Do you say “Don’t be rude. Give them a kiss.” Or do you listen? This might seem like a small thing. But for neurodivergent children especially, personal space and physical boundaries matter a lot. Their nervous systems often experience the world more intensely. Touch. Noise. Expectations. Proximity. Everything can feel amplified. Yet as adults we sometimes override those signals without even thinking about it. We tell children to ignore their instincts. We tell them to comply. And then we wonder why so many adults struggle with boundaries later in life. I shared a video today talking about why personal space and consent matter so much for neurodivergent kids. Would love to hear your thoughts on this. And if you're a mum navigating neurodiversity, I’ve created a space called Mums Embracing Neurodiversity where we talk about these things openly.

Not a dramatic breakdown. Not shouting. Not chaos. Just… quiet. The kind of quiet where a nervous system has gone offline because it’s taken one too many hits. I was on a call the other day with a mum. And honestly… it broke my bloody heart. She wasn’t angry. She wasn’t dramatic. She wasn’t even crying. She was in shutdown. I could hear it in the pause. In the way her brain couldn’t quite grab a thought and hold it long enough to say it out loud. Everything had become too much. Not the big things. The tiny things. A message. A noise. A decision One more demand. Each one just tipping her nervous system a little further over the edge. And the worst part? She felt like she couldn’t talk about it. Because every time she tried before… it got brushed off. “Everyone finds parenting hard.” “Just take a break.” "You’re overthinking it.” But here’s the bit people don’t get. Parenting neurodivergent kids when your own brain is wired differently too? It’s a whole different bloody ball game. Your nervous system is already juggling a thousand tabs. Then add: • emotional intensity • sensory chaos • constant advocacy • school battles • appointments • meltdowns • shutdowns • mum guilt • the invisible mental load of holding everyone together And somewhere along the way… mum disappears. This mum felt completely alone. Like if she spoke honestly about how heavy things felt…her feelings would be minimised. Her voice dismissed. Her experience invalidated. So instead? She stayed quiet. And her nervous system just… shut down. The thing is… This isn’t rare. I see it all the time. Mums who are holding everything together on the outside, while their nervous system is screaming on the inside. Mums who feel like they’re failing when actually they’re just exhausted from carrying too much for too long. Mums who desperately need somewhere they can say the messy, awkward, heavy stuff… without being judged fixed dismissed or told to “just be more positive.” That’s exactly why Mums Embracing Neurodiversity exists.

One thing people often say about me as a parent is that I’m very open with my kids. Honestly… they’re right. People have been shocked before when they hear the conversations we have in our house. But the reason is simple. I would always rather my children ask me the question than go looking for the answer somewhere else. Especially online. When I was a Social Worker, I worked with many teens, naturally the topic of sex came up often. I remember one boy in particular, the topic of sex was rife for him and his friends. The boys were talking about things they’d heard, things they’d seen online, and a lot of it wasn’t exactly accurate. At one point a few of the of the mums said to me, “Can you talk to our sons? Because we don’t even know how to start that conversation.” So one afternoon we did. I bought a load of condoms, grabbed some bananas, and we sat there talking about bodies, relationships and what actually happens as you grow up. The boys made jokes, of course they did. They were teenagers. But we laughed, we talked, and by the end of it something shifted. The conversations became normal. This lad even told me later that when things came up at school he already understood what was happening, because we had already talked about it. This was the same for my own children. You see for me, this has never been about awkward conversations. It’s about safe conversations. Because if children don’t feel they can ask their parents, or other safe adults around them the questions, they will still go looking for answers. They just won’t always find them in the right places. And when you’re raising neurodiverse children, those conversations become even more important. Literal thinking, curiosity, and the internet can be a very complicated mix. That’s one of the reasons I created Mums Embracing Neurodiversity. Because parents need somewhere they can talk honestly about these things. Without judgement.Without shame.

I was not ready for this level of commitment. 🐧 Did you know? 🐧 Penguins often mate for life 🐧 They recognize their partner’s call 🐧 They take turns caring for eggs 🐧 They wait… a lot So if penguins can commit, communicate, and show up consistently… why does scheduling feel like an Olympic sport?

Hey everyone! I stumbled upon a little bit of Polish culture that I remember from a long, long time ago. If you’re interested, here’s a small cultural gem for you to enjoy! 🎥✨ Watch the video here 👈 https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AJ3eQ4UVC/?mibextid=wwXIfr Would you like to bring that into your culture? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 🌟