Parenting classes, who needs ’em?
I was a school counselor for fifteen years, and have many amazing stories of parenting victories with the families that I served. I recall one family in particular who had a very rough time during the school year (identifying information changed to honor anonymity): divorce, financial problems, academic issues with all children, remarriage of one parent, and the list goes on. The mom came to me and asked, “Kate, my kids will not do their homework and their grades are steadily dropping – what do I do?” Keep in mind that these kids had just been through divorce, remarriage, etc – making good grades was the last thing on their list – they were in survival mode. I told her that we were going to work on their character. She looked at me like I’d lost my mind – “What?!” “Yes”, I replied, “let’s work on who they are rather than what they produce on a report card right now – because who they are, their character – is what will carry them through life’s most trying times. All A’s will not boost their attitude when faced with tough situations.” So, she and I went to work on their character…and guess what? As their character improved – attitude, respectfulness, kindness, getting chores done – golly…their grades started to go up! Did it happen in a week? No. It took the majority of that school year. Was it worth it? Totally. I’d ask them to comment, but all three of them are busy living productive and happy adult lives
Contrary to popular opinion (also known as pride) I do, you do, we all could use these classes. Some parents take this personally, and ask, “Are you saying that I’m a bad parent?” Not at all – I’m saying that parenting is difficult, especially in these trying times, and that we all need more tools to add to our tool box. The purpose of this blog post is to alert and invite you to two upcoming opportunities to hone your parenting skills. The first opportunity is a full six week class here at my office on Monday evenings, beginning on September 21st through October 26th. These classes are Parenting the Love and Logic Way ®, and will fill your toolbox chock full of amazing skills that “help put the fun back into parenting.” The next offering will be a two hour workshop on Saturday, October 24th that will be a reboot for some, and a new adventure for others!
Getting to the heart of what matters,
Kate
www.loveandlogic.com