Terms of Use 

Thank you for visiting Hey Sigmund. I love that you are here and hope you will find plenty of useful information. I hope that you stay a while and that you will come back again – hopefully many ‘agains’. To make sure we’re all kept safe, there are some rules. Nothing unusual or dramatic, but best that we all know where we stand.

What You Agree To In Using This Website

Your use of this website means that you agree to the following terms of use.

What This Website Is – And Isn’t 

The articles, information and comments on this website provide general information only and do not constitute advice in any way.

It is important to me that the information provided on this site is thoughtful, detailed, well-researched and relevant, but it is just a guide. What is best for you will depend on your personal history and circumstances. For this reason, if you require more support, information or guidance in relation to a particular issue, please speak with a medical practitioner or counsellor who will be able to take the time to understand the detail of you, your history and your circumstances, and use this to advise you on the most effective course of action.

If you are in need of more immediate support, please click here.

Just to be clear … 

You must not use this website or any information, articles, images or anything in connection to this website for anything that breaks the law.

Intellectual Property

The design, information and articles on this website are subject to copyright owned by Karen Young, or used under licence from a third party. As such the design, information and articles are protected by international copyright laws. 

Content Share Guidelines

Here at Hey Sigmund, we love you sharing our work as much as we love you reading it.  Just a few things to keep in mind:

•  You are welcome to share links to any content contained in Hey Sigmund. The truth is, we’ll love you for it.

•  You are welcome to quote up to 75 words of content from any article in your own blog articles as long as you attribute ownership. Attribute Karen Young and www.heysigmund.com as the source and please create a link to the original Hey Sigmund article you are referencing.

•  Unless you obtain our prior written consent (which we may grant in exceptional circumstances) the republication or reprinting of full or substantial sections of any articles in form or word for word on the web is not permitted, even if you provide full credit and links back to us. 

•  You are not permitted to profit from the use of our content.

•  This one goes without saying but since we’re talking anyway … you cannot claim our content as your own original ideas.

•  If you are wanting to print hard copies other than for personal use, please contact us for consent (which will never be withheld for a good cause). 

Email Communication

When you subscribe to our newsletter by entering your email address through the newsletter sign-up on the website or through the newsletter pop-up that may appear on the website, you will be added to our mailing list. We will never spam you and we will never provide your details to anyone else. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time.

Third Party Links

This website contains links to other websites which are not under our control. Because of this, we are not responsible for the content or working of those sites. If external links are used on this site, we would typically approve of the content of those links but we do not take any responsibility for any part of those websites, nor do we endorse or provide any warranty in relation to those websites and the content they contain. The links may not remain current and as they are outside of our control, your use of them is at your own risk.

Privacy Policy

For full details of our privacy policy, please see here.

Indemnity

We rely on you to abide by these terms of use. If you do not comply with these terms of use and we suffer any loss or damage or incur any costs as a result of your non-compliance, you agree to indemnify us for those losses, damages and costs. You also agree to indemnify us from and against all actions, claims, suits, demands, damages, liabilities, costs or expenses that arise out of your use of the website.

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During adolescence, our teens are more likely to pay attention to the positives of a situation over ...

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Sep 25

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During adolescence, our teens are more likely to pay attention to the positives of a situation over the negatives. This can be a great thing. The courage that comes from this will help them try new things, explore their independence, and learn the things they need to learn to be happy, healthy adults. But it can also land them in bucketloads of trouble. Here’s the thing. Our teens don’t want to do the wrong thing and they don’t want to go behind our backs, but they also don’t want to be controlled by us, or have any sense that we might be stifling their way towards independence. The cold truth of it all is that if they want something badly enough, and if they feel as though we are intruding or that we are making arbitrary decisions just because we can, or that we don’t get how important something is to them, they have the will, the smarts and the means to do it with or without or approval. So what do we do? Of course we don’t want to say ‘yes’ to everything, so our job becomes one of influence over control. To keep them as safe as we can, rather than saying ‘no’ (which they might ignore anyway) we want to engage their prefrontal cortex (thinking brain) so they can be more considered in their decision making. Our teens are very capable of making good decisions, but because the rational, logical, thinking prefrontal cortex won’t be fully online until their 20s (closer to 30 in boys), we need to wake it up and bring it to the decision party whenever we can. Do this by first softening the landing: ‘I can see how important this is for you. You really want to be with your friends. I absolutely get that.’ Then, gently bring that thinking brain to the table: ‘It sounds as though there’s so much to love in this for you. I don’t want to get in your way but I need to know you’ve thought about the risks and planned for them. What are some things that could go wrong?’ Then, we really make the prefrontal cortex kick up a gear by engaging its problem solving capacities: ‘What’s the plan if that happens.’ Remember, during adolescence we switch from managers to consultants. Assume a leadership presence, but in a way that is warm, loving, and collaborative.♥️

karenyoung_heysigmund

Big feelings and big behaviour are a call for us to come closer. They won’t always feel like that,...

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Sep 24

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Big feelings and big behaviour are a call for us to come closer. They won’t always feel like that, but they are. Not ‘closer’ in an intrusive ‘I need you to stop this’ way, but closer in a ‘I’ve got you, I can handle all of you’ kind of way - no judgement, no need for you to be different - I’m just going to make space for this feeling to find its way through. Our kids and teens are no different to us. When we have feelings that fill us to overloaded, the last thing we need is someone telling us that it’s not the way to behave, or to calm down, or that we’re unbearable when we’re like this. Nup. What we need, and what they need, is a safe place to find our out breath, to let the energy connected to that feeling move through us and out of us so we can rest. . But how? First, don’t take big feelings personally. They aren’t a reflection on you, your parenting, or your child. Big feelings have wisdom contained in them about what’s needed more, or less, or what feels intolerable right now. Sometimes it might be as basic as a sleep or food. Maybe more power, influence, independence, or connection with you. Maybe there’s too much stress and it’s hitting their ceiling and ricocheting off their edges. Like all wisdom, it doesn’t always find a gentle way through. That’s okay, that will come. Our kids can’t learn to manage big feelings, or respect the wisdom embodied in those big feelings if they don’t have experience with big feelings. . We also need to make sure we are responding to them in the moment, not a fear or an inherited ‘should’ of our own. These are the messages we swallowed whole at some point - ‘happy kids should never get sad or angry’, ‘kids should always behave,’ ‘I should be able to protect my kids from feeling bad,’ ‘big feelings are bad feelings’, ‘bad behaviour means bad kids, which means bad parents.’ All these shoulds are feisty show ponies that assume more ‘rightness’ than they deserve. They are usually historic, and when we really examine them, they’re also irrelevant. . Finally, try not to let the symptoms of big feelings disrupt the connection. Then, when calm comes, we will have the influence we need for the conversations that matter.

karenyoung_heysigmund

"Be patient. We don’t know what we want to do or who we want to be. That feels really bad ...

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Sep 22

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"Be patient. We don’t know what we want to do or who we want to be. That feels really bad sometimes. Just keep reminding us that it’s okay that we don’t have it all figured out yet, and maybe remind yourself sometimes too." ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ #parentingteens #neurodevelopment #positiveparenting #parenting #neuronurtured #braindevelopment #adolescence #neurodevelopment #parentingteens

karenyoung_heysigmund

Would you be more likely to take advice from someone who listened to you first, or someone who ...

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Sep 20

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Would you be more likely to take advice from someone who listened to you first, or someone who insisted they knew best and worked hard to convince you? Our teens are just like us. If we want them to consider our advice and be open to our influence, making sure they feel heard is so important. Being right doesn't count for much at all if we aren't being heard. ⠀⠀ Hear what they think, what they want, why they think they're right, and why it’s important to them. Sometimes we'll want to change our mind, and sometimes we'll want to stand firm. When they feel fully heard, it’s more likely that they’ll be able to trust that our decisions or advice are given fully informed and with all of their needs considered. And we all need that. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ #positiveparenting #parenting #parenthood #neuronurtured #childdevelopment #adolescence ⠀⠀

karenyoung_heysigmund

"We’re pretty sure that when you say no to something it’s because you don’t understand ...

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Sep 19

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"We’re pretty sure that when you say no to something it’s because you don’t understand why it’s so important to us. Of course you’ll need to say 'no' sometimes, and if you do, let us know that you understand the importance of whatever it is we’re asking for. It will make your ‘no’ much easier to accept. We need to know that you get it. Listen to what we have to say and ask questions to understand, not to prove us wrong. We’re not trying to control you or manipulate you. Some things might not seem important to you but if we’re asking, they’re really important to us.❤️" . . . #neurodevelopment #neuronurtured #childdevelopment #parenting #positiveparenting #mindfulparenting

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