Deborah MacNamara is a wonderful human and masterful teacher and author and still I just had to cover my bases on this one thing!

Was this book (Nourished: Connection, Food, And Caring For Our Kids (and everyone else we love) going to remind me that I need to do better in the kitchen? I mean it’s a given, as a parent, that there’s always room for improvement in the kitchen (well for me, anyway) and comparison and expectation and exhaustion and and and…And yet, chapter by chapter, worry and fear began to subside and the complete opposite of what I imagined I would feel began to take hold. Good, more confident feelings began to settle in me.

The wisdom shared in this book (which I’m still digesting and will learn more with Deborah’s upcoming course on this topic) gave me the chance to feel empowered as a parent/caregiver and provider. Truly. I am EVEN experiencing some moments of reduced mental and emotional exhaustion around meal time (could it be?!). And that’s just one of the many gifts this book has provided (but that’s a big one!). Of course it’s always a work in progress, I mean everything is, isn’t it? But gaining this insight has felt nothing short of miraculous (you know when things align and make sense in very significant ways, ways that can span generations?).

For the full conversation Watch and Listen here.
Www.JulieinConversation.com

Listen to the two previous conversations with Deborah MacNamara on the Julie in Conversation podcast.

Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one)

Making our way through with Deborah MacNamara

“A timely, wise, and much-needed book. In a society that alienates us from our caregiving instincts, its lessons could not be more urgent.” Gabor Maté, MD.

“Nourished is not only a book on parenting, but also arguably a foundational book on becoming a provider in the deepest sense of that construct, form the inside out, to all sides of the child, and fo all the seasons of parenting.” Gordon Neufeld. PhD.

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“We have become so focused on what food to serve that we have lost sight of how food was meant to serve relationships (Nourished).” Deborah MacNamara

Deborah MacNamara returned to the conversation with podcast host Julie Cusmariu to discuss her groundbreaking new book, ‘Nourished: Connection, Food, And Caring For Our Kids (and everyone else we love).

Deborah MacNamara takes us on a deep and insightful journey through storytelling, provocative questions, a fantastic riddle (the answer to which is revealed in this podcast at the end),  developmental science and robust research to help us make sense of our relationship to food and to reclaim nourishment. I couldn’t agree more with what Dr. Gordon Neufeld declared “After reading this groundbreaking work, it will be impossible for you to ever view food as just food again.” And I just loved this question posed by Deborah on page 74 of the book and to those she interviewed for Nourished “If you could choose one person to cook for you, who would it be?” What a great and poignant question to ask each other and our kids. There is so much to gain from reading this book, so much to digest and take in, so much to savour and explore. May it provide you with as much nourishment as it provided for me. Thank you Deborah and thank you everyone for tuning in and for the work you are doing in this world as providers and caretakers.

Praise for Nourished

“Nourished is not only a book on parenting, but also arguably a foundational book on becoming a provider in the deepest sense of that construct, form the inside out, to all sides of the child, and fo all the seasons of parenting.” Gordon Neufeld. PhD.

“A timely, wise, and much-needed book. In a society that alienates us from our caregiving instincts, its lessons could not be more urgent.” Gabor Maté, MD.

“Stunningly beautiful, an ode to love, relationships and food. Dr. MacNamara shows how true nourishment is about connection and how the family meal can be a celebration of emotional closeness.” Mona Delahooke, PhD.

About Deborah MacNamara

As a trusted and experienced clinical counsellor for over 25 years in mental health and educational settings as well as private practice, Deborah serves as a leading international expert who provides counselling and educational services to support parents, professionals, and educators. She is also a professional speaker who has presented to the United Nations and The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education. Deborah specializes in the relational-developmental approach based on the work of Dr. Gordon Neufeld, empowering parents to become the expert on their children with everyday questions and practical strategies. She came to this work as a new mother herself, curious and confident that his approach could shift not only her children’s futures forever, but also her professional approach to supporting and helping others. Today, she serves on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute. Deborah is the author of the best selling book, Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one) which has been translated into 14 languages and the children’s picture book, The Sorry Plane, which is available in three languages. Her newest book is Nourished: Connection, Food, and Caring for our Kids (and everyone else we love). Www.JulieinConversation.comDeborah MacNamara returns to Julie in Conversation to discuss her recent book ‘Nourished: Connection, Food, And Caring For Our Kids (and everyone else we love).’ www.MacNamara.ca

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This week on the podcast Dr. Deborah MacNamara returned to grace the podcast waves and offered insight to help us orient in these changing times. As she said “we can’t orient to something that is always changing” and yet she managed to orient us nonetheless, despite these changing times in the midst of this global pandemic.

Also, a conversation with Deborah wouldn’t be complete without speaking about emotional health, well-being and play and what we can do to allow our feelings to be safely expressed. I was reminded, yet again how critical play is for emotional health and well-being not just for the children and youth we are raising, educating and caring for, but us adults too. Deborah MacNamara’s dedication and work towards asking this question she raised in our conversation, “what does it mean to be human and how do we stay well?” of course confirms why her words and research and wisdom are imperative, needed and welcomed and so beneficial to us all. To your rest and your play and your growth.

Check out Dr. Deborah MacNamara and also The Neufeld Institute.

You can listen to my previous conversations with Dr. Debora MacNamara

Rest Play Grow Making sense of Preschoolers (Or Anyone Who Acts Like One) Deborah MacNamara joins #Motherhood #Let’sCreateAVillage

Cultivating caring and empathy with bestselling author and counselor, Dr. Deborah MacNamara

Dr. Deborah MacNamara is a Clinical Counsellor and Developmentalist, on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute and Director of Kid’s Best Bet, a counselling centre for families. She is author of the best selling book Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one), which has been translated into 9  languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, German, Danish, Estonian, Korean, and Mandarin) and is available in audiobook. Rest, Play, Grow makes sense of young children through developmental science and is what every child wished their adults understood about them.  Her first children’s picture book, The Sorry Plane, illustrated by Zoe Si, is available in English and soon to be Russian. The Sorry Plane is about respecting the feelings of children and supporting their emotional development.

Deborah is a dynamic teacher and experienced counsellor who makes developmental science come to life in the everyday context of home and classroom, including complex behavioural and learning problems.

Deborah travels nationally and internationally, speaking to child and adolescent development issues to groups including the United Nations and the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education. She regularly presents to parents, educators, child care professionals, social workers, the foster and adopt community, and health care professionals, sharing her insight and passion for making sense of kids. She is a developmentalist at heart who is continually fascinated by the mysteries and beauty inherent in human maturation.

Deborah completed a two-year post doctoral internship with Dr. Gordon Neufeld, is an award winning researcher, and has over 20 years experience as a teacher and counsellor working with leading institutions such as the University of British Columbia, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the Vancouver School Board. Deborah regularly appears on radio and TV, her articles appear in parenting magazines, websites, and newsletters across Canada and internationally. She resides in Vancouver British Columbia with her family and consciously works to create an attachment village for her children to grow up in.

The post Making our way through with Deborah MacNamara, Ph.D. appeared first on Julie Cusmariu.

Deborah MacNamara, PhD is on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute, author of Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (or anyone who acts like one), and operates a counselling practice supporting families. She is a dynamic teacher and experienced counsellor who makes developmental science come to life in the everyday context of home and classroom.

Deborah travels nationally and internationally, speaking on child and adolescent development issues, with past groups including the United Nations and the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education. With over 60 presentations a year to parents, educators, child care professionals, social workers, foster and adopt community, and health care professionals, Deborah shares her insight and passion for making sense of kids. Her articles also appear regularly in parenting magazines, websites, and newsletters across Canada and internationally including Australia’s “Nurture-Natural Parenting Magazine” where she is a regular contributor. She is also a regular guest on radio and television programs dealing with developmental issues. Deborah is a developmentalist at heart who is continually fascinated by the mysteries and beauty inherent in human maturation.

In this conversation Dr. Deborah MacNamara talks about:

– The inspiration behind her new children’s book The Sorry Plane
– What it really means when our kids say “I don’t care” and how to make sense of it.
– How to diffuse and take care of disagreements at school -between classmates and at home between siblings.
– How we as adults can nurture and unlock the caring instinct in the kids we raise and educate.
-Climate change and the youth who care about our planet.
– A sure and beautiful way to be with our kids that Deborah shares about personally and explains has the capacity to turn around the most difficult of situations with our kids.
– And more….

What Deborah MacNamara, Ph.D. share in this conversation is intuitive, practical, based on developmental science, heartfelt, and important. As Deborah says “Caring is our human superpower” and is responsible for human development, for social responsibility, and for humans coming together. Isn’t that what this planet and we all need?

Thanks for tuning in. May you benefit.

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I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Gordon Neufeld, developmental psychologist and best-selling author of Hold on to your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers (co-authored with Canadian Physician Gabor Maté) and founder of The Neufeld Institute. The topic was play, the nature of it, what true play is and how it serves the healthy development of children.

In Neufeld’s words “play is becoming endangered” and we must “protect it “and “preserve it”. In this clip you’ll hear how  children can find a place for their emotions through play.

I have gained so much from Dr. Neufeld’s teachings and insight. It has restored my confidence in my parenting and it has re-connected me to my own intuition. Essential ingredients in any healthy life.

To further our conversation, I will be welcoming Dr. Gordon Neufeld Wednesday March 14 at 11am PT/ 2pm ET on my live weekly podcast. Join us in the chat room with your questions and your comments. You will be better off as a parent, educator, mentor, guide and human being after hearing his wisdom.

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