As I’ve posted elsewhere, my hope is that one day parenting classes will become very commonplace‚Äîroutine maintenance, like having your oil changed and your teeth cleaned. Parents get many subtle and not so subtle messages that you only go to a parenting class if you HAVE to. We all will be much better when most parents aren’t waiting until their nostrils are just barely above the waterline before they seek some assistance.

As I see it, the parents who come to see me are the smartest ones who are now charting new territory that will one day become widely settled by most parents.

It almost goes without saying that GTD becoming more widely practiced will lead to fewer kids getting the short end of the displaced parent frustration and stress stick. As parents, we’ve got to have a way to prevent that predictable spillover.

Thanks for your insights, and for your welcome,

Michael

The point of the post linked above is that we, as a society, need to get to the point of seeing parenting classes and parent coaching as very commonplace events in people’s life. It would be nice for people to get the sort of skills you mentioned on the front end rather than waiting until their nostrils are barely above the waterline before being willing to give it a try. Many parents that could use the support are reluctant as they get subtle, and not so subtle messages from around them that you only get parenting help when you HAVE to.

In my mind, the parents I see are the smart ones who are charting new territory that will one day will be well settled with most parents rather than a small number.

It will be nice as GTD gets more widely known as it will give more families sturdy scaffolding for figuring out how to handle all they have coming at them in modern life. Many kids, as you know, get the short end of the displaced frustration and stress stick. Decreasing those stressors is pretty important.

Thank you for your insights, and for your welcome.

Michael

I remember one client who reluctantly agreed to do this but came back to tell me it was very helpful as it taught her skills she’d never acquired nor even pursued.

I guess it helped her both get along and manage her emotions, which in turn allowed her to get things done.

I was lucky enough to be able to send my kids to great daycare centers which taught me a lot of skills about dealing with kids so that I wasn’t simply repeating what my parents taught me, which is what a lot of people are stuck with.

Often in court I point out that few of us are better parents than the ones we were randomly assigned, hoping it will instill some sympathy for my client who is likely making the same mistakes she saw being made as a child.

But, if we can teach these skills instead of expecting our values to simply appear where they weren’t planted, we can improve all three baskets, and a lot of people’s lives.

Welcome.