New Online Course for Schools to Support Families

Confident Parents, Confident Kids, the book is one year old this week! Check out some of the photos below from the launch. And sending much gratitude to the many partners, collaborators, friends and family that made it possible.

Now, schools and districts committed to social and emotional learning are able to support parents’ growing knowledge and ability to support their children’s social and emotional learning through small cohort online classes. Strengthen parenting resilience by offering learning supports to parents and caregivers in your school community! Gather a caring learning community of parents together for five sessions designed to help families not only survive but thrive in tough times. If you are a school or district that values and embraces social and emotional learning, this is a chance to build on that commitment and create a shared language and understanding between the school and participating families.

A research-based framework from the Center for the Study of Social Policy offers four essential conditions for parenting strength and resilience.¹ They are:

1. Social connections and support;
2. Knowledge of parenting and child development;
3. Social and emotional competence of children; and
4. Ability to ask for and accept help.

This online course commits to cultivating all four of these essentials.

Purpose:

This online course will:

– cultivate trust, safety, caring, inclusivity, and support among learning community members.

– offer authentic dialogue and interactive problem-solving so that each family’s unique culture can enter the conversation and serve as an essential lens through which learning occurs.

– deepen participants knowledge of their child’s social and emotional development at their respective ages and stages.

– deepen participants knowledge of social and emotional learning principles, strategies and practices to apply to even the thorniest parenting challenges.

– learn new strategies in parenting based on research-backed principles that offer ways in which to build social and emotional skills in participants’ children and in themselves. One core principle throughout the course will be that there is no one right way but many ways we can be responsive to what we know through the research can support our children and teens.

About the Structure:

Each two-hour session will be interactive and reflective. Parents or other caregivers will learn from one another as well as author Jennifer Miller. Parents will be offered specific tools including checklists and planning guides (through a follow up email with attachments after each session) to try out new ideas and practices with plenty of support. In between sessions, parents will be challenged to try out new strategies with their children and return to reflect on what worked and how they might improve. 

While remote learning offers benefits to parents connecting further with their children’s curriculum, the always-together environment can create added stress and tension. Parents may find they are losing their temper more easily. This course will help parents extend their patience, gain empathy and feel a greater sense of competence with strategies that work.

Classes can be offered live and also, recorded so that caregivers who cannot make a particular time can watch on their own schedule and connect with Jennifer with questions, ideas and challenges at their convenience. Now taking reservations (limited space!) for the winter and spring of 2021.

For more information, email Jennifer Miller at confidentparentsconfidentkids@gmail.com.

And happy one year birthday to the book, Confident Parents, Confident Kids, on sale now at a discounted rate! Readers are saying:

I’m a father of two. A eight year old son and six year old daughter. Too often I find myself losing patience with my little ones and knew there had to be a better way than what I was doing. Well that brought me to this book. I loved this. I’m not one for parenting books but this one was fact based, and actionable. I took pages of notes, and am already applying this to our little household. This is a wonderful book.

– Almost Mike

“…I finally feel like I have a better grip on “handling” my daughter, if that makes sense. I also believe she now knows that I am here for her, and I do want to hear what she has to say and what she is experiencing. I will be able to carry these “tools and tips” onto my son as he gets older!

– V. Anderson

“If you are serious about parenting, you probably read lots of books. This is one that is worth adding to your list to help you develop good, but immeasurable emotional maturity in your children.“

– E. Burton

“I’m a neuroscience/psychology geek, so a lot of the ideas in this book were familiar to me. But I like the way they were presented (very readable and accessible) and I like the way the book gave specific examples and approaches to implement them”

-C.M. and T.M.

What I like most about this book is that the title delivers on its promise. I am a much more confident parent of a tween after having read this book.…I’ve implemented many of the suggestions in this book. I am grateful to Jennifer Miller for writing it.

-Kindle Reader

Check out these images from last year. Grateful to these friends, collaborators and supporters and many more who have spread the message about parenting with intentional social and emotional learning.