I'm Lisa

and here is my story…

Principal Lisa, aka The Potty Queen

A little about me…

I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent thirty-three years working with both babies, young children, and parents, helping hundreds of families with a whole spectrum of issues. In my long career, I’ve had the chance to take on a range of rewarding roles: hands-on nanny, special needs teacher, nursery school principal, and now as an educator and content creator. Some of you may already know me as ‘Principal Lisa’ from my time leading a nursery school in Dubai, or as the ‘Potty Queen’ from my series of workshops, videos, and coaching service.

In 2019, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune spine disease, and had to quickly adjust to life using a wheelchair. With such a drastic change, and a string of painful surgeries, I worried that my condition would cut my career in education short. However, during the Covid pandemic my world changed again for the better. I discovered whilst having to manage my nursery school from home, that my work was far from done. Embracing the power of teaching and coaching remotely, I realised I could reach so many more families, far more than I could have ever fitted in my office!

Now, I share my wealth of experience and knowledge as an educator, using my time to guide families through to the root causes of unsettled children, building solutions and approaches to support them every step of the way. I also host and lead an ever-expanding range of exciting community events, bringing joy and practical parenting support to families across the UAE.

What is my approach?

I genuinely love potty training, talking about it and finding little tricks to make it easier and more enjoyable for the whole family. I love helping a child walk a little taller as they take the step from baby to toddler.

Each child is unique and I dig around in my treasure chest of wisdom to find the tools you need for your little trainer. I place a firm emphasis on consistency, as a family trainer. I can help you potty train in the shortest amount of time, with the least amount of stress and the most fun!

The most asked questions and highest attended of my workshops over the years are usually for potty training, behaviour or sleepless nights. This is an area of a child’s development which can often add the most stress and strain to family life. I have devised a simple no-nonsense approach that is easy for parents to follow and I offer them bespoke packages of care and support. I genuinely love supporting families and finding little tricks/hacks to make a family’s life a little calmer and more manageable. I can offer your family a bespoke service based on your child’s unique needs: covering potty and sleep training and a variety of family life challenges. Each child is unique and I will dig around in my treasure chest of wisdom to find the tools you need for your little one.

Quite simply, my goal is to empower you to empower your child.

Mission Statement

My goals have always been empowerment, practicality and passion when working with families.

Empowerment means giving parents and carers the tools they need to pass on that power to their children. Each family is unique, and each child is unique, and so there must be a tailored approach for each one. I earnestly believe in learning over training, sharing and developing knowledge. Practicality means that I have created a treasure trove of practical and practicable wisdom that, over the years, has given parents space to tackle their own challenges in ways that work for them. The concepts I teach are easy to understand, easy to apply, and easy to integrate into your routine. Passion means that I am always improving; always learning from the families that I work with. My methodology is always improving, covering wider and wider areas including sleep, fussy eating, sleep, potty training, behaviour, and preparing for school or nursery. I draw from a wide range of established methods and pedagogy, including the work of Magda Berger and the RIE movement, Margaret Donaldson, and Maria Montessori.

My aim is always to create a better understanding of what life is like for your little ones, employing proven techniques, and establishing realistic expectations, leading to happier families.

With Love,

Lisa

Family & Brand Stories

Mrs Zara Harrington Principal at Safa British School

"Thank you so much for this morning Principal Lisa, We enjoyed having you present to our incoming FS1 families on How to Prepare for Big School It's great to have the same messages we give all the time reinforced by someone else."

Ms Fiona Mcdermot, Head of Year, Safa British School- "How to be ready for school" workshop

"A massive thank you for your support and the wonderful zoom session today. It's only now that I've made it back to my computer, having received some fabulous messages from the parents. I can tell that the parents got so much from it and it's still converting here on my laptop so we will share it with the families who could not come to the session today. IT was such an informative session and your relatability for parents was really magical."

Mum Danielle

It was really helpful. It was good to know that I wasn't alone in how I was finding things. When you live in Dubai you are often here without family and the workshop was really supportive. Spending an hour with like- minded Mums was just so valuable.

Mrs Siog Moore, Principal of Little Land Nursery

"We really enjoyed Lisa's workshop on Potty Training as a Montessori Nursery School, here in Dubai. A few of our families have also signed up for the full training program and they are really happy with the results"

Mum Harriet

"The workshop on fussy eating was so helpful, its given me confidence. I now understand what I need to change and what I was doing right. We have begun to apply the changes as a family and they are already working! It gave me the chance to hear from other mums and this eased some of my Mom guilt. It was great to hear ideas and tips of how to help children with fussy eating. I love your idea of being a food adventurer, just the idea itself gave me a much needed boost and I left feeling and positive."

Jenny, Mum of three.

"I loved the workshop called Up Close and Personal with Principal Lisa- it was like a consultation, as she had kept the group size nice and small and we all had a chance to speak and learn from each other. The price was really reasonable.