Mellow Pod • A Podcast by Mellow Parenting

What benefit can reading Mandarin fairy stories to infants in English language only homes do? And what’s the irreconcilable paradox of disorganised attachment?

Listen to the latest episode of the Mellow Pod and listen to infant mental health specialist Robin Belbernie discuss one of the foundational frameworks of Mellow Parenting: attachment theory.

Robin was the Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist in Gloucestershire CAMHS. For many years, beginning with the Sure Start programme, he worked with the Children’s Centres in the county as clinical lead of ‘Secure Start’, providing a community infant mental health service. These are only a few of his accolades and his impact in the field. 

Robin talks to Rachel about attachment as a biological based process that’s not just inherent to humans. Emotion regulation and resilience in relation to PTSD and infant mental health. The importance of a child being able to name an emotion in order to understand it and how to respond to it. And the irreconcilable paradox of the approach-avoidance dilemma that scrambles the mind as well as behaviour patterns.

The second half of the pod dives into mother-ease and communicative musicality – where early exchanges have similar musical elements across the world and have a wider influence than one might first suspect, or disregard as nonsense. Finally, they talk about the scientific research that reveals the huge impact that screen time can have on children's development.