At CalmFamily we work according to some guiding principles
We often get asked what "kind of parenting" we teach... we don't. No really!
Having a "kind" of "parenting" that we "teach" is not what we are about. We educate and support everyone both by providing information, but more by facilitating discovery and demonstrating the changes we want to see.
We have a mission and our approach to that mission is entrenched in our values. The community is built upon these values as a foundation, giving us solid ground to ensure we are adding value to society.
We don't just work with parents, we work with children, young people, professionals and each other too. Although we do use the term parenting (because other people do), we actually prefer not to because parenting feels a lot like something you do to someone. We are about relationships on an equal basis as much as possible and we do not hold ourselves as experts or teachers.
Please take a look at our mission statement, our values, our calmer relationships approach and our vision for the community.
Having a "kind" of "parenting" that we "teach" is not what we are about. We educate and support everyone both by providing information, but more by facilitating discovery and demonstrating the changes we want to see.
We have a mission and our approach to that mission is entrenched in our values. The community is built upon these values as a foundation, giving us solid ground to ensure we are adding value to society.
We don't just work with parents, we work with children, young people, professionals and each other too. Although we do use the term parenting (because other people do), we actually prefer not to because parenting feels a lot like something you do to someone. We are about relationships on an equal basis as much as possible and we do not hold ourselves as experts or teachers.
Please take a look at our mission statement, our values, our calmer relationships approach and our vision for the community.
"Through research, education and support, CalmFamily delivers evidence-based knowledge of human needs and development, alongside individualised strategies, to families and professionals, so as to create a world where humans can lead calmer and more equal lives”
- The CalmFamily Mission
Our values
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Evidence - we educate with the best possible evidence.
Equality - we balance the rights and needs of all people. Empathy - we seek to understand and hold space without judgment. Empower - we inform and support individual choices. Excellence - we keep learning and strive for growth. Ethics - we work with integrity and social justice in mind. |
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The calmer relationships concept
To have a better chance of calmer relationships you could:
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Collaborate for solutions
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we work together with the other person for solutions; problem solving, and maintaining connection through reciprocity and restoration. Rupture and repair is necessary.
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Accept what is
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we accept the person in front of us as they are, accept ourselves as we are in the moment and accept the situation even if we want to move forward
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Learn and grow together
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whilst we sit in acceptance, we strive to continue learning in pursuit of growth and ultimately excellence without perfection.
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Meet and balance needs
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we consciously balance our needs and goals with those of the other person and between short-term and long-term; striving to balance our choices and meet their needs without sacrificing our own.
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Empathise always
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we seek to deeply understand and hold space for the other person's unique perspective, stage of development, support needs, feelings, reactions and thought processes. We may not be capable of empathy in the moment, but it is always possible in time.
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Respond with compassion
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we seek to respond rather than react, using compassion as our driving force in our interactions and for ourselves when we act in a way that creates a need for restoration and repair.
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Our vision for the community
Our vision is to grow CalmFamily to reach hundreds of thousands of parents in the UK and across the world. We are campaigning for parenting to be considered a highly valued activity in our society that is nurtured for the sake of our future. Within this, we champion the rights of the child to take a more equal and consent-based role in families. CalmFamily will educate and support parents directly and through the education and support of professionals in the health and education sectors, promoting equality, empathy and an evidence-based approach to raising children into empathic, respectful adults.
Our mission is to educate and support parents so that their families can have calmer relationships that optimise children’s development and ultimately helps them to be more well rounded adults. We want a better future for our society and have the tools to inform parents' choices.
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