mouth peace
Filed Under Tips & Tricks | March 16, 2009
Do you ever feel like a broken record when you’re talking to your kids, repeating the same things over and over and over again? Or are your mornings full of fights and whining and yelling and nagging? Back when we were pregnant a wise colleague recommended How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, which we dutifully bought and there it sat, unread, on our nightstand for many a year. So when we saw that our local community centre was offering a workshop based on the book we decided it was worth a try, and boy was it ever!
Taught by local mama Sara Sjerven, a parent educator and workshop facilitator, being in a class meant we actually did the exercises in the book. And the opportunity to discuss our answers, frustrations and homework with a great group of like-minded parents was invaluable. The proof in the pudding was that we noticed a difference in our interactions with our kidlets right away. Sjerven, who freely admitted to her own parenting mishaps, guided us through the series with just the right mix of humour and personal anecdotes while creating a non-judgemental space to share.
Sjerven’s next set of classes start are coming up and she’ll be teaching at the Olympic Oval in Richmond, Douglas Park Community Centre, Kitsilano Community Centre and Mount Pleasant Community Centre. Registration has already begun at all the venues except Douglas Park and Mount Pleasant, which open their spring registration on March 24th.
A two-part series of classes, the first part focuses on accepting feelings (yours and your child’s), encouraging cooperation and alternatives to punishment; part two is about encouraging autonomy and freeing children from playing roles. So if you could use some skills to make your life with your kids easier why not learn how to hear and be heard?
We must admit that lately we’ve found ourselves slipping a little, so we’re hoping for a refresher course and for Sjerven to start offering workshops based on Siblings Without Rivalry, a companion book to How to Talk.
Questions? Feel free to email Sjerven at sarajdd@shaw.ca for more info.
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