Parent Express for 27-Aug-2007

Welcome to Parent Express, the PCI e-zine! Here you will find updates on the Parent Coaching Institute, along with ideas and practical tips for the parenting journey.

And welcome back! The PCI missed communicating with you over the summer. (Our last edition was e-mailed in May.) We have been going through a major growth phase and have recently re-structured our Web site. Take a look at www.thepci.org.

The last days of August are often extremely busy for many families—bringing up a myriad of feelings with the transition to school, and often a new chapter such as beginning kindergarten, high school or even college. We are reminded that with each passing school year our child develops more autonomy and with that, more freedom to be his/her own person.

Our featured article by PCI Certified Parent Coach®, Cathy Adams from the Chicago area (www.intentionalparent.net) beautifully articulates the beauty in allowing our children freedom to choose—even amid the chaos of full days and tight schedules. Besides being a licensed social worker and parenting coach, Cathy is the mom of two young daughters with another child to arrive in a few weeks! Her personal stories evoke the precious uniqueness of our children—a quality certainly worthy of all our protection and attention. Her article gives you practical suggestions, along with plenty of inspiration, for doing just that!

Wishing you a wonderful start to a new school year,

Gloria DeGaetano, Founder and CEO

Apply Now!

If you feel a calling to work with moms and dads in an innovative way; or if you are already working with parents and want to discover exciting ideas, fresh approaches and new tools to add to your experience, contact us at (425) 401-1519.

There are a few spots left for Autumn Quarter with phone classes beginning September 27.

E-mail or fax your application to (425) 401-1572 before September 7. Transcripts and letters of reference can follow the basic application. Download the application here.

We require candidates to have an undergraduate degree and at least two years of either professional or volunteer experience working with parents in such capacities as a teacher, parent educator/mentor, counselor, mental health professional, social worker or community health worker.

Learn more about our acclaimed, graduate-level, distance-learning Parent Coach Certification® Program by clicking here for more information.

Check out our Video About the PCI Parent Coach Training Program and see what professionals think about their training with the PCI.

"When I found the PCI it was as if I had found a secret path that would serve to connect my educational background, work experiences, community involvements and parenting beliefs. Little did I know that this path would also lead me on a transformative journey of my own; connecting me with others who shared a desire to create a cultural shift toward more mindful parenting, launching my own parent coaching business and inspiring me to apply parent coaching techniques and principles to my work in higher education. My PCI training was both practical and inspiring and it is perhaps the single best educational experience that one could ever have."—Kay Kimball Gruder, Providence, Rhode Island (www.NextStepParentCoaching.com)

Working with a parent coach who has received Parent Coach Certification® through the PCI is giving yourself a valuable gift as well as a sound investment in your family's future. PCI Certified Parent Coaches® are caring, thoughtful professionals with years of experience working with parents. They have successfully completed the PCI Parent Coach Certification® Training Program—a comprehensive academic one-year, graduate-level program in collaboration with Seattle Pacific University. Through a series of coaching conversations that can be either by telephone or in person, PCI Parent Coaches help you re-discover your dreams and design your life for more joy and satisfaction.

To find a PCI Parent Coach in your area, please click here or call (425) 401-1519 for a referral to a PCI Parent Coach selected especially for you.

Visit www.parentappreciationradio.com to listen to programs featuring PCI Certified Parent Coaches® and other experts from around the discussing topics of interests to moms and dads.

Programs are available as podcasts. Listeners can download individual episodes directly, listen to them from this site using a Web browser, or via the iTunes podcast directory. iTunes subscribers will automatically pick up new episodes as they become available!

Freedom to Be

by Cathy Cassani Adams, LCSW, PCI Certified Parent Coach®
www.intentionalparent.net

I recently took my daughter to a birthday party and the invitation said to wear a tutu. My daughter decided to wear her butterfly wings instead. When we got to the party she quietly watched as the other girls ran around and chased each other in their tutus. She sat a few seats away as the group began to work on art projects. I wondered if she wished she had a tutu, if she wanted to go home, and simply how I could support her.

Just before cake she told me that she needed to go to the bathroom. Once we closed the door in the bathroom she started to jump up and down and told what a great time she was having. She started naming off all of the little girls in the room and telling me how her whole class was there. Much to my surprise, she was having a wonderful time. As we returned to the room she gathered with the other girls to look at the candles on the cake. For the last 30 minutes of the party she was running, laughing, and enjoying the experience.

Read the Rest of the Article…

Lori Goff, PCI Certified Parent Coach®, Seattle, is on a mission: "Stroller Free by Age Three." Lori's article on the "Dangers of Stroller Overuse," was published in July's issue of Parent Map. Lori has also been recently interviewed for Pre-School Rock Moms. You can listen to her interview at: preschoolrockmoms.com/shows/ discussion-parent-coaching/ Congratulations, Lori on getting the word out about this most important topic. Lori is happy to provide you with a free bumper sticker: "Stroller Free by Age Three: Prevent Childhood Obesity." Contact her at lori@goff.com. Be sure to include your name and mailing address. For more information, please visit Lori's Web site, Parenting with Mindfulness, at www.pwmweb.org.

Frequent TV Viewing Associated with Attention Problems
A May 2007 study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that frequent television viewing during adolescence is associated with the risk for development of attention problems, learning difficulties, and adverse long-term educational outcomes.

DVDs and Babies
An August 2007 study in the Journal of Pediatrics demonstrated that each hour per day of viewing baby DVDs/videos was associated with a decrease in language development and parental bonding. For a discussion of the issues related to infants and screen machines, please see the article "When Should Children Begin Watching TV?"

Helping Children Make Difficult Decisions 1. Begin by making a connection with the child's feelings and acknowledging how you understand what your child is going through. Show empathy. "This must not be much fun right now." "Sounds like a tough situation." "You must feel yucky about this." 2. Ask, "What do you want to do about it?" (Most often he/she will say, "I don't know.") 3. Ask child, "Would you like to know what others might do is a similar situation?" OR "Would it help to know what I or (someone the child respects) might consider in making this decision?" (If he or she says, "No" respond by saying, "OK, if you change your mind, let me know. I would be happy to share with you what others found to be useful in your situation." Then let it go and wait.) If child says, "Yes" move to number 4. 4. Give a variety of ideas. Keep in mind that often children will dismiss the first ones and hang on to the later ones. Then summarize three options that you can live with and that your child would like to consider. 5. It can help to draw or write three of the options that your child has said he/she likes the best. You can put each on a 3×5 card, for instance. This is to help your child consider the pros and cons of each option. Encourage your child to sit and think quietly about which option might work best. When s/he decides, s/he can get up from the "thinking space" and talk to you about the option chosen. 6. When your child presents you with his/her choice, affirm your child's skill in making good decisions for him or herself:  • Describe what the child did.  • Affirm the choice.  • Encourage feedback for the results of the choice. "You spent considerable thinking about this. Your choice seems very workable. I will be interested to hear how it turns out for you."