Parenting 0 to 5

Radio show highlights upcoming parenting classes

Jennifer — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 06:24:17 +0000

On Monday, Feb. 21, I was on the Seattle area’s KKNW 1150 Rebecca Michi radio show which is about all things parenting. We talked about the Bellevue College classes as well as the upcoming classes that I am teaching this spring. Here is the link to the radio program if you would like to listen in : http://bit.ly/hlsPmu

Developing Capable Young People

Jennifer — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:13:30 +0000

This workshop will focus on developing these qualities of responsibility: knowledge of personal strengths, ability to face obstacles, conflict resolution, self-control, self-discipline, positive discipline, positive communication, decision-making using wisdom and sound judgment, and working well with others.

Starting Spring 2011: Sunday afternoons

Location: Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland

Information coming soon to the Evergreen Hospital website: http://bit.ly/fvOJQF

Toddler Parenting: From Terrifying to Terrific

Jennifer — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:11:16 +0000

This 7-week parenting class series will include information on toddler development, eating and sleeping habits, potty training, temperament, temper tantrums, discipline fundamentals, positive family communication and learning what kids need to succeed.

Two 7-week sessions: Starting April 9 or June 6: 7 Saturdays from 9:30 to 11:30 am

Childcare will be provided.

Location: Center for Strong Families in Seattle’s Great Starts Classroom

For more information: http://bit.ly/i3vA6w

Become a Happier Parent

Jennifer — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:09:36 +0000

What causes the unhappiness parents sometimes experience? What can be done to make family life better? This upcoming parenting class will help you learn what steps to take to become a happier parent.

March 20: Sunday afternoon from 3 to 5 pm

Childcare will be provided.

Location: Center for Strong Families in Seattle’s Great Starts Classroom

Information coming soon to the Parent Trust website: http://www.parenttrust.org/

THIS IS FREE CLASS.

Temperament: Yours and your child’s and its impact on the family

Jennifer — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:06:19 +0000

Just what is temperament? This upcoming parenting class will focus on learning about such temperament traits as energy, sensitivity, and introvert/extrovert. Just how compatible is your family? Learning more about your differences will strengthen your family.

March 15: Tuesday evening from 6 to 7:30 pm

Childcare will be provided.

Location: KidsQuest Museum, Market Place @ Factoria in Bellevue

For more information: http://bit.ly/hvinEh

THIS IS A FREE CLASS.

Tot Spot Cafe in Woodinville venue for Discipline Class 10-22-10

Jennifer — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:05:43 +0000

“What You Need to Know about Discipline,
So Your Child Will be Better Behaved”

Friday, October 22^nd

6 to 8 p.m.

Tot Spot Café

17802 134th Avenue Northeast
Woodinville, WA 98072
(425) 488-2795

$25 per family includes:

2 hours of child care fun and play
Parenting class on discipline

You will learn about temperament, emotional management and how your parenting approach influences your child’s behavior.

Invite a friend and bring the children.

The Tot Spot Cafe is a fabulous place for families .

Why Is Getting Help Now So Important?

Jennifer — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:47:12 +0000

Sometimes, when the children are young it is difficult to believe and difficult to imagine that any hard times the family is going through now could possibly lead to even harder times when the children become adolescents.

Sometimes, parents think that things will get better when the children become more mature or when the parents are under less stress. Sometime this is true, and sometimes it is not.

In a recent Seattle Times story, a teenage boy going through hard times was cited in an article. This youth recounted his family life in this way, “My parents are excellent people, but they’re terrible parents. My childhood was tough and it really sucked.”

No one can predict the future, however parents must do all that they can to increase the odds in their children’s favor by becoming more understanding and accepting of the temperament differences in the family, by improving communication skills, by becoming better disciplinarians and by creating a less stressful family life.

The better your family functions when your child is young the better the child will fare when the child becomes a teenager. All the work parents do when the children are young will pay off 10-15 years later. Please see the work published by Search Institute regarding building the developmental assets of our youth.

Parents have to get good at managing their young children while the stakes are not so high. When children become teenagers parents still have to manage them lovingly and effectively, but when mistakes are made the stakes can be high. If parents have been practicing and perfecting effective parenting techniques all along the way, there will be less of a chance that life will get out of hand for the teenagers.

There are so many resources available now for parents. Professionals who work with families understand and are hard at work encouraging parents to take action for the family early on rather than later on.

Time is of the essence when raising children.

When parents create loving, supporting, encouraging and positively structured homes for their children, there is a greater chance that the parents and the children will have loving, supportive and mutually respectful relationships with each other when the children become adults.

What happens now does make a difference later.

Media – Elevating the Consciousness of Parenting Well – Part 2

Jennifer — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:11:00 +0000

Recently there was another example of the media’s focus on parenting.

On the Jan. 11, 2009 program of MSNBC’s Meet the Press, a great deal of time was spent on the importance of parenting well. Bill Cosby and Dr. Bill Poussaint were two of the guests on that day’s show. They have written a new book entitled, “Come On, People.” Another guest quoted in the following excerpts is Rep. Maxine Waters.

A transcript of the show and the video is available here. The parenting portion was during the second half of the program.

Here are a few short segments from the transcript:

MR. GREGORY: One of the things that really strikes me about this book, “Come On, People,” is that as a parent with three young kids, I think it just has a transcendent message.

MR. COSBY: Yes.

MR. GREGORY: Which is that parenting matters.

MR. COSBY: Yes.

MR. GREGORY: That you got to be involved in your kids’ lives, you got to let, let them know that, that you love them.

MR. COSBY: That’s true.

A little bit later in the program this was the exchange:

DR. POUSSAINT: . . . Parenting is very, very important and that needs to be emphasized. And the fact that the president is talking about that, I think we need to talk about it much more so that, you know, it’s not just single parents or two-family homes, it’s whether you’re a good parent or not…

MR. GREGORY: Right.

DR. POUSSAINT: . . . I would like to see, like, a national conference call, you know, on parenting…

And then this:

REP. WATERS: Let me tell you about this parenting issue. I have–or we just had a Black Caucus retreat, and parenting emerged as the number one concern in that retreat.

And now the final excerpt that I will share is this:

MR. GREGORY: It’s interesting, Bill Cosby, to tie a couple of these things together. There’s actually been some research done by the so-called “Huxtable effect”; referring, of course, to your program “The Cosby Show,” which we all watched in, in the ’80s. There was something you said about this that, that comes together, which is what this family demonstrated is that they were in control of their kids, they weren’t losing to their kids, which is something I said to my wife last night. I said–or actually, I said to my six-year-old. I said, “No, son, I’m the boss here.”

Meet the Press on that Sunday morning focused on issues in the black community. Yet, the issue the guests in the second half of the program kept coming back to was that of parenting well.

Parenting well is not a racial issue. It is a universal issue for all families. Raising healthy kids is dependent on parenting well.

I am thankful that there are more and more instances where the importance of parenting well is being highlighted in the media. All of this attention on parenting well will hopefully elevate the consciousness of all parents in our society to seek out the supports they need to keep on parenting well.

Media – Elevating the Consciousness of Parenting Well – Part 1

Jennifer — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:54:58 +0000

photo credit: Chase N.Ken Griffey, Jr. signed with the Seattle Mariners this week. After several weeks of his fans waiting, hoping, and praying, he made the decision to play for the Mariners again, his first major league baseball team. Today he held his first press conference after his signing.

Over and over again during the press conference Griffey talked about how he came to make his decision and his consideration of the impact his decision would have on his family.

Griffey talked about his own childhood and the fact that his own father was gone playing baseball, too. He said that he remembered what that was like. He shared that he remembered how hard it was for him when he was growing up because his father was away much of the time. He stated that if he returned to Seattle that he was essentially deciding to be away from home and his children for 7 months. He asked the press to think about how hard that would be to do.

Griffey gave us all a glimpse into how his family works – how his family makes decisions. He told the world that he asked his children for their opinion. He took into account his children’s school and sports schedules. He also shared with the world how his children influenced his decision making. His daughter’s opinion, at first tentative, evolved into support for her dad to return to Seattle. With her approval he knew that things would be okay if he signed with the team where he began his career.

Griffey’s parenting considerations played a major role in how he wanted to work and play.

Our society needs all parents to want to parent well and then to take the steps to do so. The relationships with all of our children are at stake.