Skipping Girl is for folk who are... passionate about the people they love, curious about the world and inspired to build their village.
The Sunday five....
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Reader! Hello. So last week, I wrote about how I hadn't nailed it with the intentional conversations with my kids. I hit send on that email, closed my laptop and said goodnight to one of my kids.... who promptly burst into tears, threw their arms around me, and sobbed. It is *so hard* to be a teenager. Life is incredibly confusing and overwhelming, and our kids desperately need us. In recent times, a few people have said to me that their sons aren't interested in talking to them. I am not sure that is true. What I am sure of is that it is not up to them to instigate it. It's 100% our job to learn to talk to our kids, really talk to them and teach them how to talk to us. That's why I included the first segment in this weekly 5. The more we can help each other out with this, the better. Community, right? In my experience, one of the best ways to build trust with our kids (so that they will talk to us about the big stuff) is to be interested in what they are interested in. This can be hard because often, what they are interested in is unbelievably boring. I know I can easily find myself tuning out, letting their enthusiastic ramblings become background noise while I think about all the *very important things* in my life. But when I do this, I am not only communicating that I don't care about whatever it is, but I am missing an opportunity to build a connection with them. The marriage expert John Gottman talks about couples who "turn towards each other" and how that impacts the longevity and happiness of a marriage. I think the same idea can apply to our children (and our other key relationships). Listening to your child talk to you in-depth about their latest Minecraft world might make you want to poke your eye out with a stick, but if you can "turn to them" in that conversation, you might find them talking to you about sex, consent, identity, gender and whatever other big topics they encounter in the years to come. It's worth a shot, at least! I wanted something light and fun this week, and boy, did I find it! The best description I read of it says, "It's such an utterly inconsequential story with zero stakes on anything remotely important, but everyone in the show treats it like a crisis, and it's hilarious. I think that's why I love this story and the way it's told." Dear Sir, I agree. It's a total romp! I listened to it with my 13-year-old, and we were both hooked! Eat Coconut-Braised Chicken with Chickpeas and Lime by Alison Roman Hot tip: Double the recipe, but instead of using twice as many chickpeas, add some sweet potato, and just before serving, throw in a handful of your favourite greens—we find Kale works a treat. I also threw in some cauliflower this week, which was super yummy, and I regularly make this with chicken thighs instead of the whole chicken. You do you - enjoy! Sing along to There are some new additions to the Skipping Girl Playlist (woot!) and I'm here for it. If you listen to the podcast episode above, you won't be surprised by one of the new additions... Here in Sydney, Australia, the weather hit a glorious 27 degrees on Saturday (that's 80.6 degrees for my northern hemisphere friends). And I feel like a total clever cookie because I went and bought some cheap piccolo proseccos and then came home and made spritzes to drink with my husband! I rarely make them unless it's for a group because it means opening a whole bottle of bubbles. This little hack had me feeling very pleased with myself...and happily spritzed! (I saw some zero alcohol piccolo bubbles in the supermarket this arvo, so my next experiment might be with an alcohol free version. We'll see....) OK, that's it for this week! If you want to share this issue of The Sunday Five via text, social media, or email (then please do!) Just copy and paste this link: https://skipping-girl.ck.page/posts/the-sunday-five-aug25 Have a great week Reader! Louisa |
We aren't meant to do life alone - build your village with me.
Skipping Girl is for folk who are... passionate about the people they love, curious about the world and inspired to build their village.
Reader! Hello. Happy Monday (or, you know, let’s pretend this landed in your inbox on Sunday night - collective agreement, yeah?!). We are heading off on our trip in two days—yikes (&yipee!)! We are doing one-bag travel, and even though I’d prepped all the clothes we’d need, packing still somehow turned into a full-scale wardrobe overhaul for my teenage boys! So that's what I was doing yesterday, instead of writing to you Reader. Let sigh. Again. So, this week, talk to your kids about...So...
Reader! Hello. When I came up with the five things for this newsletter, life looked a bit different for me. Since then, it's become a little...intense, and it's made me acutely aware that having solid conversations with your kids requires three things: time, emotional energy and intention. This week, I've had the intention and the time but not the emotional bandwidth to act. I've felt grateful for the in-built accountability of writing this email that keeps me focused on my priorities and...
Reader! Hello. In just over three weeks, my family will embark on a six-week trip, mostly around Italy and Turkey. It's exciting, but we are woefully behind with planning - there are so many things yet to be organised (why is life so crazy?!?). If you've been lately and have any hot tips or things you think are a "must-do-see-eat", then I would love to hear them. Meanwhile, onwards...! This week, talk to your kids about body language & attention. We have been having a lot of conversations...