“When parents respond to their children with connection, we will see adults who have a lot less hurt to act out on. It’s that hurt that drives us to plunder our planets’ resources and make off-track decisions, that fosters greed and consumerism and lack of consciousness around the planet. So when we are building humans that are less damaged, we are going to start seeing a world that is less damaged, and I really don’t think that is going to take a long time.” ~ Roma Norriss
EPISODE 30 – ROMA NORRISS ON PARENTING, LISTENING AND RELATIONSHIPS
BIRTHING & RAISING A BETTER WORLD
Listen to the conversation:
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About this interview:
How can changing the way that we approach parenting create a brighter future for all of us?
In this episode, Amisha takes time to connect with birth worker and parenting consultant Roma Norriss. Roma comes to her work with parents as an activist and futurist, believing that parenting is the most potent form of activism available to us. She is driven by both her own painful experiences and a firm belief that if just a single generation of children have their emotional needs met, we will see a very different world.
She refers to the work of Robin Grille, who identifies the links throughout history between progress in parenting or education and a tangible movement towards democracy and sustainability. It is our collective emotional trauma that causes disembodiment and unconscious plundering of the Earth’s resources. So how do we approach parenting differently?
Hand in Hand Parenting is an approach to raising children that challenges the archaic dominant paradigm of teaching our children how to behave. A shift to a more loving perspective comes from the premise that our children, and we ourselves as parents, are inherently good and want to be loving and cooperative. When behaviour is off-track it is down to the brain being overwhelmed with emotions and connection holds the key to bringing it back online.
Roma shares stories from her own journey as a parent, of working with the body’s innate capacity to recover from hurt, trauma, stress and tension. She explains how our warmth and attention can actively support our kids to stay with their feelings and use their body’s wisdom to heal through crying, laughter, shaking and trembling.
Listening and connection is not just for children. Parents are encouraged to support each other through listening partnerships to release some of the emotions that parenting can trigger. Roma shares how regular, good quality listening has actually changed her brain, making her 90% less reactive to her children.
And of course everything that Roma shares can help us in all of our relationships, bring healing to where we are all damaged and therefore create a more connected and compassionate world.
“Let me at Donald Trump, I just really want to listen to him. He needs some really good listening.” ~ Roma Norriss
Roma Norriss is mother to a sweet boy and girl, who she adores. Active since 2003 as a birthworker, mother, ritualkeeper, parenting activist, facilitator and Hand in Hand Parenting consultant: Roma is lit up by listening, connection, intimacy and community. Her perspective is influenced by teacher Binnie Dansby, who fostered an appreciation of the original intimacy; our earliest imprint, from where all our patterns stem. Roma is a refreshingly human, forgiving and warm facilitator. As well as running courses and workshops online and in the UK, Roma holds retreats on parenting, birth, listening, intimacy and creativity. She offers an intimate and focused birth support package. With colleague Alice Irving, Roma developed ‘ThinkWell at Work’ for organisations that want to integrate connection-based practice into business.
To find out more about Roma, visit www.birthingabetterworld.co.uk
To connect or work with Amisha, visit www.amisha.co.uk
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