Positive Parenting Class

For the record, I am NOT a morning person and neither is Emma. She usually doesn’t wake up until 9 or 10. That being said, it was torture having to get up at 6:30 to take Brad to work then having to get up again and be ready to go to foster care training at 9.

The training was “Positive Parenting” and it was by far the BEST class I’ve ever been to! If you are a foster parent, an adoptive parent or any kind of parent or deal with kids, you should take this class!

I can’t even begin to describe it, other then amazing! Just in the last 20 minutes I’ve used what I’ve learned today and avoided 2 major fits! First I went to the gas station to get gas (duh) and got a soda because I was dying of thirst. I made sure to get something Emma could drink too. While I filled up with gas I let Emma share the soda with me, but once I was driving I couldn’t share with her without either her spilling it all or her refusing to give the soda back to me. So she was starting to throw a fit “Drink! Drink!” Me, “Emma, you can’t have a drink right now but once we are home mommy will share with you.” She kept going and I was starting to get worked up because she was getting louder and louder! I took a deep breath, “Emma, when we get home I’ll share with you, but I can’t give you a drink right now. How about mommy doesn’t drink any either until we get home and I can share?” The fit ended! How cow, how did that work?

Then, same issue over the soda… We got home and I was sharing, but Emma likes to back wash. I put some in a sippy cup for her and she is happy about it. Then she sets her cup down and grabs mine and keeps drinking it. “Emma, that’s moms not yours. Yours is over there.” She keeps drinking mine, which happens ALL the time! If I try to take my cup back, she screams! “Emma, what’s wrong with your drink. It’s the same as mom’s. Do you need more? Or do you want a straw?” Emma, “Straw!” I give her a cup with a straw and she’s good!

Now, there is a lot more to the class then my few things that have happened since it. But Emma is in the terrible twos and throws fits rather easily, so I was impressed with how she has done. The main point of the class was to spend more Time Energy and Effort on praising and giving attention to positive behavior. And give less attention to the negative behaviors, not ignore them, but minimize the attention given to them.

I’m so excited that I was able to take this class with Emma at such a young age. Hope the next 16 years go better because of it!!!