Parent With a Pro

Research shows that one of the best ways to train a child out of a negative behavior is to give the child an appropriate consequence when they use inappropriate behaviors. But what do you do if no consequence seems to work?! This is not an uncommon scenario for parents of strong-willed kids. Today, we again interview two therapists to ask what they tell their clients who are having a hard time finding an effective consequence. Happy listening!

Years ago, discipline used to be so harsh that it at times would have been considered child abuse. Now, in our culture, we are so afraid of damaging our children that we wonder if discipline is damaging. Today we talk to two therapists to learn what evidence shows about discipline. If you've been worried at all about discipline, you'll want to listen to this episode.

One of the most common questions parents ask is "What discipline approach will actually be effective for my strong willed child?" Luckily, there have been decades of research on that topic and there is answer. Today, Jeff Tesch LMFT teaches us what discipline has been PROVEN to work with our kids! Happy listening!

If you have a child that does NOT like the word "NO" then you'll want to give this episode a listen.  This is the last episode in this month's series "Emotional Life Skills for the Strong Willed Child" and will help you know how to respond to kids who may whine, complain, or throw a fit when you tell them "No".  Happy listening!

This month's topics have been a ton of fun and this week is no exception! Today Mike Fitch, CMHC gives practical ways to help our children develop patience! He has a technique that he uses with his clients and he shares them with us in this episode.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Marshmallow Test John Gottman Institute

  If you've been looking for ways to help your kids manage their anger, look no further!  This episode is jam-packed with tools designed to help your child recognize and manage their anger in a healthy way. Happy listening!

It's a new month, which means it's a new theme for the podcast!  This month we will be talking about teaching our strong willed children... emotional life skills! Let's be honest, this is a topic that we all need some coaching on.  However, our strong willed kids usually come with really strong emotions.  If left unchecked, these emotions can RULE THEIR LIVES!  That's why we are spending this month teaching you how to teach your child to develop emotional life skills. To help you out, we are giving you some tips on how to begin discussing emotional life skills with your child in this week's episode. In this episode, you will learn how to start talking about emotions with a younger child and how to create an emotional skill coping plan with an older child. Stay tuned for the rest of this month's topics as we go into greater depth about these particular emotional challenges: Anger Management Patience Accepting the Word "No" As always, happy listening!

Our last topic for January's theme "What Parents Can Do to Make 2018 Great" is all about encouragement and praise.  Strong-willed children can often feel down because they are often trying the patience of those around them.  Yet, they need the adults in their lives to see the goodness within them. In this episode, you'll learn how to point out the positive in your child regardless of their behavior.  You're ability to see the good in them will help not only them, but it will also help you. Happy listening!

  So many people join our private Facebook group completely overwhelmed by their strong-willed child's behavior, knowing that they want to change their child's behavior, but not knowing where to start. Luckily, we have Jeff Tesch, LMFT to teach us a simple secret designed to help us improve our children's behavior without loosing our minds! Happy listening!

If you are not consistent, it does not matter what else you do.  This was a truth I was surprised to learn while recording this episode of the podcast.  You could be using great techniques, but if you're not consistent, negative behavior will not improve.  If you and your spouse/partner parent differently, your child's behavior will not improve.  If you switch your approach frequently, your child's behavior will not improve. Listen to this episode to learn why consistency is critical and how to become consistent enough to see positive changes in your child's behavior. Happy listening!

Announcement!  We are changing things a little here at Parent with a Pro. Last year we did random podcast topics each week.  While that was a great way to start, we wanted to provide even more support for you in 2018.  As a result, we have created a theme for each month with weekly podcasts to support that theme.  This means we can dive deep into topics and give you tools that will help you see real CHANGE in your homes! Here is the outline for the year: January: Things Parents Can Do to Make 2018 Great February: Critical Emotional Skills for the Strong-Willed Child March: Effective Discipline April: How to Handle Different Tough Times of the Day: Mealtime, Running Errands, Bedtime, etc. May: Family Relationships Affected by Strong-Willed Kids June: How to Respond to Specific Misbehaviors: Yelling, Arguing, Hitting and more July: Therapists Top Concerns and How to Avoid Them August: Strong-Willed Kids and Their Tough Temperaments September: Parent Overwhelm, How to Not Feel Stressed Out Anymore October: Limits and Freedoms: How to Give Strong-Willed Kids Healthy Control While Still Being the Boss In Your Home November: My Strong-Willed Child and Others: Friends, School, and More December: Critical Emotional Skills for the Strong-Willed Child (Again) **We are also adding three female therapists to our podcast team!  It will be fun to have the insight of women who have clients part-time and are home with the kids part-time!** We hope this new format will help you learn how to bring out the best behavior in your children without breaking their awesome spirits.   Today's Podcast Today we are going to talk to Jeff Tesch about a common parenting mistake therapists are seeing and how to fix it.  This mistake is one that parents make completely on accident, but it's having a huge effect of our kid's behavior. The great thing is that after this episode, you'll know what it is, what to do differently, and you'll see positive results in your family as a result. Happy Listening!    

Last week we talked about some factors that influence behavior that are actually in your control. This week, we continue the conversation discussing a few more surprising factors we have influence over. I really love the last idea that Mike Fitch, CMHC shares in this episode! Happy Listening!

There are many factors that influence our children's behavior that are out of our control.  However, we are lucky that there are some factors that are in our control.  In this week's and next week's episode, we will teach you some fundamentals to creating an environment which fosters good behavior.  If some of these fundamentals are missing, it's not really fair to expect our kids to behave well. Listen this week and next week to learn what you can do to help your children behave their best. Happy Listening!  

This is a MUST listen for EVERY PARENT!  I don't say that about every episode, but it is true of this episode.  Marriage and family therapist, Jeff Tesch teaches that giving too many chances to stop a certain behavior actually encourages the child to continue misbehaving!  None of us want that. By the end of this episode, you'll learn how warnings are working against you and what to do instead. Happy Listening!

If you are dealing with behavior that never seems to improve, you'll want to listen to today's episode. As parents of strong-willed kids, there can be a possibility that your child is dealing with an abnormality in their functioning.  They could have inherited or developed anxiety, ADHD, depression, or autism, just to name a few.  A professionals help is needed to get a clear diagnosis. So the questions we often get asked here at Parent with a Pro are: How do I know if my child could benefit from a professional evaluation? If I do think my child needs a professional evaluation, where do we go? We seek to answer both those questions and more during today's episode. Happy listening!