven.

3️⃣ Failure Debrief Night  One evening a week, everyone shares: “Where did I mess up, and what did I learn?” Parents go first, owning mistakes without shame. This breaks “mistake = failure” conditioning. Kids learn failure is a rung on the ladder.

4️⃣ Monthly Unfiltered Talks  They discuss what’s “forbidden” in the playground: death, money, s*x, power, betrayal. No censorship. A child who can name the dark isn’t afraid of it. Loss and betrayal don’t shock them because reality isn’t hidden.

5️⃣ Personal Territory  Not “help mom,” but “the bathroom is your zone.” No reminders. No rewards. Leaders don’t need praise for baseline responsibilities. A child who keeps their floor clean because it’s their territory learns how to lead by managing what’s theirs.

03/11/2025

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Forcing your child to apologize won’t make them feel remorse—but these questions might:

1️⃣ “How can you make your friend feel better?”

2️⃣ “What is one thing you can do to help your friend right now?”

3️⃣ “How can you fix what happened?”

4️⃣ “How do you think your friend feels? Is that how you want them to feel?”

By giving your child space to reflect, you also give them the opportunity to hone their problem-solving skills and empathy.

And if you’re worried that your kids will never learn how to apologize? We promise, they will.

When we guide them to understand how their actions affect others, apologies come naturally—because they’re real. 💙

02/11/2025

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For our kiddos with sensory processing differences, after a day of managing crazy amounts of sensory input, their nervous systems are usually in a state of fright/flight which can make sleep feel like the last thing they should be doing!

This is why we need to provide predictable, regulating input to feel calm and safe enough for sleep, such as heavy work (think: pushing, pulling, squeezing, carrying) and deep pressure.

These activities give the body proprioceptive and deep tactile input, which helps lower cortisol (stress) and increase serotonin (calm). Over time, consistent input before bed builds a strong body-brain signal: “It’s time to slow down. You’re safe. You can rest.”

Examples of bedtime sensory strategies:
- Animal walks to the bathroom
-Wall pushes or big bear hugs
-Slow, squishy massage with lotion
-Rolling up tight in a blanket like a burrito and getting squished with cushions or a peanut ball
-rolling over a peanut ball
-A weighted blanket during storytime

A little disclaimer: this needs to be done consistently to see a shift in pre bed time regulation… we have to rewire their nervous systems which are still on high alert from the day-this takes time!

And for some kiddos, they might need additional help with Melatonin. I’m going to do a separate post about the research behind this!

What do you do to help your children fall asleep?

31/10/2025

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1️⃣ Science shows it’s not toys that build resilience but predictable rituals. A bedtime story, a family dinner—these give the child’s brain signals of safety. One psychologist explained, “A child doesn’t care about an expensive doll, but they care deeply that mom shows up at the same time each night.” That breaks the myth that happiness can be bought.
2️⃣ Many parents believe they must shield kids from every hardship. Research proved the opposite: children who faced small challenges on their own coped with adult stress better. One father recalled, “When my son solved a problem without me, I saw his strength grow right there.” Protecting them from everything steals the very experiences that shape them.
3️⃣ Parents often think constant praise is key. But studies show children learn more from watching adults handle their own emotions. If a mother calmly exits a conflict, the child absorbs that as normal. Words like “good job” don’t matter if actions contradict them—kids imitate behavior, not slogans.
4️⃣ A strong mind grows when a child feels heard. Even at five, they sense when their opinion matters. One boy told a researcher, “Dad listens to me like I’m an adult, and it makes me want to be better.” That’s not spoiling—it’s dignity being built.
5️⃣ The simplest secret: joy in small things. Children who saw their parents laugh at everyday moments became more resilient. One professor noted, “When a mother laughs at little things, the child learns the world is safe.” Joyful childhoods aren’t without problems—they’re built on laughter that outweighs them.
Which of these would you say is the biggest key to raising a strong child? Drop your answer in the comments—I want to hear real stories.

30/10/2025

.ivansergeev 1. Finnish families have a quiet ritual called the closing question. Before bed, every child answers one thing: “What was the last good moment today?” No screens, no advice, no correction — just the sentence, said out loud.

2. Psychologists tracking these families for a decade found something remarkable: by adolescence, their baseline anxiety was 60–80% lower than average. The secret wasn’t optimism — it was closure.

3. When the brain names a positive event before sleep, it ends the day’s stress loop. Cortisol levels drop, the hippocampus encodes the memory as safe, and the nervous system learns: the world can finish well. Without that ritual, thoughts keep running — unfinished, unprocessed, unresolved.

4. Modern kids fall asleep under blue light, endless comparisons, and dopamine noise. Their brains never get the signal that danger is over. So they wake already tired — bodies in recovery from days that never emotionally ended.

One Finnish mother said, “We don’t put our children to sleep. We teach their minds to rest.” Try it tonight — no affirmations, no talk about tomorrow. Just ask: “What was good today?” It’s not gratitude. It’s closure — the oldest form of safety a child can learn. Subscribe to learn more.

29/10/2025

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Grades and achievements don’t mean much if our kids grow up unkind, entitled, or unable to navigate real relationships. What will matter in the long run are the values that anchor their character and guide the choices they’ll make as teenagers, young adults, and beyond.

👉 10 Core Values of Raising Good Humans
To
Here are the traits I want to repeat so often at home that they become second nature for my kids:

1. Kindness - treating people with care, even when it’s not easy.
One-liner: “We can always choose kind, even when it’s hard.”

2. Responsibility- owning their actions, choices, and mistakes.
One-liner: “Everyone makes mistakes, what matters is how we make it right.”

3. Confidence-knowing their worth without needing to prove it.
One-liner: “You don’t have to be the best to be enough.”

4. Resilience- getting back up after setbacks.
One-liner: “Every failure is practice for success.”

5. Humility- being teachable and willing to celebrate others.
One-liner: “We can cheer when someone else shines.”

6. Forgiveness- letting go of grudges and choosing peace.
One-liner: “Forgiveness frees your heart more than holding on.”

7. Integrity- doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
One-liner: “The right thing is still right, even if you’re the only one doing it.”

8. Gratitude- noticing and appreciating the good.
One-liner: “Let’s name 3 things we’re thankful for today.”

9. Self-Control- managing emotions instead of being controlled by them.
One-liner: “Take a breath, your brain works better when you’re calm.”

10. Empathy- seeing life from someone else’s perspective.
One-liner: “Let’s imagine how they might be feeling right now.”

👉 How to teach them:
Not in lectures, but in everyday moments:
• on the sidelines of sports,
• at the dinner table,
• after sibling fights,
• in car rides to and from practice.

💛Our kids don’t just “pick up” values, they learn them from the words we say, the choices we make, and the way we show up every day.

Address

New Rent House , Hutton In The Forest
Penrith
CA119TJ

Website

http://www.nurtureparenting.com.au/

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Our Story

Are you looking for support with your baby or toddler sleep and behaviour issues? Our approach is unique, focused on baby sleep learning® rather than sleep training. My methods are cue-based and gentle with no controlled crying or cry it out. Most of all, they proven to work. Everything we do combines evidence-based research, formal medical training and Karen’s 30 years of practice.

You can access my baby sleep expertise via my the online Nurture Sleep Program https://nurtureparenting.com.au/nurture-sleep-program/

Nurture Parenting was founded in 2011 by Karen Faulkner, a Registered Midwife, Child & Family Health Nurse, Registered Baby Sleep Consultant and hold a degree in Psychology. In 2002 she emigrated from the UK to Australia and gained extensive experience and skills working in Community Health in Melbourne and Sydney.

Our passion is helping families through what we know can be a very challenging and emotional time.