Lower the bar, disconnecting and Miley’s new song
Ask yourself, what would Maggie Dent do?
Hello dear friends,
Lower. The. Bar!
That’s the advice from our queen of common-sense parenting, Maggie Dent, who I interviewed in the latest episode of the podcast.
As an author, educator and mum of four boys, Maggie has all the answers when it comes to teaching kids resilience and finding their calm. She’s also anti guilt and wants to stop the ridiculous pressure on women to be the perfect parent, and the unfair pitting of mums against each other.
Now, you probably know Maggie for her books on parenting boys - but she’s now released Girlhood: Raising our little girls to be healthy, happy and heard. The idea for the book came from Maggie trying to work out why girls and women can often seem to lose their sense of power and their voice.
It’s such a wonderful, raw and helpful chat about the link between self esteem and social media; the importance of grandmas and aunties, and how to stop the conditioning of our girls which leaves them feeling timid and weak. Maggie also reflects on her struggles and how writing Girlhood took her on her very own personal journey.
This is not an episode to miss!!
ICYMI: Did you check out my chat with Dr Tracy Dennis-Tiwari who is an anxiety researcher and professor in psychology and neuroscience. I first heard her being interviewed by Dax Shepard on Armchair Expert.
She’s written a book called Future Tense, which explains why anxiety is actually good for us, even though it feels so bad, and the techniques we can apply to use it to our advantage.
“No one wants to feel anxious. But by understanding the true nature of this confounding emotion, and working with it, we can better put it to good use” Dr Dennis-Tiwari says.
BONUS:
I’m focusing a lot on disconnecting, at the moment. Putting down the phone, and being present in the world around me, and also letting go of things that no longer serve me well.
I love this article by Martha Beck, titled “Logging off: The Power of Disconnection.” Her first tip for disconnecting is to… hide! Which made me laugh - but I’ll definitely be giving this a whirl.
I’ve also just bought the New York Times bestseller, Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention by Johann Hari, which looks at how to get back our shortening attention spans.
FAVE THINGS OF THE WEEK
LISTEN: LIKE EVERYONE, I CAN NOT GET THIS SONG OUT OF MY HEAD! Flowers by Miley Cyrus
TRAVEL: This newsletter we’re transporting you to the cool streets of Santa Monica in the heart of L.A. where I attended a yoga class that was impossible to forget.
“I'm between a stoner surfer in his 60's who wears a beanie and later an orange headband, and a young meticulously chiselled dancer who wears aviator sunnies the entire time. In front, a middle-aged guy wearing Speedos...and nothing else, and sprinkled throughout the class are ex-Home and Away star lookalikes plus Ryan Kwanten, who actually is an ex-Home and Away star. The instructor is totally gorgeous and so LA.
'Breathe in. Cook it. Exhale.'
'Just chill in your dog for three breaths.'
'Left arm over right and twist towards Malibu...swap and then to Venice.'“
So my fabulous people, I hope this newsletter makes your week/month that little bit better.
Feel free to forward this email to anyone who might enjoy it. And as always, hit reply and say hi or ask a question.
Thanks for all your support.
Chat soon.
Love,
Steph. xx
