10:01am Sunday 9th September 2007
By Gemma Wheatley
A single mum's business venture has been so successful she is now offering it as an accredited training course.
Chireal Shallow set up her children's sleep clinic Naturally Nurturing at the age of 30 in 2004.
Despite having just given birth to twins, the 33-year-old left her job as a forensic psychologist at the Home Office to set up her own business.
The mother-of-four from Sanderstead Hill in Sanderstead said: "I have always wanted to run my own company but needed inspiration. When I got pregnant with the twins, trying to understand how to make them sleep better was the perfect way into private consultancy."
So in 1993, inspired by the challenges she was facing with her own children, Chireal applied her childhood development qualifications and masters degree in psychology toward the study and development of sleep techniques.
Naturally Nurturing has flourished and Chireal has brought together her skills and expertise and transformed them into an accredited training course - making her clinic a centre of excellence for parental empowerment and professional education.
The techniques she has established have been so successful that her expertise has been sought by well-known media personalities across the UK and Europe.
Chireal added: "Reading your child's behaviour can be easy, understanding that behaviour can be simple. Doing something about that behaviour - now that's parenting.
"Parents need to feel in control and confident about raising their families, our team of sleep experts offer parents tools as opposed to firm instructions.
"We understand that every family is unique, so we provide tools that can be moulded to suit any family's lifestyle or culture."
As well as running the business, Chireal also writes for Mother and Baby magazine and is a member of various sleep societies.
For more information on the clinic visit naturallynurturing.co.uk or call 0845 465 0494.
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