Tuning In To Kids™ - Marathon Format @ Darlinghurst

A flexible parenting workshop for busy families.
About this Event

Tuning in to Kids™ - Marathon Format is a flexible, evidence-based parenting workshop for busy families who want the benefits of this trusted program without needing to commit to six consecutive weekly sessions. Through one full-day workshop and personalised follow-up coaching, parents gain practical tools to better understand their child’s emotions, respond with confidence, and build a more connected home.

Tuning in to Kids™ is a licensed, evidence-based parenting program that helps parents support children to understand, express, and regulate their emotions.

At The Poppet Centre, we know many parents want this kind of support, but simply cannot commit to a weekly program across multiple weeks. That is why we offer our Marathon Format a practical and flexible pathway that gives parents the core learning of the Tuning in to Kids™ approach, together with personalised follow-up coaching that helps bring the work into real family life.

This format is ideal for busy parents who want meaningful learning, practical tools, and support in applying the program to their own child and household.

What is Tuning in to Kids™?

Tuning in to Kids™ helps parents understand how emotional intelligence develops and how parenting responses can shape a child’s emotional world.

Children with stronger emotional intelligence are often better able to manage feelings, communicate with others, solve problems, build relationships, and cope with life’s ups and downs. This program teaches parents how to use emotional moments as opportunities for connection, learning, and growth.

Through this workshop, parents learn how to:

• become more aware of their own emotions and reactions
• better recognise what their child may be feeling beneath the behaviour
• respond in ways that build closeness, calm, and emotional understanding
• help children label and manage feelings
• support problem-solving and resilience
• guide behaviour with empathy and appropriate boundaries

Why choose the Marathon Format?

The standard Tuning In programs are usually delivered over several sessions. For many modern families, work, care responsibilities, school schedules, and life pressure make that kind of rhythm difficult to sustain. The Marathon Format has been developed by The Poppet Centre to make this highly regarded parenting work more accessible and more realistic for the families we serve.

Rather than stretching the learning across multiple weeks, this format combines a strong foundation day with targeted follow-up coaching so parents can move from theory into practice with support.

How the Marathon Format works

Step One — Full-Day Workshop
A full day of teaching, discussion, reflection, and guided group coaching covering the core Tuning in to Kids™ framework.

Step Two — First Individual Coaching Session
A 90-minute one-to-one coaching session with one of the facilitators, scheduled within 7 days of the workshop. This session helps you apply the model to your own child, your parenting style, and the real challenges you may be facing at home.

Step Three — Parent Support Circle
Parents are invited to join an open-ended parent support circle with past participants. This offers a gentle space to reflect, share insights, build confidence, and stay connected to the learning beyond the workshop itself.

Step Four — Review Coaching Session
A second 90-minute individual coaching session, usually held within 3 weeks of the first coaching session, to review progress, work through challenges, and deepen your confidence in using emotion coaching at home.

What makes this format different?

This is not simply a seminar. It is a supported parenting pathway.

You will not just hear ideas and then be left to work them out alone. The workshop gives you the core model, while the coaching sessions help you apply it to the everyday emotional moments that actually matter — meltdowns, worries, frustration, defiance, sadness, overwhelm, and those parenting moments where you know connection matters but you are not quite sure what to do next.

For many families, this format feels more doable, more personal, and more immediately useful.

Who this workshop is for

This workshop is well suited to parents and carers who want to:

• strengthen connection with their child
• better understand behaviour through an emotional lens
• support a child who becomes easily overwhelmed, frustrated, anxious, or shut down
• respond more calmly and effectively to big feelings
• guide behaviour without relying only on correction or conflict
• build a more emotionally connected home environment

What to expect on the day

The workshop may include:

• guided teaching and discussion
• video examples and practical illustrations
• reflective exercises
• opportunities for conversation with other parents
• coaching-style activities that help you apply the model to your own family life

This is a supportive and thoughtful learning environment. Parents are invited, but never pressured, to share reflections and examples from their own experience.

Meet your Coach & Facilitators

Shane Warren
Shane Warren is a psychotherapist, coach, educator, and facilitator with more than 25 years of experience working across counselling, parenting, coaching, community services, and leadership development. His professional life began in the youth welfare sector and has expanded across mental health, education, private practice, and family support. Shane brings warmth, depth, practical insight, and a strong respect for the realities of modern family life. He is also a busy dad himself and understands the challenge of trying to parent well while juggling the demands of work, home, and everything in between.

Laurence Catzel
Based between Sydney and Paris, Laurence Catzel brings to The Poppet Centre a unique blend of experience in corporate management, teaching, and education leadership. Her work across business in Europe and education in Australia gives her valuable insight into the pressures modern families face, including the ways parenting can be shaped by culture, community, and daily life. Alongside facilitating parent programs, Laurence leads outside school hours care programs and brings the grounded perspective of being an active parent herself.

Agenda

🕑: 09:00 AM
Arrival, Welcome & Coffee

Info: Settle in, meet the facilitators, and arrive into the day with tea, coffee, and a gentle welcome.

🕑: 09:30 AM
Opening Session

Info: Introductions, workshop overview, and framing the day’s learning journey.

🕑: 10:00 AM
Core Learning Session One

Info: Exploring the foundations of the Tuning In approach through guided teaching, reflection, and discussion.

🕑: 11:00 AM
Morning Tea

Info: A short break to refresh, reflect, and connect informally with other participants.

🕑: 11:20 AM
Deep Dive Session

Info: A more focused learning block with practical exploration, facilitated discussion, and application to everyday family life.

🕑: 12:45 PM
Lunch Break

Info: Time to pause, recharge, and continue conversations in a relaxed setting.

🕑: 01:30 PM
Applied Parenting Session

Info: Turning ideas into practice through guided reflection, examples, and coaching-style exercises.

🕑: 02:45 PM
Afternoon Tea

Info: A short break to reset before the final session of the day.

🕑: 03:00 PM
Integration & Discussion

Info: Drawing the learning together, reflecting on key insights, and considering how to apply the work at home.

🕑: 04:00 PM
Day Wrap & Closing

Info: Final reflections, next steps, coaching follow-up information, and close of workshop.