Out of the Box

By Carmen Verschuur

published in Small Talk magazine, March/April 2016

I have a confession to make.
I am a 38-year-old mum of three young children and I’m a box addict.
I like to be organised. I seem in control, but apparently I’m not. My home is filled with organising boxes.
How did that all happen and – more important – can I regain control?

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Van Manager tot Coach

By Carmen Verschuur

Is het einde van het tijdperk van 'De manager' inzicht?

Er is een beweging gaande die stil staat bij de vraag: “Hoe organiseer je een organisatie?”. Regelvrije teams. Managers die zich herbezinnen op hun rol en spreken over ‘innerlijke rust’ en ’collega’s toelaten te bepalen wat ze zelf willen’. Tijd en aandacht voor vrienden en familie als energieboosters voor het harde werken. Tijd voor de mens in het systeem. Iedereen wil iets anders en door mensen verantwoordelijkheid te geven, nemen ze deze ook  ̶  met meer betrokkenheid en minder ziekteverzuim tot gevolg  ̶  .
Dit alles geeft stof tot nadenken. Daarover gaat dit blog

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Tips for parents: How to talk with children about what happened in Paris and Brussels?

By Carmen Verschuur

published on www.bctbelgrium.org

After the attacks in Paris and during the lockdown Brussels parents and school asked how to tell your children about what happened. These tips might help you:
- Create a moment to sit down and talk with your child according to its age;
- Let them tell you what they heard, saw and how they feel about it and listen carefully;
- Tell your children if you don’t know the answer (it’s not a shame!); children understand you can’t know everything.
- Tell and show them you love them

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With Love from Brussels

By Carmen Verschuur

Published on www.bctbelgium.be

A mother's perspective on the attacks in Paris and lock down in Brussels

Friday 13th… Just an ordinary evening. We watch a film…Kids are in bed… All is silent. The i-pad purrs like a cat…..purr….purr… It doesn’t stop. Breaking news in Paris. What’s going on there? We read the news and in the end go to bed, when Paris is not.
Next morning… The picture of a disaster wakes up: 130 Innocent people killed and a city in shock. My daughter watches the news that evening, like she does every day. “What’s going on in Paris, mummy?” I am silent… not knowing what to say. We watch together.
A week later. Early Saturday morning, my husbands’ i-phone purrs. “Brussels is in a complete lockdown,” he says…Stage 4…On Sunday evening we receive an email: No school tomorrow until further notice. On the news we see police actions and 21 people arrested just a few miles away; this all is followed by a night of social media silence and ‘Tweeting cats’. It’s hard to believe that we visited “Manneke Pis” and “La Grand Place” 10 days ago. Then, it was just Brussels, City of Chips and Chocolates. Now, capital of breaking news. Family and friends from around the world send us e-mails to check and to support. We moved to Brussels only recently.

On Monday (click on title to continue)

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