Jo Field

Jo Field currently lives in Perth, Western Australia although she travels extensively all over Australia. She is the mother of a teenage girl.

Contact Jo: jo@consciouslyparenting.com.au

Prior to children Jo enjoyed being a teacher. She was both State trained and a Waldorf/Steiner Kindergarten teacher.

She then became a mother and felt lost and confused in the sea of information for new parents. This led her on a path of exploration and discovery.

“The work of Carl Rogers was my inspiration and supported the way I knew I wanted to parent which was where love was not conditional. This was opposed to the popular practice where children received what they needed only when they ‘deserved’ it.

Getting positive regard ‘on condition’ is very powerful and children bend themselves into shapes determined not by their natural actualizing tendency but by a society that may not have their best interests at heart. A good little boy or girl may not be a happy/healthy boy or girl. Children begin to like themselves only if they meet up with the standards others have applied. If they are unable to meet these standards they are unable to maintain self esteem
- Carl Rogers

Since 1999 I have facilitated parenting workshops that promote this relational approach to the parent-child relationship i.e. where we are interested in the need behind the behaviour that the child is trying to meet, as opposed to behaviour management i.e. the use of rewards and punishment to stop a certain behaviour.

My passion is to empower and support parents to truly enjoy their children and the journey of parenting.

For me, the path of parenting using the consciousness Non Violent Communication offers, has led me back to my authentic self. It has helped me break generational patterns of unattended responses and in turn I am able to be more present to my daughter and what is truly “alive” in both of us.

And it is in my relationship as a parent that I have gained my most valuable learning and insights.

Qualifications:

• Facilitator in Compassionate Communication (Non Violent Communication) 2006
• Facilitator Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment 2002
• Effectiveness Training Instructor (ETIA Ltd) 1999