OMATAS Blog: Resources, Articles & Podcasts

When parents struggle to get their children off devices, the usual advice is to set strict screen-time limits or use rewards. But when screens become something a child earns, they can end up becoming even more important, with the device taking over a bigger part of their day.
Screens are also often used to calm children who are dysregulated or neurodivergent. While this may seem to work in the moment, Lauren explains why it can sometimes lead to a shutdown rather than helping a child properly regulate their emotions.

When a child repeatedly breaks a rule, it is easy to respond by tightening discipline and demanding compliance. But forcing children to fall in line rarely addresses the real issue. More often than not, it simply masks what is causing the behaviour in the first place.

In this episode, Lauren Edmunds takes a closer look at the role of rules at school and at home. She explains the difference between rigid rules that demand compliance and flexible expectations that help children develop the skills they need. Lauren explores why rule-breaking can be a sign that a child is overwhelmed, lacks the necessary skills, or is avoiding something they find difficult. She also explains why, in many cases, either the expectation needs to be adjusted, or the child needs more support to meet it.

It is easy to react to a child’s behaviour without stopping to consider what is driving it. But in therapy, we know that all behaviour is communication. Every action, word, or sudden change in mood is a child’s way of expressing how they feel and what they need.

In this episode, Lauren Edmunds explores what it takes to truly understand your child. Using ideas from character development and empathy, Lauren explains why parents and educators need to look beyond a child’s behaviour to understand what is really going on.

She also explores the risks of masking, particularly in neurodivergent children and young girls who hide their struggles to fit in, and explains why feeling accepted for who they are is the foundation for building confidence, self-worth, and trust in themselves.

Teaching a child a life skill is never as simple as explaining a rule once or writing it on a board. When children find themselves in high-pressure situations, whether standing up to a friend or navigating conflict, stress can quickly push them outside their comfort zone. If they have not had the opportunity to truly internalise the response, their nervous system often takes over.

In this episode, Lauren Edmunds explores how children develop and retain real-world skills. Through practical, everyday examples, she explains why role-playing different scenarios at home, when the stakes are low, gives children a safe space to practise, experiment, and build genuine confidence.

Whether a child is dealing with a mean peer on the playground or being pressured into a game they do not want to play, it all starts with having the confidence to say no. But standing up for yourself is a skill that has to be taught and practised, for children and adults alike.

In this episode, Lauren Edmunds explores what it really means to “bully-proof” a child. Sharing a practical three-step approach to setting boundaries without guilt or aggression, Lauren explains why children need to know that their boundaries deserve to be respected.

When they understand that, they are better equipped to make confident choices, resist peer pressure, and speak up for themselves.
It is a practical conversation about helping children build confidence, overcome the fear of rejection, and use their voice.

Getting a diagnosis such as ADHD, autism, or Oppositional Defiant Disorder can provide clarity, but it can also leave a child defined by a label. As Lauren Edmunds explains, when we focus only on managing a diagnosis, we risk treating the label instead of the child.

In this episode, Lauren explores what is really happening when a child displays aggressive, defiant, or demand-avoidant behaviour. Rather than viewing these responses as “bad behaviour” that needs to be stamped out, she explains them as instinctive coping mechanisms, a child’s nervous system responding to an environment that feels unsafe or overwhelming.

Getting the whole family to sit down for dinner without screens can feel like an uphill battle, but it may be one of the most valuable routines you can build.

In this episode, Lauren Edmunds explains how everyday activities in the kitchen can become a natural form of occupational therapy, helping children develop everything from vocabulary and bilateral coordination to visual planning skills.

She also shares a simple “high-low” conversation starter that creates a safe space for children to feel heard, and explores how involving them in household chores helps build the teamwork, responsibility and accountability they’ll need later in life.

Whenever a teacher leaves, a routine changes, or a child has to move to a new school, parents often say the same thing: “My child just doesn’t cope well with change.”

But as Lauren Edmunds explains, the reality is that none of us naturally copes well with change. Our brains are wired to prefer what’s familiar, simple and predictable.

In this episode, Lauren shares a powerful idea from her corporate career: “islands of certainty”. She explains that when everything feels uncertain, one of the best ways to support a child, especially one with learning delays, ADHD or autism, is to focus on what isn’t changing.

Finding out your child has cheated on a test hits hard. It is completely natural to feel disappointed, shocked, or even a bit defensive, and the automatic reaction is often to shout, punish, or try to fix it immediately. But as Lauren Edmunds explains, catching a child cheating is actually a critical moment to step back and ask a different question: what pressure or fear made them feel that cheating was their only option?

When a child is struggling at school, it is easy to assume they need immediate, high-level intervention, whether that’s speech therapy, remedial support, or seeing an educational psychologist.

But as Lauren Edmunds explains, those specialised therapies can’t do their job if a child’s basic foundation isn’t there.

In this episode, Lauren talks about the four non-negotiables we have to get right first: sleep, nutrition, unstructured movement, and genuine, screen-free family connection.

If we want a child to reach the top of a mountain, we cannot simply stand at the peak and expect them to find their own way up.

We have to go down to the bottom, meet them exactly where they are, and help them unpack the invisible weight they are carrying, whether that is anxiety, sensory overwhelm, or a lack of self-belief.

In this episode, Lauren Edmunds challenges the traditional ideas of what a classroom should look like.