Economic Stimulus Parenting Workshop!
by Ellen C. Braun
Filed under Problem Solving
Economic Stimulus Parenting Workshop!
Due to popular demand, Adina Soclof, MS, CCC-SLP, Parent Educator,
and I will be subsidizing FIVE Parenting Workshops! That means
that you get a free six-session “How-To-Talk-So-Kids-Will-Listen”
Workshop!
(If you already registered, and paid, you will be refunded if you
win this contest!)
Simply scroll down and in the “Leave a Reply” section, describe
what you hope to gain from the upcoming Parenting Workshop.
Describe the impact it would have on your small souls and the
dynamics of your family if you were to gain that which you
anticipate.
You may use a pseudo-name, but you must use your valid email
address (which will NOT be posted online) in order to be notified
if you are a winner!
To our children’s success,
Ellen
EDIT: This contest will close at 4pm EST, at which time winners will be selected and emailed. Due to high interest, Adina and I will likely offer this opportunity again in early 2009.
Related posts:
I am the mother of two, elementary age, children. My oldest child has autism, my younger child does not. I would like to learn how to better communicate with both my autistic and “normal” children so that we can stay connected and they will know how much they are truly loved and valued.
I hope most of all that this workshop will help me to let go of parenting as I was parented – being bullied, shamed, and spanked. I think that taking this course will help me move past behaviors that hurt and into supporting the souls entrusted to my care. I am sure I will be exposed to new parenting ideas, reaffirm ideas I have held but not trusted myself enough to try, and reinforce concepts and methods that will really work for my kids and me. For my children, I hope to open channels of communication that are held up with mutual trust, respect, and belief in the intrinsic dignity of all people. I feel that these have been ebbing because I am so frustrated with my lack of communication with my (10yo) daughter. I hope for both my children that they and I will walk through the dark tunnels and bright fields of their childhood together, because we know how to listen and how to talk with each other effectively. Thanks for offering such a generous gift! -andy
I would be interested in the applications of this workshop to general communication skills to help me in dealing with all types of people, big and little!
I feel that a parenting workshop like this would be very beneficial to our family. My husband and I have 4 kids,
three of which we adopted out of foster care about a year and a half ago. We have a 10 year old that we adopted at birth,
and the newly adopted kids include an 8 year old daughter, and seven year old twin boys.
We are all still trying to adjust to all of the changes in our family, and working to undo all of the damage that our
kids suffered from being bounced around from place to place at such a young age, they were in eight different placements
before they came to us. I really enjoy the helpful parenting advice that I get from “Raising Small Souls”, and know that
any workshop that you recommend would be time well spent. Thanks for all of the great parenting help.
Hi, I am a mother of 2 small boys (6 and 1). This has been a very difficult year for my family. We have had to move across the country twice in 8 months. A few months after our first move my baby started having seizures (the reason for which we don’t know yet). This has been very stressful on our whole family. I am trying to homeschool my oldest son but am having a hard time providing a healthy/happy environment at home. I was raised in a very harsh negative household and never wanted that for my kids. Because of the stress of the last year I have found that I am parenting just like my parents did. It breaks my heart to see my sons face when I am yelling and not being nice but I can’t seem to be able to break the cycle. I feel like I spend most of my time yelling. Yelling isn’t working. I have such guilt because I am doing the very thing I swore I wouldn’t do. I would really like the ability to attend the seminar. I feel it could save my relationship with my son and provide a happier household for our family. Thank you for the chance to enter. Erin
My son was just born three weeks ago. I had read the “How To Talk” book this last summer, in an effort to improve my teaching skills (I’m an instructor at a career college). Well it worked! I got the best student review ever this last term, because my attitude was completely different.
I very much want access to the audio seminar for this book, mostly to share with my husband who is not a reader. We very much want to raise a compassionate and kind child, but never knew how – but I fully believe in the power of this book. Having access to the audio class would change the dynamic of how we relate to each other and to our tiny son, Noah. Please choose me!
I would love to be able to take the workshop because I feel that it would be helpful for my husband and I to have some more tools to use with our two little ones, who are 3-4 years old. My husband and I have a strong Christian faith that we use as the cornerstone for our family, we have taken parenting classes together, and continue to read books on being good parents, but think that having the book, and the workshop would give us the right ways to build our girls, encourage them, raise them to be respectful young women. Thus far we have been so happy with the “raising small souls” site, and newsletters. Thanks!
For some reason, I feel like I have a chronic “dis-connect” from my eldest daughter. I worry I’m failing her as a parent and really need help and advice. I know that we have a pattern of my asking her to do something, her not listening, then I get frustrated and bark orders at her until she does what she needs to do. The positive to negative ratio for our interactions are more on the negative end and I desperately want to change how I relate to her. I want to do better and feel like this class could help me, and help my daughter and I have a better relationship in the end. Thank you.
This workshop sounds like an answer to my prayers. I have two very busy boys. A rambuncious 3-year-old and a strong-willed 6-year-old who is in the process of being diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. In addition to this, we are licensed for foster and adoptive care and are hoping to add to our family soon.
In my “former-life”, I was a very patient elementary school teacher and I felt that communication was my strong-point. I felt that my classroom ran smoothly and contained a strong atmosphere of mutual respect. My how I miss those days!
My husband and I have taken many parenting classes, read dozens of books, and have attempted several different techniques in trying to create a peaceful and respectful home. Everyday however, we fall short and I feel like a broken-record set to “LOUD” and we all simply fall apart. My children are sassy and sneaky and leave us feeling frustrated. A friend recently told me that I had that “look” of a mother of small children. You know… a smile plastered on the face but eyes that are frazzled and pleading!
This class could change our lives. I would love the opportunity to begin some effective patterns now, while my children are small. With my son’s challenges, I need all the tools I can get to help him reach his potential and to provide a home that feels “safe and normal” for him. My kids are so amazing, and my hope is that my husband and I can learn some new patterns that can help us to bring out the best in our family, both now and in the future. (I also wouldn’t mind getting my “normal” face back… and a few less grays!)
I am the lucky mother of 3 beautiful children, all with glowing personalities(For one, its the light of the moon that makes them shine and for another the light of the sun and for yet another its the sparkle of their eyes that light up the room). I have been on many occasions giddy with happiness when I could hear my children talk amongst themselves and mirror the skills that I had learned in a “How to Talk” class. My (then)6 year old daughter would say to her (then) 5 and 3 year old brothers “Let’s think of a solution! I can see that each of you want that toy.” And being within earshot of them I could hear a reasonable plan worked out and the job of playing resumed. Soon after their father left, I could not access the skills within. But I would hear my daughter and feel relieved, that those valuable skills were at reach. Now that daughter is 8 and the voice that is reflected is still mine. But I’d rather cover my ears. I hear in her voice my frustration, impatience and anger and I want it to stop. She needs it to stop, we all need it to stop. But so much time has passed since I have learned these skills and I desperately need a refresher so that I can hear only the sweet sound of my children’s voices being HEARD.
Money is tight in our household and when I saw that this class was available without the added expense of a babysitter(and the tornado to clean up when I got home), I closed my eyes, prayed and clicked register. You cannot imagine my relief when I saw your “economic stimulus package”. LOL. Our family needs this focus in our lives so that each of us can have the skills to be whole in an environment that promotes holes.
Sometimes, I hear my mother. I hear her in me. I look at my daughter’s face and I see my own face. Crushed by the fact Mommy isn’t happy with me. It makes me sad. I know in my heart she doesn’t hold it against me, she loves me. I feel caught between the mother I could be and the daughter I was. My daughter is full of spunk and quite funny. She just wants to sing and dilly-dally her way through her day. We don’t operate on the same schedule. My reactions to her slowness are not always the greatest. Yes, I apologize and she looks at me and says bravely, “It’s okay Mom, we all make mistakes”. I know in my heart she has learned a great deal. She is forgiving and loving.
I wish I could avoid this whole scene though. I don’t want to see her look up at me just a little bit less, less of herself, just because mommy is angry and she is the receiver of the mixed messages. We all make mistakes, my 7 year old says to me. I hang on this to the next time, when I have to apologize again. Would your class help me learn a new language? That is what I hope for her and for our future relationship. I hope to hear her say the right things to her kids. I hope when she hears my voice in her talking to her children, I will be in a different language than the one I learned.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for giving the opportunity for others to be blessed by this program who couldn’t afford it otherwise. I would LOVE to learn how to speak to my family more effectively! We have such a short time to be together in our busy day, that I want the words we speak (and hear) to be meaningful. Life places so many demands on the family these days, it is hard to be the strong, close knit family of the past. You have to keep children busy to help keep them out of trouble, yet to do this you must sacrifice a great deal of the ‘one on one’ family time that we all so desperately need. My youngest is ADHD, and in 4th grade. My oldest is 15, and in High School. These are tough ages to be, for both. I’ve been told it is a waste time reaching my teenager, so just focus on the younger child. I don’t believe it is ever too late, and I think this program is just what some of us need who desperately want to improve our communication within our own families, and spread what we’ve learned to help others learn these valuable family skills as well. Thank you, again, for taking your valuable time and resources to help others enjoy the success that comes along with this program:o)
Dear Ellen…I am a very good example of a parent that did not communicate well with her daughter from age 15 to 18. I left her dad (emotionally abusive) 8 years ago…worked full-time and raised her on my own. I graduated her at age 15 as she begged me not to send her to school anymore. I gave in..and as a high school teacher felt it was best for her..and she could start college early. For two years she sat on WarCraft and had two failed, sad romances. She is not on drugs and is not pregnant. I put her on the pill at 15 due to period pain. Her father was enraged about her schooling, but I felt it was right for her. She emotionally abused me for the last 4 years…and finally I got her out of the house and into an apt. with a new female friend. She refused to get serious and go to college, finally ran out of the money I gave her(and I bought her a used car)…and headed to the Northwest, where her dad gave her a new car, she lives with him in a large house in the woods..and attends college. I gave her my life and love completely for 18 years…(and probably spoiled her as well), but now she will not speak to me…citing an insult I said to her. I am busy, but devastated…as I have not family to speak of…only her. I sincerely wish to know what I could have said or done to prevent this alienation…I am suffering more then I could ever have deserved to suffer. Her abusive but tough father has triumphed in this…and I am responsible, but flexible, understanding and creative in my approach with students and my child….I could learn much from your lectures…Thank you for you time.
I am looking to gain the ability to speak in the proper way to be heard by my family. I work very hard on controlling anger and yelling ( don’t usually win) and would like to learn the techniques that will help me use words effectively.
The results would change the dynamics of our household dramatically. I will be able to phrase my requests for help and chores in a way that will be heard – calmly and rationally. Talking and dealing with the impertinence of my teenagers will be productive and conducive to conversations as opposed to hurt feelings. My little children will have a head start on the proper way to communicate without having to change bad habits – like I have to! Giving punishments will be seen as the natural consequence for the wrong action, and not just being mean.
My children will hopefully learn from my example and speak to each other in the same way, to resolve their fights and interpersonal issues. I envision a calm (but still probably not too quiet!) atmosphere in the home, where everyone is sensitive to the others’ needs, and even in the heat of an argument, able to voice their concerns/needs/requests properly and to be responded to properly.
i hope to be able to help my kids and grandkids to have a more meaningful and happy life by understanding these concepts.
I have 4 kids, work full time completely opposite shifts than my husband…and we’re sinking. I find myself having
little patience, and dismissing them often so that I can concentrate on whatever menial task I’m doing at the time.
I find myself yelling alot because they seem to not listen to anything I say in a calm voice. My husband complains of
the same thing. I know deep down they are attention-starved, and only want to be near us. I find myself apologizing
for screaming and yelling. They are beautiful and bright, and don’t deserve this from their Mother or Father. I need
some tools for better communication. Help!
If I were to attend this seminar I am hoping to gain the knowledge needed to truly be able to be the parent “I would love to be”. I look back after every incident where my anger and frustration have gotten the best of me, but at that point it is too late. I am the mother of three (boys 9 and 7 and a girl 2), began homeschooling this year after frustration with the public school, and would love to be a more positive parent and happier person. At times I feel so overwhelmed with “life in general” that I have such a negative attitude, and I don’t want that to “rub off” on my children (especially my 9 year old who is a very nervous child with low self-esteem as it is). I feel I tend to be harder on him which does not help/probably causes his some of his issues. I am looking for solid advice that will give me other alternatives to the way I conduct myself around my children. I don’t want them to look back at their childhood and only remember a Mother who yelled and was unhappy.
I am a grand dad raising a 13 year old grandson. Is it wrong to teach and preach when correcting or should I be taking the reward and punishment approach? I am not a reward and punishment type of disciplinarian.
I am dealing with a 6 1/2 year old who has some general anxiety and other issues. Every day is a battle and struggle and I am working to find the techniques and skills I need deal with her while at the same time not ignoring the needs of my three year old. I would like peace in our home. Everything is a battle from the
minute we get up until the minute she finally falls asleep. I don’t want to have a home where yelling and screaming are a daily occurrence. I would
like the tools to be able to handle situations and to help her to learn to handle things as well. I know it must be possible, but I simply do not
know what or how to do it.
Thank you.
It would be helpful with our son and daughter(ages 8 and 5). Our son fits the profile of the “strong willed soul”. I also work in schools in the area of behavior consultation but the home issues are totally different. I think the knowledge gained would help in both settings. Thanks
I am hoping to have more harmonious mornings with my preteen daughter (which are like living with a pit viper). I would like to be able to have more calm mornings, so the rest of the day is nicer. Also, I want to be able to talk with my kids so that they feel like they can better talk to me if they need something.
I am interested in learning from this workshop. I am at the end of my rope and am out of good ideas on how to get over the hump with my 14 year old. I have three other kids too, but she is the most challenging and takes a lot of energy that could be spent in a more positive way with my other kids. We are struggling to move away from dysfuntionalism to functionalism. I try all kinds of ideas but sometimes there are hurdles that are stumpers. So far in the little bit of info I have gotten from the Total Transformation website has helped the most. If I could take the full course I think it would help me to communicate better, have a better understanding and be able to live in a more peaceful and open household. Thank you.
I really need the help with my 17 year old daughter who is OCD, ADHD, aggressive non-compliant, bi-polar and EB/BD. She is extremely disruptive in our household with ourselves and our 2 boys. She makes her “friends” problems into her own and doesn’t want to hear anything from anyone about it. Everyone else is always wrong and she and her “friends” are always right. Unfortunately most of the time she doesn’t see the difference from reality and fiction and I really need to be able to communicate with her because these kids might be “nice” to her in school and tell her to call but then when she does they are “not at home right now”. This has been a very difficult situation and I really need the direction and strenghth to learn to talk to her. I am available on the Tuesday mornings. Thank you for your consideration.
We have two very athletic children with high aspirations. I’m concerned about the pressure created by my own aspirations for them. I believe keeping the communication lines open is crucial so I can influence in a positive way but not overplay my role. I’m hoping to learn some valuable strategies from these sessions.
Thank you.
I have 3 kids of my own (elementary and high school), plus I serve over 60 students in elementary and middle school as a school speech pathologist. As I read the advertisement of the class content, several specific kids came to mind on each “learn how to” line. Some of my students really demonstrate poor self-esteem and negative feelings, many are uncooperative, and most need to learn how important it is to do their best. When I try to push them to succeed, however, many just ignore me or get angry. I would hope to learn skills in this seminar that would have far reaching effects, no only in raising my own children, but in serving the students in my community. Plus, if I improve my own communication skills, I can better teach my students how to better communicate (so that they also learn “how to talk so people will listen). Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
I have two kids, a girl age 6 and a boy age 8. I would love to learn some effective ways to get them to listen and co-operate
as well as to find ways to encourage more harmony in our household.
I have two children ages 11 and 8, one boy and one girl. The age difference is difficult in our family. My oldest has no patience for the younger one and so fighting is fairly common in our household. Their listening skills are limited as it is difficult to get through to them when they are angry with each other. I would love more tools on speaking to them so that I can get their attention without having to repeat a thousand times.
Tips on speaking and better communication as a whole are always welcome.
My 7-year-old son was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and we constantly struggle with homework and the daily routine. He is a sweet, affectionate kid, and I want to find ways to get him to cooperate better without so much conflict, especially so that his self-esteem will not suffer from feeling like a “bad” kid. My daughter is 9, and while we have a close relationship, she is becoming a little “fresh” lately. I want to solidify our relationship so that I can be there for her through the teen years. I have read most of the book and found it very helpful, yet have struggled to put it into practice on my own over the years. I think the discipline and experience of this seminar would really make a difference for me, and I think my husband would participate, too, so that we could work together to create a more harmonious household. Thanks for this opportunity!
I feel that the workshop you are offering could help transform our family — I have two sons, turning 9 and 11 in the next month. The older has been diagnosed with severe ADHD and has tested ‘superior gifted’ — the younger, also very bright, has anger issues and was expelled from second grade last year. I have been divorced for 2+ years and we have split custody — with the boys changing houses every other week.
We have attended therapy sessions with ~ a half dozen doctors/counselors over the years, with mixed results. My older son has been on ADHD meds for 4+ years and we recently tried meds with my younger son, but concluded it was not the best solution for him.
As a single mom that works full time (i am their sole source of financial support) — I really want to make sure that my sons are learning the skills they need to cope with the challenges that we are faced with. I would like to provide them, and me, with the necessary tools to allow us to resolve conflicts in a positive manner, help with anger management and boost their self esteem. It has been very difficult to communicate with them in a way that motivates them. When I am trying to instill the core values related to doing their best, telling the truth, not taking things personally and not making assumptions I don’t seem to get their willing cooperation.
I want to learn how to talk to them in a way that they will listen — and how to really listen to them and understand how to help and motivate them.
Based on the description of your workshop and the wonderful comments that past participants have made, I would love to be afforded the opportunity to participate in this series and turn it into executable actions that will help my family develop and grow.
Thank you so much for your consideration.
with kind regards,
Joanne
I am a homeschooling mom of three. I have one reluctant writer and one reluctant reader. A lot of our difficulty lies in selfconfidence and negative self esteem stemming from our fight to get the basics down. The topics of this workshop seem to offer me some help in these areas and I would like the chance to participate though finances keep me from doing so at this time. Receiving one of the five subsidized positions would be a blessing. Thank you for your consideration of me for this wonderful opportunity.
I have two small souls… My 5 yr old was diagnosed with severe combined type of ADHD at age 3 1/2. He’s also been diagnosed with Sensory Deprivation Disorder and visual issues. We’ve been on so many different meds. Some work, but only for a while, then we are back to the crying, the anger, the frustration, the poor self-esteem and problems in school. I love my son soooo much; his birth was truly a miracle and should medically not have happened. He’s very outgoing, and has such a sweet nature and loving heart, which just makes this all the more difficult to accept. My husband and I just don’t know what to do anymore or what discipline/reward system works anymore. We talk to him and we don’t even know if he’s listening, (really).
Our two year old has picked up on all this frustration and hostility in our family life and is acting out now. I am a stay at home mom and am with him 15 hours a day and when his brother gets home the arguing and fighting begins. I get so tired and so beaten down by them. Which is NOT my personality, I always prided myself in being a strong woman with a college degree in Education. But now I feel like I am a slave to my sons’ behaviors. By the end of the day, I’m usually in tears and so are they.
I want so badly to have a loving relationship with my children, for them to remember me as a mom that really cared about their feelings and taught them problem solve when issues arise. Instead I’m afraid they are going to only see me as the disciplinarian, the drill sergeant, the referee, that gets so tired of the issues, I just give in because I can’t fight it anymore…
Our Family needs your help… and the opportunity to gain some knowledge from you!
I am an slp and have been using the “language” of “How to talk…” for the past six years. It has made such a huge
difference in my relationships with my clients, my families and my husband!! I am anxious to perfect my skills and
teach others…or I would love to donate this course to one of my families.
I would love to get this information because I have gotten so much out of the website. I have 5 kids and am currently struggling with my 13yr old son who is dyslexic and has anger outbursts with his siblings and myself. He uses a lot of targeting behavior so that some people can’t believe I’m talking about the same kid. I know that I could learn some good techniques that would bring us closer together as a family. Thanks for all you do and God bless your work.
I would be interested in attending your workshop. Can I please be entered in the contest?
Thank you.
I didn’t read the email carefully. I have an 8 year old son and a 19 year old daughter. What
I hope to gain from the workshop is a non-combative home environment where my children feel heard
and I am able to get them to take responsibility for their actions. I want to stop yelling and
sounding angry while still motivating them to finish their chores and homework.