Learn easy tips and discover new ideas to help your child:

• develop fully physically, socially, cognitively and spiritually
• learn the importance of nutrition & exercise in development
• enjoy healthful snacks and meals that are easy to prepare

Join us! 

Curves

Cedar Valley

12010 W Highway 290

Austin, TX 78737

$20

For reservations contact Dr. Paula Stiernberg

www.parenting-with-purpose.net

• The stages of physical development in our boys and tips for each one
• Nurturing and challenging our boys’ growing hearts, minds and bodies
• Practical tips for meeting our boys’ unique needs
  

November 13

9:45 am – 11:15, Saturday November 13
Curves Fitness Studio
12010 W Highway 290
Austin, TX 78737

$20
Class taught by Dr. Paula Stiernberg

www.parenting-with-purpose.net

For reservations, email Dr. Stiernberg at pstiernberg@austin.rr.com or call 698-5283

October 12th

Boys’ endless imagination, boundless energy and passionate spirits are some of the things that make them such amazing creatures. Parenting a boy can be full of challenges, however. In this 90-minute workshop we’ll learn:

• The stages of physical development in our boys and tips for each one
• Nurturing and challenging our boys’ growing hearts, minds and bodies
• Practical tips for meeting our boys’ unique needs
  

October 12th

11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

First United Methodist Church

Room 101 education building

FUMP parents are FREE

Class taught by Dr. Paula Stiernberg

www.parenting-with-purpose.net

For reservations, email Dr. Stiernberg at pstiernberg@austin.rr.com or call 698-5283

- Southwest Pediatrics

Dear Paula,

Thank you so much for leading my staff yesterday.  Several teachers have taken time to tell me how they were motivated and how they will use the new information with preschoolers in their class.  I call that a success!  I really enjoyed meeting you and listening to how you casually incorporate spiritual training into every part of their day.  It would be my goal that each teacher would grow in this area.  It is a skill that one must choose to develop.

I have looked through your brochure on Parenting with a Purpose and our other e-mails and have not found an address where I can mail your check.  I could send it to FUMC if you desire.  Let me know what would be best.  Also,  I need a certificate of training to include in their training log.  It should include the titles of the workshops and the date and hours and your name.  I would like it to be for 2.5 hours.  You can send that to me as an attachment or mail it to me at P.O. Box 150098, Austin, Texas  78715.  I can make copies and add their name.

Thank you again for leading us.

Lynda Sanders, Director

Westoak Woods Preschool

Dr. Stiernberg gave an excellent presentation to our staff on Children and Spirituality.  The presentation was stimulating and professional.  She shared relevant anecdotes and practical information that our teachers could use in the classroom right away.  She really got them thinking and we had a follow up discussion at our next staff meeting.  I would highly recommend Dr. Stiernberg’s trainings.

Sandy Pennington

Director of First United Methodist Preschool, Austin

Oddly enough, that same need for security and safety is still important for him as he begins his seventh year. In fact, all children thrive when they feel secure and safe. As our children grow however, security comes in the form of structure and routine and not the “swaddle” wrap of a cozy blanket.

Children’s brains are amazingly busy structures, constantly learning new information and responding to stimuli all around them. In order to foster optimum, positive growth in our children, we can help them expend this brain energy on learning and creating, rather than testing boundary limits and struggling with daily tasks. Children don’t have the privilege of arranging their days the way adults do; they have very little control over their environments.  Consequently, children try to find ways to control their surroundings, often resulting in undesirable outcomes, such as tantrums, defiance, and other inappropriate behaviors.  Routines and schedules help kids make sense of their day--morning, noon, and night–and know what to expect.  This reduces anxiety and apprehension, and allows for more time for kids to enjoy and learn from their surroundings instead of stressing out about them. Predictable routines and a structured day provide the security children crave.

Aside from the benefit of more focused energy expenditure, there are many other reasons to initiate a few well-structured routines:

1. Routines end power struggles because parents are no longer nagging children about a task.  This activity (brushing teeth, napping, and turning off the TV to come to dinner) is just what we do at this time of day.  The parent stops being the bad guy, and the nagging decreases.

2. Routines foster cooperation by reducing stress and anxiety for everyone.  Everyone knows what comes next, we get fair warning for transitions, and no one feels manipulated or cajoled.

3.  Routines can help teach children to be in charge of their own routines. Eventually, kids learn to brush their teeth, get dressed for school, etc., without constant reminders.  Kids love being in charge of themselves because it increases their sense of mastery and competence

4. Kids learn the concept of anticipating things they enjoy, which is an important part of making a happy accommodation with the demands of a schedule.  He may want to go to the park now, but he can learn that we always go to the park in the afternoon, and he can look forward to it then.

5. Regular routines help kids get on a schedule, so that they fall asleep more easily at night.

6. Schedules help parents maintain consistency in expectations. If everything is a battle, parents end up settling: more TV, skip brushing teeth for tonight, etc.  With a routine, parents are more likely to stick to healthy expectations for everyone in the family, because that’s just the way we do things in our household.  The result: a family with healthy habits, where everything runs more smoothly.

I encourage parents to consistent routines very early in children’s lives for meals, bedtime and later, homework. When children understand that the family always does the same thing before and after dinner, for example, everyone can focus on more important things (sharing news of the day with each other) instead of arguing about what happens next.

As children grow and develop, they can begin to have more input in the routines for homework or accomplishing chores. As the school year begins, talk with your older child about how he would like to arrange the afternoon tasks and then decide together if we’ll have snacks before hitting the books or if we will need a set amount of “down time” before tackling the chores. After the routine is set, however, agree that it will stay in place for at least 3 weeks. This eliminates frequent change in our schedules, but still allows for some flexibility, which helps your child feel a sense of some control over his day.

Your workshop yesterday was very enjoyable and extremely informative — thank you so much! I really appreciated your presentation style in keeping a serious and stressful topic light-hearted, and enabling the parents to see that there is a lot we can do to help our children learn self-calming techniques and aim for long-term relationship building. I came away from the class not only rejuvenated about being a blessed parent, but also just so much more in love with my child and his potential to grow into a whole person. I definitely shared the information I gathered with my husband, and overall, I think we felt reassured to know that we are headed in the right path.

I would be very interested to know if you might have any other workshops in the future.

Thank you again, and best wishes for a safe delivery of your second son in just a few months!

Hyon-hee

I attended your workshop on Taming Tempers back in April. I’m the psychologist who was there, if that helps you remember.

I wanted to thank you so much for all of the info you gave us that day. It has helped tremendously! Ella has been doing much better- I think what’s helped the most is that when she starts to get grumpy and looks like she’s about to throw a tantrum that we tell her “we love you, and when you’re ready to talk about it calmly, you come and get us, we’ll be in the kitchen (or whereever).”

Also, I just wanted to tell you that it was really inspiring seeing and listening to someone who so obviously loves what they do! It was very inspiring and energizing to me professionally.

Last, I’ve been using much of what you talked about it in my own work with families and chidren, so thanks for that too!

I hope this email find you well, and thanks again,

Blaine Carr

Thank you so very much for your time and advice with Jack.  We have only changed his type of quiet time so far, and we have had him repeat the next step once it is coming.  “Jack we are leaving in 5 minutes.”  When are we leaving?  “Mommy, we are leaving in 5 minutes, etc.” because we have had family in town since our meeting.  So, we haven’t even introduced the 3 strikes, etc. or relaxation techniques.

However, he is a completely changed little boy!  I can hardly believe that such little changes have made such a huge difference.  I pick him up and gush on him a bit at school, which I can tell he secretly likes .  We now read a story or two when we get home, and then we pick some stories to put on his bed and look at for a bit while I leave to do something else.  He LOVES this time.  Today, he even took a cd out of a book and put the cd in to just sit and listen to it as his quiet time.  He was just humming along and doing a little bed dancing to it.  Then, on some days we have watched 15 minutes of tv as well together, and we snuggle and laugh together.  Just with this change, he seems to have a lot more positive energy, and his tantrums have dramatically tapered off to almost nothing.  Last night I asked him to bring over his plate from the table to the sink.  He said, yes mommy, and brought over all of the plates from the table!  Needless to say, I went fruitcakes, and you should have seen his smile and satisfaction.  Then, we picked up toys tonight, and he even went into the other room to find toys to pick up and help with.  It has been so fun to see the wonderful change.  He now talks all about his day, and funny things that happened.  I think maybe it helps him to see me slow down as well, and let go a little bit..I can definitely say that has helped my demeanor as well!  And, we are pumping up how much Wyatt is learning from his big brother!

On the way home from school, I had some strawberries for him.  He sat eating them and said, “oh mommy, these strawberries are absolutely delicious!  Some of them are just very good, but the others are really delicious!  Thank you for bringing them so I could enjoy them.”

This week, the days have passed by, and we have honestly had great days overall!

Thank you so much for your help.  I’m sure we will be back in 6 months with something new, haha!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Michele and Truman.