Table of Contents

Acknowledgments. 3
Introduction Sarah Naish. 3
1 WHY DO OUR CHILDREN DO THE THINGS THEY DO?!4
1 The Unskilled Pilot - (A lack of trust)5
2 The Spider Parent- (Fear of adults)7
3 My Friend the Spider- (Staying safe)10
4 The Automatic Car- (Illogical behaviours)12
5 The Plane Crash (part 1) - (Impulsiveness)15
6 The Deal Breaker -(Breaking promises)18
7 The Land of Now- (Unable to link cause and effect)20
8 The Crumbling Wall - (Hidden disabilities)23
2 RAISING PENGUINS. 26
9 Penguins Don't Fly- (Our children are different)27
10 The Messy Nest (Destruction)30
11 The Girl Who Wouldn't Try - (Self sabotage)32
12 Squeezing the Glass- (Over controlling)35
13 The King of the Castle (Traditional consequences don't work)37
14 Lie Tennis- (Lying)40
15 The Apprentice Who Wasn't Sorry- (Fake apologies)43
16 The Lift - (Unintended consequences)46
3 IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS - The Unhelpful Others. 50
17 The Goldfish -(Risk averse practice)51
18 The Measuring Stick - (Judgement from others)54
19 The Cart - (Our burden)57
20 The Ostrich Teacher- (Unhelpful schools)60
21 The Snowflake Parent- (Unhelpful others)62
4 PARENTING IN THE TRAUMA TORNADO.. 64
22 The Eye of the Storm- (Managing chaos)65
23 The Elephant- (Staying kind)67
24 The Steam Train- (Keeping on track)69
25 The Rude Wind- (Responding to rudeness)71
26 The Conductor - (Controlling behaviour)74
27 The Missiles- (Responding to arguing)77
28 The Cliff Top- (Keeping boundaries)79
29 The Inquiry Lie- (Honesty)82
5 SAFER PARENTING- Therapeutic Responding. 84
30 The Needle on the Record- (Changing our responses)85
31 The Plane Crash Part 2- (Unable to calm)87
32 ACE Detective- (Working out what is behind the behaviour)91
33 The Frightened Dog- (Connecting in a crisis)94
34 Sharing the PIE- (Sibling rivalry)96
35 The Shame Pit- (Overwhelming shame)100
36 The Escalator - (Natural and logical consequences)103
6 WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!106
37 The Trap Door -(Triggers)107
38 Trauma Pancakes- (Multiple issues surfacing)111
39 The Jigsaw Child- (Why sabotage happens)114
40 The Smoke Detector- (Unexpected behaviours)117
41 The Monster in the Cupboard - (Difficult quiet times)119
7 THE OVERWHELMING NEED.. 122
42 The Two-year-old Psychopath- (Lack of empathy)123
43 The Pet Spider- (Being controlled)126
44 Memory Beach- (Memory issues)129
45 The Hand-Grenade- (The 'trouble-maker')132
46 The Car Crash- (Feeling overwhelmed)134
8 FILLING THE CUP. 135
47 The Empty Cup- (Exhaustion)136
48 The Boring Place- (Getting a break)138
49 Eeyore Parenting- (Losing hope)140
50 The Rabbit- (Isolation)142
51 The Empathy Bowl- (Effective listening)144
9 HOPE. 146
52 The Twisty Turny Steps- (Fear for the future)147
53 The Diet Fail- (Having a bad day)149
54 Slides and Ladders- (Overcoming obstacles)151
55 The Trauma Lake- (Foundations for change)153
56 The Hidden Path- (Inspiration)154

Promotional Information

An easy-to-read visual guide to therapeutic parenting principles and strategies, using informative cartoons and graphics

About the Author

Sarah Naish is author of bestselling parenting guide The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting. She is an adoptive parent, founder of the National Association of Therapeutic Parents, director of Inspire Training Group and author of the hugely popular Therapeutic Parenting Books series. She lives in Gloucestershire.

Sarah Dillon is a Founding Committee Member and Therapeutic Lead of the National Association of Therapeutic Parents. She is also a therapist, specialising in attachment difficulties, complex and developmental trauma, and spent much of her childhood in the care system. She lives in Derby.

Reviews

Using light-hearted analogies and their wealth of first-hand knowledge, Sarah Naish and Sarah Dillon encourage us all to see the behaviour of children with developmental trauma in a whole new light. This accessible Quick Guide is a source of enlightenment, comfort and hope for all parents and professionals. It will help us to discover what the authors describe as 'the hidden path', so we can translate and see behaviour as a means of communication and in doing so support healing. For the sake of the increasing number of children with developmental trauma, everybody needs to tread this path.
*Daniel Thrower, CEO and Anne Oakley, Attachment Lead, The Wensum Educational Trust, Norwich*

What an amazing book! I read through each part and can easily put children's names to the behaviours that are explained. It's funny, serious, passionate reassuring and very helpful to any Therapeutic parent. The way it is written makes it ideal for a quick ten minute read/reminder for specific behaviours or a longer introduction for less experienced TPs. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and sure that it will help thousands of other parents.
*Jen Dalby, Therapeutic parent*