There isn't a shortage of parenting books to read and after reading many, and raising our three children over the past 19 years, I have come to the conclusion that a balance between asking others for advice and learning to listen to your own wisdom, is the best solution to most problems.
No one knows your child as well as you do. Each child comes with different needs and abilities. Advice only takes one so far. Advice combined with a parents confidence in their knowledge of their own child and trust in their intuition, is a winning combination.
With a baseline of the following qualities,
much can be accomplished. These qualities include:
- respect for your children
- the desire and skills to really listen to your children
- the understanding that your words are very powerful
Why do I feel passionate about this work?
I believe that we all do the best we can with what we know at the time. It's one thing to make mistakes that affect only us, but another when our mistakes affect our children. If something doesn't seem to be going well, it's important to have a place to go where one can figure out a better way. There are so many easy solutions, one just needs to ask.
In 1987, as the Director of the Parent Support and Education Center, a program of Waterbury Youth Service Systems, I taught classes using the following books:
- S.T.E.P. Curriculums
(Systematic Training for Effective Parenting)
- P.E.T. (Parent Effectiveness Training)
- How toTalk so Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk
I see parents today that have grown children and they comment on the class they took and how it helped. For five years, I ran a support group for Parents Anonymous, a group for parents who were afraid that they might hurt their children. Their frustrations are common to most parents. The way they are handled vary from family to family.
The most intense training was raising our three children, ages 18, 15 and 10. Together, we figured out how to keep our "eye on the ball". Family meetings were essential and taught all of us so much.
I look forward to working with young families and continuing the work that was accomplished through the HypnoBirthing Classes. Part of being an effective parent is learning how to "act" as opposed to "react". Taking a deep breath is a good start.
Please call if you have any questions. I would love to talk with you.
Shelley Albini, M.A.
(203) 558-0370
naturalmama0807@hotmail.com
Member of the National Parenting Education Network.
