Parents of high school teens are navigating through a sea of change. They face some tough sailing through these rough waters!
Going through the college application process brings out strong emotions in both teens and parents. Teens are filled with excitement and anticipation while parents are often unprepared for the letting go process.
Help for parents in steering through these challenging years is now available! “Ready to Launch: Parenting Teens Through the College Transition” is an eight lesson, online course that prepares parents for the impending changes. Try out the first lesson for free!
One mom wrote that her 9-year-old daughter would start whining and fussing whenever they gave her a task or asked her to do her homework. Even though she was capable of doing these tasks, she would say things like
“I can’t do it.” “I don’t want to do that.” “Why do I have to do this?” “This is so hard.”
This complaining would go on for 10-15 minutes and was driving her mom nuts! In situations like these, it is helpful if parents can show empathy and then leave the child to handle it:
Say something like “I hear your frustration.” and then go to another room to do your own work (anywhere away from her so she doesn’t have you as an audience).
If you can’t leave the room for some reason, use the same repetitive response for each complaint – “Probably so”, “Hmmm ….”, “It is tough.”
The unspoken message is “I know this is hard for you. You’re smart and I’m confident you’ll find a way to handle it.” This is a good message for any child!
A grandmother wrote to “Ask Amy” expressing concern over her 3-year-old grandson’s lack of discipline.
“The parents have opted for a ‘no-spank’ approach to child discipline, which I support. However, what I see is essentially no discipline. They say things like, ‘That’s not nice’ and ‘You shouldn’t do that,’ but I don’t see any consequence for wrong behavior.” She goes onto say “My husband and I have a hard time sitting and saying nothing in what is basically a child-run home.”
Having a young child calling the shots at home is definitely a recipe for disaster! While Amy recommends a parenting book, many people need more than just a book to help them change their behavior.
Internationally recognized parenting educator Kathy Slattengren founded PricelessParenting.com for online classes in 2007. Kathy is dedicated to teaching parents critical skills needed for effectively responding to their children's behavior while building warm, loving relationships.
While raising her own two children, she learned many wonderful parenting techniques from classes, seminars and books. By studying parenting research, she discovered a universal body of knowledge about how effective parents do their job.
Starting in 2000, Kathy transformed parenting research into classes that are easy to understand and apply. Online classes began in 2007. Parents report how much happier and calmer their homes are after applying ideas from the Priceless Parenting classes.
Kathy and her husband live in Seattle with their two teenagers.
When parents bring their much anticipated, sweet baby home, they are often focused on all the joy this little one will bring to their lives. What becomes painstakingly clear is that they are also leaving behind their old, more carefree lives.
In his book, Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, William Bridges describes one mom’s mixed feelings to her wonderful new baby. "She and her husband had been married for two years before she became pregnant, and they had been very happy together. Both of them had wanted children, but each of them was startled to find a fussy new infant so intrusive and demanding. We aren’t alone together any more," she said sadly, after her anger had passed. "I really do love the baby, but the old freedom and easiness are gone. We can’t take off any longer whenever we please or even live by our own schedules. I feel like it isn’t even my own life I’m living."
She went on to say, "My old life has gone. How come nobody talks about that? They congratulate you on your new life, but I have to mourn the old life alone." Even happy transitions involve endings which bring feelings like sadness or anger. Anticipating these mixed feelings can help new parents process through this major life transition.
You might think … the internet has lots of parenting information. Why do I need a class?
The real question is … how can I bridge the gap between reading information and the daily practice of good parenting skills, so I can improve life with my kids?
Today I want to tell you how Priceless Parenting crosses the chasm of learning - how we bridge the gap between reading a good parenting concept and creating a good relationship with our kids. Here is the 1-2-3 punch I will share with you:
1. Priceless Parenting concepts - what is in the class! 2. How we use repetition to reinforce concepts and speed up learning 3. How we use a variety of training modes for interaction, learning and sharing
Please watch the video and tell me what you think.
In a few days I will send an email about how to get the training, and when the training will begin, along with my personal guarantee to you. If you are not signed up to receive informational emails from me, please opt-in to the "New Parenting Solutions" email list. If you opt-in, I will send you my Priceless Parenting Cheat Sheet, which provides important topics of the training, including training tips for parents.
I met with Shaniqua Manning from NorthWest Cable News to discuss the recent study from Norton Family Online showing that the fourth most popular search term for children, even those 7 and under, is sex or porn.
We all want the best for our kids, and it is frustrating when kids don't cooperate and we are not having fun together. We should be having fun together.
2010 is a new year and it is time to add some new approaches to PricelessParenting.com training. I am thrilled about the improvements and I can't wait to tell you about the revised training program. You will see parenting skills and kids' behavior improve daily. But I am getting ahead of myself.
First it is important to share my parenting philosophy, which is the foundation of Priceless Parenting training. When you get to know me a little bit, you can decide if we belong on the same parenting team. Our 2010 improvements will only be valuable to you if we share similar objectives for parenting our children.
Please watch this short video and tell me what you think in the comments below.
In a few days I will post more information about the training. If you'd like to receive these informational emails from me, please opt-in to the "New Parenting Solutions" email list. If you opt-in, I will send you my Priceless Parenting Cheat Sheet, which provides important topics of the training, including training tips for parents.
I will get back to you in a few days with a detailed description of the training program, including what's new for 2010.
