How Parenting Can Change the World In A Generation - And Why It Hasn't

Parenting lays the foundation of who our children become and how they will interact in the world.

Imagine if parents could be supported to heal their collective trauma and create a generation who could change the world. 

Imagine a parenting approach that gives parents the emotional resources and practical tools they need to align their parenting with their values.

Imagine if parents and children could heal from their past hurts, build emotional resilience and strengthen the parent-child relationship.

Imagine if this enabled parents to prepare their children for the challenges of our times and give them the tools to make a better world inevitable. 

I was delighted to take part in the Imagine Festival of Ideas. Below is the recording of the full workshop. 

The world is at a tipping point of intersecting issues: climate and biodiversity emergencies, widespread mental and chronic ill health, sexual violence, systemic racism and poverty.

Parenting lays the foundation of how our children will grow up to treat themselves and those around them. It is the blueprint for their future interactions and relationships; friends, intimate partners, work colleagues and corporate leadership. 

How we parent the young generation will determine how we address the big issues of our times.

Parents are doing their best to raise children in a society that under-values and under-supports the vital role of parenting. Many parents aspire to treat their children with respect and patience, but have lost their village of support. 

Instead parents are exhausted by the demands of western capitalist society and find themselves struggling to manage their children’s behaviour, sometimes resorting to threats, bribes and shouting to control their children. 

Imagine a parenting approach that gives parents the emotional support and practical tools they need to align their parenting with their values. Imagine if parents and children could heal from their past hurts, build emotional resilience and strengthen the parent-child relationship. Imagine if this enabled parents to prepare their children for the challenges of our times and give them the tools to make a better world inevitable. 

In this workshop we will explore the practical approaches of a new parenting paradigm that can shift the culture to one based on respect and collaboration. We envisage this approach creating a kinder present and a regenerative future. We will also explore the cultural and structural barriers to crafting this transformation.

This event brings together Pamela Quiery, Northern Ireland’s only certified Hand in Hand Parenting Instructor and Kathryn Mc Cabe, Social Ecologist and founder of The Change Agency to discuss how our parenting styles impact the wider world and how five simple tools can align your parenting to your worldview.