Ep. 6: Elise Disher on Perfectionism in Parenting - and the Freedom in Lowering Expectations

Season #1

Today we get to chat with my friend Elise Disher, who I have been connected with on Instagram for a couple of years. I love this chat - it’s an honest, down-to-earth chat between friends about the trap of perfectionism in motherhood and how being a professional in the space can impact the way we see and interact with our children; and also the way that we judge ourselves in our mothering.

 

Elise is an Early Learning Consultant who works with early childhood professionals, as well as families to understand the importance of attachment relationships in the first five years. She has over 18 years experience in the space and a master degree in early education. Elise is also a Circle of Security facilitator and holistic sleep and wellbeing specialist. In 2020 Elise opened her own company U.Me Play where she supports the idea that all learning in the early years happens in the context of relationships and play.

 

We chat about:

  • Elise’s experience with her daughter Max born prematurely
  • How feeling attached to a certain parenting style (RIE) created pressure and rigidity
  • The ‘bloody balance bike’ and Elise’s reflection on being caught up with the ideal situation- how research and knowledge can take away from tuning into your unique child
  • The rush for independence and why it gets in the way of being in relationship with our child
  • ‘The Imagined Child’ and getting caught up in ideals of who we thought our children would be
  • Negotiables and non-negotiables in parenting and flexibility to evolve
  • How diving into the research on everything can completely overcomplicate parenting
  • Lowering expectations and finding freedom in good-enough parenting

 

Here’s where you can find Elise:

Instagram: @elisedisher.ed

www.umeplay.com.au

 

Follow me on Instagram: @mamamatters.au

 

For more about me and what I do, check out my website: www.mamamatters.com.au

 

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Thanks for being here, Mama x