dmhawk

Hi all- I wanted to share with you the Forest Hill Family Festival programme. Over a year ago I set up a community group called The Parents' Network: SE London because I wanted to meet with other parents and invite external speakers and discuss important topics. A few months ago we successfully bid for money from The Forest Hill Assembly and have now launched an awesome programme of events which are taking place in February. All events are FREE to book and include wonderful speakers. Our programme includes workshops on behaviour, sleeping habits, raising bilingual children, healthy eating as well as discussions on feminism, and understanding evidence. Plus lots of events including cooking classes and a forest school session. It has also been such a joy as well to reach out to local businesses as we've been soliciting a range of offers to promote. Our offers include restaurants where children eat free, exclusive competitions, discount son children's books, shoes and services such as personal training and family photography. Please check out our full guide (https://separentsnetwork.wordpress.com/forest-hill-family-festival/) where you can see offers and workshops listed (with links to book). There's been two additional sessions which aren't the guide, so if you're interested in Children's Yoga https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/forest-hill-family-festival-childrens-yoga-tickets-42596757047 or a Little Explorer's taster, that's here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/forest-hill-family-festival-little-explorers-taster-tickets-42596608603 I've also done a facebook event so you can share (https://www.facebook.com/events/173889663382363/) but bookings must be done via eventbrite. Some of the popular sessions are filled but please do check out the whole programme. Hope to see you at some of the events.

Hi All- I've posted before about setting up a local parenting group. Just to update you that we've had a few really successful sessions. Our first meeting focused on Tantrums, second on How to say no, third on dealing with difficult behaviours. The Parents' Network are meeting this Wednesday 26 October from 8-10pm in the Honor Oak Pub to discuss gender roles in raising our children. We have collaborated with a local meet up group, South East London Feminist Parenting and will be co-hosting this meeting. As always all are welcome! We will discuss what it's like to raise boys and girls as well explore terms like gender fluidity and myths around gender neutral parenting. We will watch a short film clip and there will be some recommended reading but otherwise come along for this informal discussion. Heads up, our meeting next month will feature a professional nutritionist who will be talking to us about fussy eating and childhood nutrition. We meet regularly on the last Wednesday of the month and you can join our mailing list and find out more here: https://separentsnetwork.wordpress.com/.

Just a reminder that we are meeting this evening. Hope to see some of you there.

Dear East Dulwich families, I've promoted this group on FB but in case you've missed it, I wanted to promote it here as well. Please join us for our official launch of The Parents? Network: South East London (formerly SE23 Parents Club). We?ll be meeting at The Honor Oak Pub from 8pm on Wednesday 24 August. We?ve amended the name of the group to explicitly welcome parents from neighbouring postcodes in SE London but the ethos of the group is the same. It?s an opportunity for parents to discuss discipline techniques share your experiences and problem solve. I started this group because I had ideas in my head about the kind of parent I didn't want to be. But I didn't know what discipline techniques existed or the best ways to talk to my daughter. I know there's no right way to parent but there's a lot of helpful evidence based theory on positive parenting. I didn't have the time or the money to take on parenting classes which also strangely felt shaming to me. So, I read a lot and it was helpful but I wanted to discuss some of these techniques I was learning about with other parents. I think we can learn a lot from each other's experiences and online forums are great but in person meetings felt even more appealing. Our August meeting will explore best practice ways of ?how to say no?. We?ll cover saying no to adults and toddlers and we?ll have plenty of time for problem solving and action learning. We also need our group constitution passed so that we may be recognised as an official community group and apply for funding for events. We?re thinking of a mindfulness event for parents and we?re going to bid for funds to screen a film. If you have other ideas or want to join the committee please let us know. The idea is that our group will cover a range of topics including: -How to deal with tantrums -Developing empathy -Managing conflict with your child -Assertiveness with your partner/other adults -Effective praise -How to say no -Cooperation between siblings -Starting school -Discussion on gender norms -Managing screen time/online safety And more?. You?re welcome to attend all our meetings or just those that appeal to you. We?ve got a website that you can check for more info (http://separentsnetwork.wordpress.com/) and also a mailing list. The sessions will vary with some basic theory and best practice and may feature interactive role play or case studies, action learning/problem solving, book reviews, a film screening with discussion or guest speakers. The idea is this will be a community space to help build confidence in parenting. Every session is free to attend. All are welcome including: LGBT parents, mums, dads, adoptive parents, etc. This will be a very inclusive group and although theory and expertise will be focused on gentle/positive parenting, all are welcome. Hope you can join us. Diana

We use Local Greens. You can select the right size for you and change accordingly. We collect from the plough each Thursday. We've been happy with the selection.