When I was in labor with my first child, I announced to the room "I can't believe cats and dogs do this without help!" My midwife laughed, but I was seriously perplexed at how some species manage birthing without community support. Humans were designed for connection and community. Early humans lived in small communities with a few dozen families, and worked together for survival. Scientists now believe that our capacity for sharing food and child care in those early days was the secret to our species' success.
Though modern technology has brought us closer in many ways, it has also meant that we don't share responsibility in the same way. Whereas child raising may have been a community responsibility in the past, it now falls to just one or two adults who may also be working, maintaining the home, foraging for food, and keeping everyone safe. Prehistoric man would have never survived under these conditions, and yet we expect to survive and thrive with the additional pressures of parenting perfectly.
Somehow we end up yelling, shaming, and threatening our kids, and feeling frustrated and guilty afterward. Then we ask them to do something and they don't comply, and we start the cycle again. It's not that we lost our parenting instincts, it's that our society isn't set up to provide the support we need. Most adults are inherently good parents, we just need help unlocking our potential.
Though modern technology has brought us closer in many ways, it has also meant that we don't share responsibility in the same way. Whereas child raising may have been a community responsibility in the past, it now falls to just one or two adults who may also be working, maintaining the home, foraging for food, and keeping everyone safe. Prehistoric man would have never survived under these conditions, and yet we expect to survive and thrive with the additional pressures of parenting perfectly.
Somehow we end up yelling, shaming, and threatening our kids, and feeling frustrated and guilty afterward. Then we ask them to do something and they don't comply, and we start the cycle again. It's not that we lost our parenting instincts, it's that our society isn't set up to provide the support we need. Most adults are inherently good parents, we just need help unlocking our potential.
Between two social work degrees, two year-long internships, and more than 500 hours of continuing education focusing on children and families, I've learned a lot about what is developmentally appropriate for kids. I've compiled my favorite tips and tricks from my professional and personal life, and present them to you so you can get the benefit from my training, education, and experimentation, all in one easy-to-digest format.
As a child therapist, I have seen it all; anxious children, parents who scream or hit their children, families who are frustrated by the patterns they've fallen into, and families who are desperate for something to change. A few years ago I created a curriculum and started teaching local parents some of the ways that positive parenting can transform behaviors in their home. As I've taught these classes again and again, I've continued to curate the material and now I am expanding to offer it as an e-course.
Very few people can make changes in their life when they are feeling judged or degraded. I believe most parents are doing the best they can with the overwhelming burdens of modern life. I am not a perfect parent, and I have never met a perfect parent. Knowing this, I bring compassion, grace, and humor to my work with parents. Parenting doesn't have to be perfect to be great, and I've met lots of great parents.
I have compiled my favorite resources to bring you the top points from each. Imagine if someone read dozens of the leading books on brain development and discipline and then provided you with a Cliff Notes version, additional resources if you want to read more, and created a visual cheat sheet for each topic. That's what The Inherent Parent is here to do.
PLUS, you get access to this content FOR LIFE! That means anytime you don't remember what to say when your child says no, or you want a refresher on how to talk about behaviors, or you need a reminder of what rewards might be appropriate for a toddler, you can log in and read or listen to the content again as many times as you need to.
Hundreds of parents have already taken this course and report positive results, including more than 300 therapist moms!