Your Parenting Matters

I decided that the new year would be a great time to launch my parenting blog…Your Parenting Matters. As I go about my day in the town where I live, I see firsthand the affect stressed parents have on their children and the affect that uncooperative, demanding children have on their parents. A lifestyle where both parents are working, their children in daycare or over scheduled with activities to keep them busy while their parents are away, has prompted me to start talking about how you can bring sanity and common sense back into the 24/7 job of raising children.

While I do have the degrees and the experience that support my point of view on parenting, it is my own parenting journey which has taught me the most and the best. I also want to use this space to speak about the current trend of parents feeling like only the “experts” have the knowledge about how to parent effectively.

I want to provide you with a place where you can you can find help in raising self-reliant, responsible children. Learning and using effective parenting skills can be one of the most creative and challenging opportunities you’ll ever have to make a difference in the world.

The core of the parenting classes I facilitate is learning a practical parenting approach which focuses on influence and cooperation instead of domination and control. In this democratic parenting style parents and children are equals, not in the sense of “sameness” but equal in terms of “value and worth as human beings”.

My hope is that this forum will teach, invite participation and present the possibility that parents can enjoy parenting without guilt and without being an expert. And, that it is possible to influence and direct children so that they grow up to be responsible, happy adults without punishment, spanking or grounding.

My children are grown now with families of their own and applying the same parenting approach that you will learn in these classes. I have a commitment to support other parents in having positive, healthy relationships with their children.

I welcome your ideas and questions you have about parenting your children.