From neighbor Helaine Golann:
“Parenting is the most challenging job I’ve ever done – I wish I’d had a training course!” I cannot begin to count the number of times I had thoughts like this as a parent or heard and continue to hear similar ones from other parents.
What about you? Would you be interested in such a course/workshop if it was offered at the Auburndale Community Library?
As both parent and developmental psychologist I’ve checked out multiple books and programs of this sort, and the one that still stands out was developed in the 70’s by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. It’s a skill based workshop program that I believe has the potential to be a powerful resource in helping parents develop increasingly positive, respectful and compassionate relationships with their children and themselves. The skills include: helping children deal with their feelings through responsive listening, engaging cooperation, alternatives to punishment, encouraging autonomy, mutual problem solving, helpful ways of praising, and freeing children from roles, and more.
The meetings are structured with experiential and practice exercises and homework (mostly trying out skills and sharing experiences on how they worked for you and your child/children).
If you would be interested, please contact me at hsgolann@gmail.com and we can see if we can get a group to form.
