For over 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of supporting parents, families and educators as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Parent Coach. I’m a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, a Certified Positive Discipline Early Childhood Educator and a Certified Redirecting Children’s Behavior Parent Educator.
Raising my own two very strong-willed kids completely changed the way I understood parenting. I know what it feels like to love your kids more than anything and still feel overwhelmed by the tantrums, power struggles, big emotions and constant second-guessing.
Like so many parents, I found myself exhausted, frustrated and wondering why nothing I was trying seemed to be working. I knew something needed to change…not just for my kids, but for me too.
Now, I help parents feel less overwhelmed, more connected to their kids and more confident handling the hard moments that can make parenting feel impossible sometimes.
My Story – Why I Do What I Do…
One of the hardest parts of parenting was realizing that so often, it wasn’t my kids that were the “problem.” It was ME!
Here’s the thing…my parents did the best they could and they definitely had their limitations. The unspoken vibe in my home was that there was a “right” way and a “wrong” way of doing things. Choosing the “wrong” way wasn’t pleasant. It often involved criticism, long lectures, shame, anger, lots of yelling and silent treatments.
Like most of us do, I brought this baggage from my own childhood into parenting. I carried the belief that there was a right way for my kids to act and when they didn’t behave the way I thought they “should,” I didn’t handle it well. I got impatient. I got frustrated. I yelled.
I became the parent I swore I would never be.
And honestly? I carried so much shame around this…especially because I was a therapist who “should” know better.
Let’s just say I hit a low.
I realized I didn’t have the tools to handle my kids’ very strong-willed personalities and all the traditional parenting methods I had learned…consequences, punishments, rewards, bribes…weren’t working. I was struggling and knew something needed to change.
Deep down, I knew I didn’t want my relationship with my kids to keep feeling this hard.
They say timing is everything and I was so fortunate to stumble upon Positive Discipline and conscious parenting at a time I was feeling so lost and alone. Something about the approach just clicked for me and I dove in headfirst. I took classes. I read books. I joined parent groups. I got my own parent coach. And eventually, I became certified in Positive Discipline so I could help other parents learn the tools and mindset shifts that completely transformed my relationship with my family.
I learned it wasn’t about controlling, correcting or fixing my kids. It was about connecting with them and trying to understand life from their perspective. It was about understanding that these little humans had immature brains that were still developing and were doing the best they could with the limited skills they had at the time.
It wasn’t just about me and how I needed them to behave. It was about learning to better understand what they needed and how I could show up for them as the calm, patient and compassionate parent they needed and deserved.
I learned I could set loving boundaries while being kind AND firm at the same time…without relying on punishments, bribes and rewards.
Little by little, I started to see shifts…in myself and in my family. I started feeling more grounded, less anxious and less reactive. As my behavior started changing, so did theirs.
We started having fewer tantrums, power struggles, meltdowns, sibling fights and battles over every little thing. Was it perfect? Heck no! But it was a dramatic improvement. We finally had more connection, more peace and a whole lot more fun in our family.
Trust me, this didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of practice, looking at my own patterns and triggers and working through my own “stuff,” with many ups and downs along the way. But the work paid off. I finally got to a place where I felt more confident and calm instead of constantly dreading what the day might bring.
And listen…I’m still a work in progress. But I’m incredibly grateful for how far I’ve come and for all the tools that helped me get there.
If you’re exhausted, frustrated, overwhelmed and wondering if things can feel different, I want you to know there is another way. I’ve been where you are and I also know how life-changing it can feel when things finally start getting easier.
I would truly love to support you in calming the chaos, feeling more connected to your kids and actually enjoying parenting a whole lot more.
I’m so glad you’re here.
(In case you’re interested, I received my BA in Psychology and Family Studies from the University of Arizona and my Masters Degree in Social Work from San Diego State University. 😊)