About Ginny Johnstone & The Positive Parent Project
Hello, my name is Ginny Johnstone and I'm a certified Positive Discipline parent educator, and Life Coach for parents - I'm also the mother of five special children including two sets of twins!
Having previously worked as an Neuro-Linguistics Practitioner & self-care coach in the field of self-empowerment and emotional healing, I have witnessed the fact that most of, if not all of, our current day physical, mental and emotional issues can be traced back to exposure to disharmony of some kind in our childhood. Working with my clients I saw first hand how childhood experiences both at home and at school of uncontrolled anger, frustration, criticism, control, parental unavailability (physical or emotional), punishment, irritation, guilt trips, aggression, passivity, permissiveness, disrespect, ignorance/unconsciousness, domination or bullying can set up a series of negative self-beliefs that define who we think we are and what we think we're worth in our future 'grown-up' life. All significant events (and even seemingly insignificant events) result in the child deciding things about themselves and about life as a whole (their beliefs). It's these beliefs (both positive and negative) that go on to drive us and determine how we live in the world and they affect how we think, what we feel, how we handle situations and how we steer our lives.
Needless to say then, as parents (and teachers/care-givers), we need to be careful about what we're teaching our kids directly and - often most significantly - indirectly through our words, our behaviour and our attitudes.
A Bit About My Journey With Positive Parenting (AKA Positive Discipline)
Being a mom of five little children and knowing how our ingrained beliefs govern our future, I've always been acutely aware of the responsibility I have to give the best of myself as a parent. Since my kids were born I've longed to keep their sponge-like slate as clean as possible as they enter into themselves and define who they are and where they fit in the world (a longing I now realise, by the way, that is about as impossible to fulfill as keeping white sofas clean while a chocolate-Rolo-chomping toddler bounces all over it - as parents we'll NEVER get it totally right but we can try our best!).
During one stressfully rain-filled, winter school holiday at home with my (then) three kids, I realised how totally ill-equipped I was to do what I knew I needed to do! Due to my Neuro Linguistic Programming training knowing how our minds work and how our beliefs pave the way to our future only made matters worse as the pressure to 'get it right' was compounded in me by the lack of child-raising experience I had. I also realised how hard it was for me to stay centred and calm when I didn't know what I was doing half the time. As my kids and I began to climb the walls during that school holiday I noticed how I swung from being extremely permissive (due to being too conscious of the damage I thought certain messages could do to kids' self-esteem) to being horribly over-powering (usually because my permissiveness had now led to a need for serious control!). I suddenly woke up to the fact that I needed to get help to get centred again and set some HEALTHY, MUTUALLY-RESPECTFUL boundaries, rules, consequences, discipline and ways to manage my children that would still empower them to become self-reliant, happy members of life. And thus began my journey into positive parenting and into my training as a Positive Discipline Parent Educator through the Institute of Positive Discipline in USA.
I won't pretend I'm now a perfect mom or that I 'get it right' all the time (far from it at times!) but as I trained in Positive Discipline and kept applying the tools of self-care and life-balance I learned some brilliant ideas, approaches and techniques that have made the most magical difference in our life together as a family... and I'd like to share them with you so they can change your life too and bring more joy, happiness and mutual-empowerment into your relationships, your homes and our schools...
Having previously worked as an Neuro-Linguistics Practitioner & self-care coach in the field of self-empowerment and emotional healing, I have witnessed the fact that most of, if not all of, our current day physical, mental and emotional issues can be traced back to exposure to disharmony of some kind in our childhood. Working with my clients I saw first hand how childhood experiences both at home and at school of uncontrolled anger, frustration, criticism, control, parental unavailability (physical or emotional), punishment, irritation, guilt trips, aggression, passivity, permissiveness, disrespect, ignorance/unconsciousness, domination or bullying can set up a series of negative self-beliefs that define who we think we are and what we think we're worth in our future 'grown-up' life. All significant events (and even seemingly insignificant events) result in the child deciding things about themselves and about life as a whole (their beliefs). It's these beliefs (both positive and negative) that go on to drive us and determine how we live in the world and they affect how we think, what we feel, how we handle situations and how we steer our lives.
Needless to say then, as parents (and teachers/care-givers), we need to be careful about what we're teaching our kids directly and - often most significantly - indirectly through our words, our behaviour and our attitudes.
A Bit About My Journey With Positive Parenting (AKA Positive Discipline)
Being a mom of five little children and knowing how our ingrained beliefs govern our future, I've always been acutely aware of the responsibility I have to give the best of myself as a parent. Since my kids were born I've longed to keep their sponge-like slate as clean as possible as they enter into themselves and define who they are and where they fit in the world (a longing I now realise, by the way, that is about as impossible to fulfill as keeping white sofas clean while a chocolate-Rolo-chomping toddler bounces all over it - as parents we'll NEVER get it totally right but we can try our best!).
During one stressfully rain-filled, winter school holiday at home with my (then) three kids, I realised how totally ill-equipped I was to do what I knew I needed to do! Due to my Neuro Linguistic Programming training knowing how our minds work and how our beliefs pave the way to our future only made matters worse as the pressure to 'get it right' was compounded in me by the lack of child-raising experience I had. I also realised how hard it was for me to stay centred and calm when I didn't know what I was doing half the time. As my kids and I began to climb the walls during that school holiday I noticed how I swung from being extremely permissive (due to being too conscious of the damage I thought certain messages could do to kids' self-esteem) to being horribly over-powering (usually because my permissiveness had now led to a need for serious control!). I suddenly woke up to the fact that I needed to get help to get centred again and set some HEALTHY, MUTUALLY-RESPECTFUL boundaries, rules, consequences, discipline and ways to manage my children that would still empower them to become self-reliant, happy members of life. And thus began my journey into positive parenting and into my training as a Positive Discipline Parent Educator through the Institute of Positive Discipline in USA.
I won't pretend I'm now a perfect mom or that I 'get it right' all the time (far from it at times!) but as I trained in Positive Discipline and kept applying the tools of self-care and life-balance I learned some brilliant ideas, approaches and techniques that have made the most magical difference in our life together as a family... and I'd like to share them with you so they can change your life too and bring more joy, happiness and mutual-empowerment into your relationships, your homes and our schools...
My Wish
My wish is to help parents, teachers and child-carers to avoid passing on negative beliefs and unhealthy patterns to our children by consciously forming relationships with kids that are built on mutual respect, healthy limitations, empowerment and love. My vision is to bring greater peace and joy to our world by helping adults bring more happiness and harmony into the homes and classrooms they share with our children and to help nourish a generation of self-respecting, self-empowered, loving members of community.
All the ideas, tools and concepts you find at The Positive Parent Project are based on healthy role modelling and the nurturing and empowering framework and techniques of the Positive Discipline approach to child-raising. It will be my great pleasure to teach you how to become a more light-hearted, inspiring, firm AND kind role model for the children whose lives you are touching too.
Please read on to find out more or contact us to find out how we may be able to help you.
All the ideas, tools and concepts you find at The Positive Parent Project are based on healthy role modelling and the nurturing and empowering framework and techniques of the Positive Discipline approach to child-raising. It will be my great pleasure to teach you how to become a more light-hearted, inspiring, firm AND kind role model for the children whose lives you are touching too.
Please read on to find out more or contact us to find out how we may be able to help you.
