Parenting in Connection

Parenting in Connection

A relational workshop for parents

With Katie Parker - Social Worker, Parenting Educator & Synergetic Play Therapist

For parents of toddlers to teens who want to build more connected and respectful relationships with their children and reparent themselves in the process.

Parenting is hard.

Not because you’re doing it wrong - but because you’re often doing it alone without the support and resources you need.

In a world full of quick fixes, 5-step-formulas, sticker charts, and parenting scripts, it’s easy to feel like you’re failing when your child is having big feelings - or when you are. So much existing parenting advice actually ends up pushing parents toward perfectionism, control, and self-blame, but this workshop offers something different.

You’ll not only gain new insights and tools, but will also experience a place to slow down, reflect, and get curious about what’s really going on beneath the surface of your child’s behaviour, and your own. You'll also have the opportunity to reconnect with your values and explore the impact of your childhood experiences on your parenting - a piece that is so often missing in popular parenting advice.

Whether you’re parenting a toddler in the thick of big feelings, or a teen who is withdrawing more and more - you’ll leave this workshop feeling more grounded, supported, and more in tune with what really matters in your relationship with your child.

This workshop is for you if:

• You’re parenting a child aged anywhere from the toddler to teen years

• You’re curious about what it really means to "hold space" for emotions

• You want to move beyond scripts and rules into a parenting approach rooted in connection

• You’re longing to navigate power struggles, "defiance", and meltdowns with more connection and less control

• You’re committed to parenting without punishments, shame, or coercion, but want practical alternatives

• You want to understand the "why" behind your child’s behaviour, and how to meet it with presence and compassion, not panic and reactivity

• You're willing to do the work of reparenting, even though this might feel a bit confronting right now

• You're ready to explore your childhood imprints and understand your triggers

• You would like a deeper understanding of what it means to parent through a relational and nervous system lens

What you’ll walk away with:

• Insight into how curiosity can defuse conflict and build connection, even during times of dysregulation

• New ways to reframe behaviour as communication and a bid for connection

• Practical guidance for repairing after ruptures in your relationship with your child

• A deeper understanding of how your nervous system and childhood experiences influence your parenting

• An experience of reparenting

• Tools for nervous system regulation

• Permission to stop chasing perfection, and instead focus on nurturing authentic connection with your child

• An understanding of how the broader social context you're parenting within influences your capacity to be the parent you want to be for your child

• More compassion for yourself and your child

About Your Facilitator

Katie Parker is a social worker, parenting educator and synergetic play therapist. She supports parents who want to raise emotionally attuned kids without sacrificing their own wellbeing - offering compassionate, neuro-affirming and evidence-informed support that honours both the science and heart of parenting.

Katie’s approach is grounded in her experience working with hundreds of families navigating big feelings, parenting without punishments and rewards, and exploring the impact their own childhood experiences have on their parenting. Her work is playful, trauma-aware, and practical - offering both validation and real tools.

Event Details:
Date: Sunday 17th of August
Time: 2-5pm
Location: Warragul Natural Health: 83 Victoria Street, Warragul
Cost: $100 per person / $160 per couple
Includes: Three hour in-person workshop, plenty of opportunities for Q&A, plus handouts/resources for you to take home

What parents are saying:

“Hi Katie, thanks for yesterday. I really appreciated the film and the space you held for us all. Thanks for also sharing your own realness around parenting, great reminder for me to keep doing the work and know that perfection is not the goal, and that I can keep coming back to love, repair and connection even if I’ve mucked up. Thank you.”

This workshop is intentionally small and intimate to allow for reflection, sharing, and deeper connection. Secure your spot now!