The Balance Theory Psychologist Reveals the One Thing Self-Aware Parents Do Differently | Dr Saliha Afridi
Aug 31, 2025
Dr. Saliha Afridi, a clinical psychologist and parenting expert with over 20 years of experience, shares transformative insights on self-aware parenting. She emphasizes the importance of modeling self-awareness from infancy and highlights common pitfalls even mindful parents make. Afridi discusses the risks of early tech exposure, encouraging alternatives for emotional development. With practical tools, she guides parents on adopting a value-centered parenting style and warns against projecting their own dreams onto their children.
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Model Self-Awareness Daily
- Continue deepening your own self-awareness because children learn by watching you, not by what you say.
- Name feelings, take accountability, and model apologies so children adopt emotional literacy early.
Learning Parenting On The Job
- Dr Saliha recounts reading parenting books obsessively while pregnant and doing her dissertation on parenting.
- She discovered parenting is learned on the job despite extensive preparation.
Teach Emotional Vocabulary From Birth
- Start emotional literacy from birth by mirroring, naming feelings, and expanding emotion words around the baby.
- Use granular emotion language so children learn to identify and regulate feelings earlier.
