Get the low down on Treasure Time from a parent!
In this episode we hear from Ana, Treasure Time Parent, about what it’s like doing Treasure Time with her son Luke. This gives you a ‘behind the scenes’ look at what it’s like to connect with your child through Treasure Time play!
About our hosts:
Sophia
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiagiblin/
A creative entrepreneur who focuses on ways to tackle the root of children’s mental health through play and secure relationships. Due to her own challenging experiences in childhood, Sophia went on to establish a thriving Play & Creative Arts Therapy charity to support other children who have experienced trauma. Her focus is on helping therapists, businesses and charities have more of an impact for children and families that they work with through coaching, strategy, fundraising and mentoring.
Nicole
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcdonnellnicole/
Nicole is a mum to two young boys, who also has over 20 years of brand marketing experience. She is a previous Chair Trustee at Clear Sky Charity and has past experience on the Ella’s Kitchen board. Her roles have included Marketing Director, Head of Ella’s-ness, Global Brand Director with responsibility of creating and building one brand inside and out – including the wellbeing and culture of the team. Nicole was instrumental in growing Ella’s into a multi-million pound international business, driven by the mission of creating healthy children.
About Treasure Time
Our vision is to drive connected, happy parent-child relationships, for the benefit of the whole family. Our mission and passion is to educate parents in how to become happy, mindful and confident in connecting with their own children through play.
Resources
Treasure Time Parents Facebook Community
Value bombs and tweetables:
– It was a real blast! It was really fun and I really enjoyed just watching him slowly but surely decorate his box – Ana, Treasure Time parent
– Sometimes we forget really that we are our children’s favourite playmates. So making time for children is just such a lovely way to remind them that they’re so very special and much loved – Nicole
– Part of me was a little anxious wondering whether he would really like it and how it would go. But also part of me was relieved that he that he had he was going to be the leader and I just had to kind of follow along and be present and watch him and you know, ask – Ana, Treasure Time parent
– It was great to just let him lead and see him in that situation and realize how much I lead him obviously as mother, but the importance of letting him do that and just learning and watching him, and learning more about him through the play – Ana, Treasure Time parent
– I want to you share how important this is for parents like me, because I need tools that I need to be told what to do… You and Sophia will really, I believe change the lives that impact the lives of many families – Ana, Treasure Time parent
– Oh I wish we could start now and do it every day! – Luke, Ana’s son and Treasure Time participant
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Shownotes
Sophia
Hey, it’s Sophia here. Welcome to the treasure time podcast growing up happy. Nicole has been on a very special mission this week to speak to Anna, who’s one of our treasure time parents in Washington dc in America. Anna very kindly got in touch with us to let us know that she had come across treasure time on social media. And she’d gone into our website. She had downloaded our free games resource and watched our webinar and then signed up to the treasure time course. Nicole reached out to her to ask if we could share her treasure time story on the podcast and she said yes. So Nicole and Anna have been exchanging some voice notes. And we have a sneak preview here from behind the scenes of how Anna has found the experience of doing treasure time play with her son, Luke.
Ana
Dear Nicole, it’s me Ana.
I have just spent the last couple of hours listening to your podcast on treasure time. I then signed up for the games and then I watched the webinar and I have just now joined treasure time and we will start the module one tomorrow. It is so important and for our family personally so needed especially as we parent Luke, who’s six, I do recognize that I don’t play with him at all. And, and my time with him has been so rushed. And he is such a sweet caring and boy and I just can’t wait to connect with him in a better way but I need help. I never was played with with my parents. I don’t know how to play. But with Luke he’s still only six and I need to play with him and so I need this course. I want to you know, share with Sophia how important this is for parents like me, because I need tools that I need to be told what to do. And we so want to be closer to Him and to see him grow healthy and happy. But we need tools. So this is common, such a good time that we’re all home, where we have more time or we’re ready to take this on. And I just wanted to share that with you that I’ve signed up, and I’m starting tomorrow. You and Sophia will really, I believe change the lives that impact the lives of many families.
Nicole
Hey, Ana, it’s so nice to hear from you. And thanks for the lovely feedback. We would so love to hear how it’s all going with your treasure time sessions. Do you know when you’ll do your first session with Luke?
Ana
I invited Luke just now to treasure time and I brought that little invitation that I printed out and he got so excited and he said Oh I wish we could start now and do it every day! And I said that we’re starting tomorrow at 11 o’clock, and for six weeks and he said, How long is that, is that more than a month is that two months and I said about one and a half months. And so he’s super excited. We put the invitation by his door. We posted it with some blue tack, and we will start tomorrow. So really excited about that.
Nicole
I bet Luke was so excited to receive that invitation. I know my boys were the first time I invited them to treasure time. So how did your first session go?
Ana
So the first treasure time session was yesterday, Saturday, April 24 at 11am and I set up just as Sophia taught me to do based on the course in his bedroom. I decided to do it there so we could create really good memories in his bedroom. And, and he was super excited. He reminded me Saturday morning, you know what was happening? 11 o’clock, right? And I said, Oh yes Treasure Time I can’t wait! So I went up and I set up and I invited him in and I followed all the instructions and I just felt really prepared. I really carefully listened to the modules, took notes. I have a little binder with all the papers that I printed, watched all the videos the Sophia play with Callum and it was so super helpful. I felt very prepared. And the session went really well.
Nicole
The first week is focused in decorating the Treasure Time Box, which is a box of toys you use in your treasure time. How did Luke find the activity? Did he want to play with any of the toys and materials in the box? Was he keen?
Ana
Luke was really excited about it, he enjoyed it. He wanted to keep decorating his treasure time box. So I had to ask him to stop quite a few times after the 30 minutes very nicely but I had to, you know, he really wanted to keep going. He loved it so much and that’s all he wanted to do was decorate the box. It was a real blast. It was really fun and I really enjoy just watching him see him you know, slowly but surely decorate his box. He didn’t even have a chance to go through all the craft materials that I had purchased and had it in around the mat. But he used quite a few and he was amazed by all the craft materials that we had. I don’t normally do crafts with him so I actually had to call and get new things. And so for him, it was really exciting and new. And he really loved it. And so he really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it too. I was a little anxious at first just worried like, will he really enjoy this or I will you know, and I’m just not used to this kind of play you know, really letting him take control. So part of me was a little anxious wondering whether he would really like it and how it would go. But also part of me was relieved that he that he had he was going to be the leader and I just had to kind of follow along and be present and watch him and you know, ask questions and all that I really had to watch.
Nicole
But so lovely to hear that he enjoyed the play so much. It is hard to leave when you’re having fun. Did you find anything about the session difficult Ana?
Ana
I really had to watch myself to not dictate what to do and a couple of times to catch myself like, oh, like, why don’t we why not this, you know this or what about, you know, maybe turn the box over like this. And so I did catch myself but that didn’t happen very much. I just I definitely made a big effort and was able to let him take the lead. And he did take the lead and he corrected me and a few times he asked me what I thought and I was able to say, Well, I wonder what you think. And then he answered, and then I would, you know, he’d be like, yeah, that’s nice. And I would repeat after him and right back what he said that was nice and then narrate what he was doing. So I felt very prepared and learned a lot, definitely new way of playing. But it was great to just let him lead and see him in that situation and realize how much I you know, lead him obviously as mother, but the importance of letting him do that and just learning and watching him and learning more about him through the play.
Nicole
I recognize that about myself too in treasure time that I would often jump in and take charge. It’s been a real eye opener. Was there anything that surprised you about this session?
Ana
What’s one thing that surprised me, for example, like a little thing, but it just made me realize how much influence I can have in his thought processing and that really gave me a chance to get to know we know what his imagination is coming up with. He was playing with some glitter glue, and he was making like, it looked to me like a winding snake. And I felt like saying, Oh, it’s a snake, but I didn’t I just looked at him. And then I said, Oh, I wonder what you’re doing. Or I wonder what that is? And he said, Oh, it’s a boat and this is the flag. Like the tip top of the snake was the boats flag. And I was surprised like, oh, how could that be a boat, but it just proved to me how his imagination was somewhere else. And if I hadn’t stopped and asked, I would have just, you know, assumed something completely different and maybe influenced his creative creativity so loved that that was definitely a surprise. And I also I guess, was a little surprised or kind of reassured to see how the methodology works. In a sense that I would you know, when you asked for help or a question, and I pose it back to him he figured it out. It had happened with the Sellotape you know, him trying to open a having a hard time, but he kept you know, trying and he did an it and I was like, Oh, well done. You know, you managed to do the sellotape yourself and I could tell that he felt proud and confident. And anyway, it was a great experience. It really, really worked well. And the rules paper also really worked well because right in the beginning, he took the scissors to cut this little tube that I had from a kitchen towel, recycling material, and he put the put the open up the scissors in a really unsafe way. And he’s like, Oh, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. And I said, I picked up the paper and I said, Remember the rules? We don’t hurt you? And immediately he was like, Oh, yes. And he then used a scissor the right way. So that was really awesome. Like, I just felt so empowered by having that rule colouring page to show him. So that was really awesome.
Nicole
it’s so great to hear how well the boundaries colouring sheet has worked for you in this session. This part is something that’s so easily overlooked, but makes you feel great when you see it working, and helps you feel empowered, which is exactly what treasure time is designed to do to give you all the tools to feel really calm and in control.
How did how did you find it Ana to sit on your hands and keep your behaviour in check for the whole session.
Ana
That was the only challenge I had other than that it was just kind of exhausting a little bit just paying attention to my behaviour, not to interfere and let him go. But I think that as I’ve learned, I’m learning the methodology. I think it’s going to become easier for me to let him lead and me to just be present and practice active listening and observation. So next time, I hope I can talk a little bit less, even though I do think I did manage to let him lead pretty good. And I look forward to the next session and he wishes he could do it every day and for much longer, so we’ll have to patiently wait until Saturday, but it means so much to much to him.
Nicole
Oh, it’s so lovely to hear it meant so much to him. Sometimes we forget really that we are our children’s favourite playmates. So making time for children is just such a lovely way to remind them that they’re so very special and much loved. Like we all know that we love our children. And we, we think that their best things in the world says but it’s incredible how we sometimes forget that, forget to communicate that in a way that they really can connect with and understand. Have you seen any changes in Luke’s behaviour since doing the session?
Ana
And afterwards, he told me several times how much he loved me he just felt very, very loved, happy, really smiling, calm and I just felt like one wanting to because of the bond we felt and I and I’d be kind of using some of these techniques even before the actual first treasure time session. We have, we are a bit I feel like I’m looking at him or looking into his eyes more and practice active listening more and in turn, noticed him being willing to work with me more.
Nicole
Thank you so much, Ana, for your voice notes for our podcast and allowing us to share your story with our listeners. We really hope it helps many other parents see the value in spending time together playing to strengthen those special relationships with our children. It’s this new way of playing being it certainly was very new to me, using all those great techniques from play therapy just into everyday life For families. So I’m just really really pleased to hear your story and to hear the difference it’s already made so quickly between you and Luke. So I hope you’ll share more of your journey as you as you go through the treasure time course. Thank you so much, Ana.
Ana
Thank you so much, Sophia and Nicole for this opportunity. I’m super excited to see how things develop and can’t wait for session two and continue with these great podcasts and, and this amazing work which I hope and believe is going to impact a lot of families. Take care Bye!
Sophia
It’s so lovely to hear how treasure time is touching the lives of families all over the world. Honestly, it means so much. Thank you for listening to today’s podcast, and if like Ana, you’d like to find out more about treasure time, you can go and download our free games or watch our webinar about three ingredients to help children grow up healthy and happy. Just head over to our website treasure time co.uk. Our next episode is all about the final principle of treasure time, which is keeping our feelings in check, which is always easier said than done. But really this is key to us developing emotional literacy and awareness of our feelings so that we can help our children to grow up healthy and happy. So if you’ve been enjoying this podcast, we’d love it if you could head over to iTunes, give us a five star review and some lovely words to help us to keep reaching more and more parents. Thank you so much. See you next time.