This month we celebrate Mother’s Day (Whakamihia te rā o te Māmā), thanking those women (wahine) who have held mothering roles in our lives.  The positive influencer, caring organiser,  empathetic listener are just some of the attributes we identify as inspiring mother figures.

As we will celebrate Mother’s Day this month; this may mean different things for our families as we juggle the emotional conflict that can sit with our tamariki.  It can be a bittersweet time, a source of anxiety for the tamariki or young people in our care. Do they feel conflicted in what they should do? Who do they make gifts or cards for? If they make a gift for their Caregiver Mum, does it mean they do not love their biological mother? Do they want their biological mother or Caregiver Mum to miss out, feel left out… Oh, the endless possibilities where an innocent celebration of our mums could be read in the wrong way and have negative outcomes.  What we can do to lessen that anxiety for them is to use the A & E (Acceptance and Empathy) of our Therapeutic Parenting Model of PACE to make this more tolerable for them.