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When Rebecca Sheikh lost her mother, something in her shifted beyond grief. She found herself understanding, in a deeply embodied way, just how enormous separation actually feels — and how desensitized we, as adults, have become to how big that experience is for our children.
In this episode, Michelle sits down with Rebecca Sheikh — a certified Level 2 Aware Parenting Instructor and regional coordinator for the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa — for a conversation that moves fluidly between deep personal vulnerability and clinically grounded parenting wisdom. Rebecca shares what her mother's death opened up in her own understanding of attachment and loss, what "loving limits" actually sound like in real family moments, why play should almost always come before correction, and her own honest admission that despite decades of training and titles, her husband and three kids remain the hardest people for her to truly listen to.
In this episode you'll learn:
- How losing her mother deepened Rebecca's understanding of attachment, separation, and grief — and what it revealed about how children experience separation from caregivers
- The three main aspects of Aware Parenting: attachment-style relationship, non-punitive discipline, and recognizing stress and trauma as root causes of behavioral and emotional struggles
- What "loving limits" means in practice, and how it differs from both permissiveness and punishment — including a real example involving a glass vase
- Why play should come before "fixing" a difficult behavior, and the framework of attachment play Rebecca uses with the families she supports
- The three most common reasons parents struggle to meet a child's needs — including Pam Leo's insight that meeting the parent's own needs should be chapter one, not chapter seven
- Why even highly trained, expert parents still struggle in real time — and why that struggle is not evidence of failure
Topics: Aware Parenting · attachment-based parenting · trauma-informed parenting · non-punitive discipline · loving limits · attachment play · separation anxiety · sleep and bedtime struggles · Emotionally Focused Family Therapy · EFFT · parent burnout · self-compassion for parents · nonviolent communication · Hand in Hand Parenting · inner child work · gentle parenting · peaceful parenting · conscious parenting · grief and parenting
Guest: Rebecca Sheikh — Certified Level 2 Aware Parenting Instructor, Regional Coordinator (UK & Sub-Saharan Africa), Chair of the International Attachment Network
🌐 flourishingchildhood.com
🎓 Yelling to Connecting — 6-week online parenting course
✨ Free Guided Pause + Regroup: https://link.innovorise.com/widget/form/Pm5Uy0ezEwvqKxwlL8Ik
🌐 compassionateheartparenting.com
This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. Compassionate Heart Parenting does not provide psychotherapy services.
Join me each week for a tail from the trenches of parenting burnout and how I (and you) can use mindfulness, mediation and self-compassion to find your inner calm and a little more sanity in your parenting.
You’ll get a story from my heart and a quick win you can use the same day.
A free gift for you: the RAGE Break, a free guided audio pause for when you are about to lose or have just lost it with your kids and you need a moment to regroup. Find the audio download in the links. I created the Rage Break because it is exactly what I needed when I was struggling with anger and yelling in parenting.
This story was brought to you by “Yelling to Connecting.” If you or someone you know struggles with yelling at your kids, losing it, or being constantly on edge this course will be a helpful tool.
A reminder: This content is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for private psychotherapy services. Compassionate Heart Mindful Life does not provide psychotherapy services in any capacity.
I am a therapist but I am not your therapist and this is not therapy and should not be a substitute for mental health treatment. If you need mental health treatment please find a qualified professional in your area.
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