✨ In this episode, we interview Sarah Allan, founder of Mindful Parent Club, about supporting children’s mental health by focusing first on the parent’s emotional regulation, self-awareness, stress response, and attachment story. Sarah explains that there is no single “right” way to parent, warns against information overload and stigma around parenting support, and shares that the strongest protective factor for lifelong wellbeing is the quality of the early parent-child relationship; she notes UK stats that 1 in 6 children are diagnosed with a mental health difficulty.

🌙 We discuss co-sleeping as co-regulation, developmental differences (including bedwetting), behavior as communication and lagging skills rather than “naughtiness,” why children aren’t truly manipulative due to brain development, teen behaviour and “connect before correct,” boundaries versus permissiveness, “spoiled” labels, screens and online safety, and Sarah’s three tips: start with regulating yourself, lead with connection, and prioritise regulation for both parent and child.

🎧 About The Souls Podcast
The Souls Podcast is a space for deep conversations on spirituality, healing, consciousness, manifestation, and personal growth — hosted by Claire and Nic.

Chapters:
00:00 Meet Sarah Allan
00:37 Mindful Parent Club Approach
02:48 Mental Health Info Overload
03:40 Attachment Protects Kids
05:42 Normalizing Parent Support
06:45 Co-Sleeping And Regulation
08:54 Developmental Milestones Myths
10:03 Behavior As Communication
12:30 Stop Crying And Triggers
13:47 Manipulation And Brain Development
16:36 Early Attachment Ruptures
20:19 Teens School Behavior
22:50 Connect Before Correct
27:30 Kids Mirror Our Trauma
29:28 Safe Not Always Happy
29:53 Holding Firm Boundaries
31:04 Gentle Parenting Myths
32:33 What Creates Spoiled Kids
33:48 Guilt And Buying Love
35:22 Values Based Boundaries
37:27 Screen Time Reality Check
42:05 Online Safety And Grooming
42:48 Finding Joy In Parenting
46:14 Staying Strong With Limits
47:15 Parenting Coaching Foundations
49:14 Good Cop Bad Cop Dynamics
51:06 Three Takeaway Tips
53:26 Where To Find Sarah