Meet Olivia
The Positive Parent Coach®
Parenting isn’t meant to feel this hard.
Many of the parents who come to me are thoughtful, loving people who care deeply about their children, yet they find themselves feeling overwhelmed, reactive or unsure of what to do next.
You might be navigating frequent meltdowns, emotional outbursts, power struggles, or a child who seems to feel everything intensely. Maybe you’ve tried different parenting strategies or advice, but nothing seems to create lasting change.
Are you often left wondering:
“Why does this keep happening?”
“Am I doing something wrong?”
“Why does the advice that works for other families not work for us?”
And the simple answer is the approaches you’re using probably aren’t matched to your nervous system personalities.
I’m Olivia Edwards, a UK parenting coach supporting parents of children with big emotions, challenging behaviour and lots of resistance.
As The Positive Parent Coach® I help parents understand their child's unique nervous system personality and discover the strategies that actually work for their child.
Parenting Coach UK • Emotional Regulation Expert • Deep-Feeler & Neurodiversity Support Specialist
Appeared numerous times on BBC News, The Breakfast Show, National and Local BBC Radio Stations and Sky News
A different approach to parenting
There’s no shortage of parenting advice. But what works brilliantly for one child can completely miss the mark for another.
That’s why my approach starts with understanding your child, rather than simply applying another parenting strategy.
I work particularly with families whose children have big emotions, are strong-willed, sensitive or neurodivergent, or where the usual parenting approaches simply haven’t worked.
At the heart of my work is understanding your family’s unique nervous system personalities — how your child experiences the world, how you respond under pressure, and what happens between you when things become difficult.
From there, we can find an approach that combines high warmth with high boundaries: giving children the connection, compassion and emotional safety they need, alongside the clear limits and consistency that help them feel secure.
And it isn't just about finding the right strategy.
It’s about building your capacity to use it when things are difficult.
Because parenting advice is easy to follow when everyone is calm.
The real difference comes when your child is melting down, refusing, shouting or completely overwhelmed — and you’re able to understand what’s happening, stay grounded and respond in a way that moves your family towards the relationship you want.
This is about moving away from generic parenting advice and towards parenting that works for your child, your family and the parent you want to be.
Who is Olivia Edwards?
I’m Olivia Edwards, Director and CEO of The Positive Parent Coach Ltd, and a parenting coach specialising in children who feel deeply, experience big emotions and can find everyday life surprisingly difficult to navigate.
Over the last 20 years, I’ve supported hundreds of families and thousands of children and parents to understand challenging behaviour, navigate big emotions and, importantly, understand themselves so they can work with their strengths and develop the skills they need for the future.
My work has taken many forms over the years. I’ve contributed to parenting publications and resources, worked alongside social workers and the court system, spoken at conferences and had two scientific papers published. I bring together my background in psychology, education, trauma-informed coaching and family support with the practical understanding that comes from working alongside families every day.
But there is another part of my experience that is just as important to me.
I’m a mum of three.
My children are confident, strong-willed, creative and deeply emotional. I know what it is like to juggle multiple needs, to carefully balance the needs of children who are right on the edge of their capacity, to advocate fiercely for your child and to navigate situations where there can be misunderstandings about what a child actually needs.
I also understand the frustration of knowing that your child needs more support, while finding that the support available doesn't always recognise the individual child in front of you.
That is one of the reasons this work matters so deeply to me.
I want parents to be able to enjoy their children and enjoy parenthood without feeling that they have to sacrifice themselves in the process.
I want parents to feel connected to their children, but also confident in themselves.
To feel competent rather than constantly questioning whether they're getting it wrong.
To have clarity about what is happening and, more importantly, clarity about what to do next.
And I want children who feel deeply to grow up being understood rather than continually being asked to fit into approaches that weren't designed with their nervous system in mind.
My bigger vision
My hope is that every family has the opportunity to understand their own unique nervous system personality and the nervous system personalities within their family.
That parents can understand why they respond the way they do, why their child responds the way they do, and how to bridge the two.
That they can develop practical strategies that work with their family's individual strengths, needs and capacity, rather than continually trying to make generalised parenting advice fit.
And ultimately, that Deep Feelers and their families can thrive.
Not by changing who they are.
But by understanding who they are, developing the skills and capacity they need, and having the right support to navigate life together.
That is the work I care deeply about. And it is the work I feel incredibly privileged to do..
So, what is your child's nervous system personality?
By now, you might be wondering:
“What does my child's nervous system personality actually look like?”
One of the nervous system personalities I see frequently in my work is what I describe as a Deep Feeler.
Could this be your child?
Does your child...
Experience emotions incredibly intensely, with feelings that can seem to go from 0 to 100 very quickly?
Struggle with transitions, changes or being asked to stop something they are deeply engaged in?
Seem to resist everyday requests, even when you know they understand what you're asking?
Become overwhelmed by situations that other children seem to manage more easily?
Have big reactions to seemingly small things?
Need a huge amount of connection, reassurance or co-regulation when they are struggling?
Seem incredibly strong-willed, determined or persistent?
Feel things deeply and become particularly affected by disappointment, perceived unfairness, rejection or shame?
Leave you wondering why strategies that seem to work for other children simply don't work for yours?
If you're nodding along to several of these, your child may be a Deep Feeler.
I've created a dedicated guide to help you explore this further, including the characteristics I commonly see and the signs that can help you recognise whether this nervous system personality might fit your child.
