Welcome to Attachment Matters.
Attachment Matters is a conversation between two mothers who are passionate about the subject of attachment, and how in parenting our children, we are offered the opportunity to grow ourselves up. This presents unique challenges to parents of children, adolescents, and young adults who adopt a transgender identity. Our hope is to offer greater insight into how to strengthen the attachment between parents and their children, despite all odds.
In this episode, we continue through the ABCs of compensating for immaturity, diving deep into Bs of backing off and backing out. Through the analogy of a boat on the sea, we look at the impossibility and even dangers of attempting to teach lessons and make forward progress toward maturity during behavior incidents. We instead encourage a “do no harm” approach when waters are choppy. Through the gifts of insight and presence, we can learn to tap into our very human nature for play and connection as we navigate these stormy moments.
Works Cited
The construct of maturation & development we cover in Season 2 is drawn from the Neufeld Institute Intensive 1 Course. Here is an Intensive 1 Preview Video (Part 3 of 3) that gives a taste of the experience of taking Intensive 1 as a live online course with Neufeld faculty. It is full of rich and simple take-aways that reinforce what we cover in our episodes!
Reflection
How does the idea of “backing off and backing out” land with you? Have there been times when you have tried this approach, whether outside or inside of the “storms” of problem behavior and emotional outbursts? If so, what have you noticed, if anything? What other questions and insights, if any, came from this episode’s conversation?
