Caroline Walker

About

The myth I would most like to correct is that coming here means you are doing badly at it. The people I see are almost always doing far better than they believe, and their standard for themselves is one they would never apply to a friend. Parenting is the only demanding job where you are expected to have no training, no rest, and no visible doubt. We look at the actual conditions you are working under before we look at anything you might be doing wrong, because most of what gets labelled a personal failing turns out to be a resourcing problem. Then we look at what you would actually like to change, which is usually smaller and more specific than you expect. My early years were spent in community mental health, where I met a great many people managing households with almost nothing to manage them with. It permanently altered what I consider reasonable. If you have been quietly grading yourself, come and put the grading down.