Playful parenting is so much more than just getting down on the floor and ‘playing’; it’s an approach to everyday interactions with children which can help with the hardest parts of parenting — arguments, big emotions, anxiety — and bring more joy into every part of our life. It can help us to reconsider what it means to be a parent, and allow us

can help to remember that you’re on the same team as your child; that they don’t want to create more work or stress for you, and that you want to parent as well as you

By carefully preparing your home environment, you create a ‘yes space’: one where your children are free — and, crucially, are safe — to touch, explore, move, climb, and look after their own needs.

Far from being superficial, our home environments have the power to create calm or incite conflict, to promote deep play and study, or lead to cries of, ‘I don’t have any toys.’

These small actions, repeated lovingly year after year, become part of ‘what we do’ — the moments our children will look back on when grown, and perhaps recreate with their own children.

Rhythm allows us to live in alignment with what matters to us, and it teaches our children that these things matter, through regular repetition.

De-escalating situations before they turn into full-blown conflicts, choosing connection and play to do so, is far more peaceful, powerful, easy, and effective

‘A Site of Mutual Fulfilment (SMF) is a place where both child and parent have a great time.

Creating more predictability through rhythms can help children navigate transitions, because they learn to expect what is coming next so they aren’t caught off-guard. When more rhythm is brought to these points, the whole day starts to flow better, with less conflict and stress all round.