Building a Strong Relationship with your Child: Positive Parenting Strategies Class
“My kid never listens.” Is this something you find yourself saying? You are not alone.
Challenges with parent-child communication is something Jaclyn Wickens, one of the facilitators of the Positive Parenting Strategies class at The Family Centre, sees often. “A lot of the times when parents are in a constant struggle, it is because there is a lot of strain in their relationship with their child,” says Jaclyn.
Many caregivers struggle with implementing parenting strategies that work for their children. But Jaclyn asks, “when was the last time you had fun with your child?”
In the parenting class, Jaclyn teaches the concept of relationships over strategies.
“Without attachment, it doesn’t matter what you do; your child will not respond how you’re hoping,” says Jaclyn. “Parents start with strategies, but they need to go back to the foundation.” Caregivers learn the foundational pieces of parenting, including attachment and brain development.
Many parents use strategies that are outside of their child’s developmental age. Understanding developmental age will allow you to incorporate strategies to help support them. Jaclyn sees caregivers with children of all ages attend the class.
“The information is so foundational it applies to all parents.”
In the group setting, caregivers unite through shared struggles and challenges. They get to learn from each other’s examples and questions. They gain the skills to support a positive relationship with their child by learning healthy communication, the difference between discipline and punishment, and how to work through differences. They recognize their parenting style and how it affects their child’s behavior.
Healthy communication starts by building a strong relationship. Jaclyn loves when parents realize this. Part-time caregivers especially are busy implementing structure and routine rather than their relationship.
“We live in a world with all this information about parenting and being the perfect parent. This course focuses less on these new parenting things and focuses on the foundation of parenting.” Jaclyn enjoys facilitating a class that takes a step back from information overload and returns to the basics. “I know caregivers will go to their children, and the focus will be on the positive relationship with their child.”