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Parenting for Humans

Parenting for Humans

How to Parent the Child You Have, As the Person You Are

Summary

There's always that moment as a parent when you feel like no matter how hard you're trying, you just can't quite get it 'right'. But the fact is, parenting is hard and once we know this and why, we can forgive ourselves for finding it a struggle, and start to look for the things that make parenting a joy.

Parenting for Humans is a book first and foremost for parents. It explores what we bring to the parenting journey - our hopes, values, views, circumstances, relationships, upbringing - and how we can gain confidence in ourselves not just as parents, but as whole human beings.

As well as learning to parent ourselves, it will show us how to parent the child we actually have, not a textbook version, but our complicated, messy child with their own powerful needs. And by tuning into their language, learning how to hold them, not mould them, we can really start enjoying them for the funny and unique human beings that they are.

With the right support and guidance, we can all totally do this parenting thing and grow a positive and loving relationship that will last forever.

Reviews

  • Most parenting advice tells us how we can better parent our children, but not why this can feel so hard. Dr Emma Svanberg focuses on how to bolster ourselves as parents so that parenting can feel like less of a challenge. Her voice provides a much-needed sense of relief for parents under pressure.
    Anna Whitehouse, bestselling author and presenter

About the author

Emma Svanberg

Dr Emma Svanberg, aka Mumologist, is an award-winning clinical psychologist, speaker and campaigner with expertise in attachment and perinatal psychology. Emma has psychology in her veins - her father was a
pioneering psychologist who set up one of the first infant mental health projects in the UK. Her early career enabled her to work with parents from diverse communities and helped her to see the complex interplay of different factors - cultural, racial, socioeconomic - that lead parents to struggle with their mental health. Her
own experience, too, as a mixed-race child with mixed-race children of her own, has left her particularly keen to explore the different influences on our parenting.
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