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Transitions

Thresholds, handled gently

New schools, new homes, new siblings — preparing children for change before it arrives.

The FeatureCo-Parenting
Two mugs on a kitchen counter at dusk, one slightly apart from the other

When Parents Disagree: The Argument Children Actually Hear

Two people raised in two different families are now improvising a third one. Children can tolerate a great deal of difference between their parents — what they cannot tolerate is being the ground it is fought over.

Sian TrombleyCanadian Certified Counsellor
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The archive

More in Transitions

A game controller set down on a wooden table beside an empty cup and an open notebook in afternoon light
Digital World

When the Game Ends: Why Screen Transitions Are So Explosive

The fight is almost never about the game. It is about being pulled out of a state that was regulating them, without warning, by the person they trust most.

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A quiet child's bedroom corner with a folded blanket and a single pressed leaf on the windowsill
Grief

Small Griefs: Helping Children Carry Loss and Change

Children do not grieve in a straight line, and they rarely grieve when we are ready. What they need is not the perfect explanation, but somewhere reliable to bring it.

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A small wooden chair beside a half-open door with a single folded note left on the seat
Behaviour

The Truth About Lying: What Children Are Really Protecting

A child who lies is almost never a child with a character problem. They are a child solving a problem — usually the problem of what happens next.

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A parent and child sitting together on wooden floorboards in soft window light
Emotional Regulation

Borrowing Calm: How Children Regulate Through Us

Children cannot regulate themselves in a room where no one else is regulated. Co-regulation is the whole mechanism — and it is quieter than it sounds.

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A school backpack and shoes waiting by a front door in early morning light
School Refusal

When School Becomes Too Much: Understanding School Refusal

School refusal is almost never about school. It is about a nervous system that has learned mornings are dangerous — and it responds to graded practice, not persuasion.

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A family dining table in warm late light after a shared meal
Family Life

The Family Climate: The Emotional Weather Children Grow In

Children do not grow up in a set of parenting techniques. They grow up in a weather system — and the weather is largely made by the adults.

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A teenager sitting on the end of a bed with a parent visible in the hallway light
Teen Mental Health

When Your Teenager Stops Talking to You

Silence at fifteen is rarely rejection. It is a developmental task, a bid for privacy, and sometimes a signal — and it responds to presence far better than to questions.

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A child's bedroom prepared for sleep at dusk with a small warm lamp and books
Sleep

The Science of Sleep: Why Bedtime Falls Apart and How to Rebuild It

Almost every difficulty a family brings to therapy is worse on four hours' sleep. Bedtime is not a discipline issue — it is a physiological sequence, and sequences can be rebuilt.

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