Hi, we are Eleanor and Emma and together we founded The Reconnected
The Reconnected is a global parenting movement, with over 100K followers on Instagram, and tens of thousands of parents joining our community over the past three years.
We combine a unique blend of science (Eleanor is a counsellor and play therapist, with a background in psychology, and has worked with families for over 15 years) and spirituality (Emma is a yoga teacher who founded the community New Earth Mama), to help parents to find simple and quick solutions to parenting in a way that makes their heart sing.
Sensitive kids feel everything, hear everything and their emotions are heightened.
The world can feel “too much”, too noisy, too rough, too many people… they get overloaded by an intensity that other people don’t even pick up on!
And parenting highly sensitive kids can be overwhelming too!
It’s hard to know if you should push them past their comfort zone so they can learn to be more resilient and they can learn to handle more, or if you should listen to their needs!
We've teamed up with Naturopath Sarah Mann...
She brings her unique training in Anthroposophic Medicine to the Reconnected Community. Sarah specialises in supporting Sensitive Children, to help them feel more at home in their bodies and the world.
Sarah has an affinity with Sensitive Kids, being highly sensitive herself as a child, and as a parent of a Sensitive Child!
Sarah has worked in both Steiner Education and Clinical Practice and has years of experience supporting families to be empowered caring for their Sensitive Kids.
She knows the incredible gifts that these wonderful kids have to offer and knows with the right tools and support, rather than feeling overwhelmed, they can thrive in the world.
"Sensitive Kids" is a tender topic to our hearts.
We’ve parented them (so we actually know what it's like to have kids who defy all the usual parenting tips), we have our guest course creator, Sarah Mann who is a Sensitive Child herself (so we know what a positive impact someone who knows the Sensitive Child mind can make in the world), and we’ve now helped thousands of parents at The Reconnected to find ways that DO work with their Sensitive Child (so we know that there are solutions!).
"Hey, it's Emma here, and for years I didn't recognise how sensitive my son really was...
I always thought he was Strong Willed, because he could be really inflexible, whiny, and seemed to get stuck on needing small things a certain way...
I was implementing everything we teach in our Reconnected Parenting course, yet something was missing…
he was really affected by loud sounds, picked up other people's emotions, and struggled with transitions.
After working with Sarah, our family Naturopath, it turns out, he is highly sensitive! He picks up on so much of the environment and get's overwhelmed!
Since we have been approaching his sensitivity in a way that meets his needs...EVERYTHING has changed.
After teaming up with Sarah we have found that the following things are essential for the parents of the sensitive child...
To Parent the Sensitive Child You Need:
To understand their unique underlying needs
The answer to understanding how to nurture your child is by learning the unique underlying needs of Sensitive Kids.
We have found over many years that there are generally four needs driving Sensitive Children, and when we can understand and then meet these needs, life gets a whole lot easier.
The Four Needs of the Sensitive Child (TM) are;
Warming Up, Emulating the Boundary, Claiming Space, and Feeling at Home.
This is why you can have two or more Sensitive Children who are dramatically different because they have different dominant needs!
When you can identify what is going on for your kids, understand them and help them to meet these needs, you help them to reduce the intensity of high sensitivity!
This is the gamechanger that helps your child to respond to transitions, outside stimuli and new or unfamiliar situations.
Tools to cultivate the energy reserves to meet them consistently
Parenting Sensitive Kids can be overwhelming, frustrating and disheartening…because they just don’t seem to be able to cope with the simple day-to-day things that come easily to other kids.
Their constant anxieties can be very exhausting. If you've ever woken up feeling like you're already walking on eggshells with your Sensitive Child you will know what we mean!
The challenges of the Sensitive Child are made worse because we feel drained and tired by their constant need for emotional support and validation.
We need to build our energy reserves to have increased patience and ability to respond and be with our Sensitive Children.
Willingness to take the path less trodden
It can be hard to trust ourselves as parents. The noise of parenting advice and strategies, plus the very real judgements from others can lead us astray from our innate connection and wisdom about what our child needs.
And having a Sensitive Child makes this even harder!
But the irony is no-one 'gets' your Sensitive Child better than you!
This program reconnects you to what you know about your child, and helps you to trust yourselves more fully as the perfect parent for your Sensitive Child.
Community
Say no more right? how often have you felt like you are the only person whose child needs constant support just to get through the day. Or felt on the outside cos you do things differently to your extended family or friends.
Maybe the other parents in your parenting groups have kids who are 'easy', or perhaps you haven't met parents who you resonate with yet.
Our need for community and connection is real. We need people who 'get it' and who are here to hold space for us to find our own wisdom.
"I really get now that my child triggers feelings in me I never felt able to express or was told not to express. Just recognising that he invites me to heal and to be authentic helps me to see what a gift he is!"
Meet your guides
Emma, Eleanor and Sarah who have 12 children between them and over 16 combined years of therapeutic practice
ELEANOR MANN
Eleanor is registered counsellor, holding a BA of Social Science (Counselling), a BA of Psychology (Hons), a Diploma in Breathwork, and a Grad Diploma in Child Centred Play Therapy. Eleanor is Co Founder of Reconnected Parenting and brings to the program a decade of working with parents as a counsellor, breathworker and play therapist, and over 15 years of personal practice in Breathwork and personal development.
EMMA JOHNSTON
Emma has been known as New Earth Mama for many years, a successful self published author with Mastery in Rebirthing Breathwork, Kundalini Yoga Teacher, Certified Advanced Theta Healing & Mind Body Intuitive, seeing thousands of clients with powerful testimonials. In her past she has been professional ballerina, and top model working for vogue, harpers bazaar and walking in London, Milan, Paris and Sydney Fashion week shows. Now, she is walking the path of conscious living with her young family on the East coast of Australia.
SARAH MANN
Sarah is a qualified Naturopath with additional training in Steiner based Anthroposophic medicine, children's health and development, somatic based Non-Linear Movement Method and has also been co-facilitating Breathwork Retreats with Eleanor since 2015. Sarah brings a unique and integrative perspective to parenting, nutrition, play and herbal medicine, and is particularly passionate about supporting people in their process of unfolding, exploring the meeting point between psychospiritual and emotional wellbeing in health and personal development.
And don't just take our word for it.
As a parent it is such a relief to join a community of parents who experience the same struggles as you. Emma & Eleanor really change the way we see these amazing children. They make you realise what NEEDS drive your child’s behaviour, so that you are able to meet those needs more consistently. That’s exactly why they are your golden ticket to inner growth!
Sjanine, Netherlands
Joining the Reconnected was one of the best things I have done in my parenting journey! Eleanor and Emma are so celebratory of every aspect of our children’s experience and advocating for them AND for every aspect of our parent experience and advocating for us too…for me, the mix of connected play and Breathwork was revolutionary… both me AND my child!
Sarah, United Kingdom
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