Parenting On Solid Ground

Mothering on Solid Ground is a six-week class designed to help mothers of babies and children to:

*Develop a secure attachment with their babies,

*Build a foundation of self-care that helps prevent post partum
depression and general feelings of depletion,

*Connect with other moms,

*Build a foundation for confident parenting.

Week One: Listening to your baby: In this class, mothers will learn about the importance of and how to listen to their babies. They will also learn how to read their baby's cues and how to introduce sign language.

Week Two: Listening to Yourself: Maternal Depletion Part One: Maternal depletion - when a woman is physically, emotionally and/or mentally exhausted - can lead to insecure attachments with abies and children, loss of identity, conflict in marriages, postpartum mood disorders, diminished intellectual functioning and a general dissastisfaction with life. It has become epidemic in our society for moms to believe they should be able to do it all without help or respite.

We will spend two weeks talking about the causes of and solutions for this most common state of being.

Week Three: Listening to Yourself: Maternal Depletion Part Two: We will continue discussion around solutions for this common state for mothers.

Week Four: Listening to the "Experts": We will talk about all the resources available for parents and how to use them. Discussion will revolve around issues such as how to deal with conflicting information, when to gather information, when to put down the books and how to test for soundess of information. We will talk about how to make challenging decisions, what to do when you decision isn't working and how to handle when you and your partner disagree.

Week Five: Building Community for Yourself: As parents today, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to build our own communities. We will talk about the role of your community as it relates to parenting. Then we will look at the current status of your own community and talk about ways to expand or remodel it.

Week Six: Staying Grounded: This is the trouble-shooting class. We will talk about solutions to issues like self-doubt, judgment from others, marital conflicts related to parenting, not having support for some of the decisions we make, confusion, fear, and old beliefs.

For class schedule, cost and registration, click here.

This six-week class is designed for parents with children from crawling through three years.

Week One: Listening to Your Toddler: We'll talk about how to listen to your child and what to listen for. This is also the class where I will get to know some specifics about who your children are and what parts of parenting them are challenging.

Week Two: How to Say "Yes, Yes, Yes" Instead of "No, No, No": We'll talk about ways to make parenting a toddler enjoyable for everyone by creating an environment for success.

Week Three: Managing Negative Toddler Behaviors: (whining, tantrums, aggression, defiance, etc.) We will address the needs of your individual children and develop effective ways to turn negative behavior into positive behavior.

Week Four: What To Do When Your Kids Push Your Buttons: This class focuses on parents' behavior rather than kids' behavior so we can become more and more the kind of parents we strive to be.

Week Five: Sharing, Sleeping and Siblings and Potty: This week covers several common issues parents struggle with in addition to any special requests from the audience.

Week Six: What's to Come: We'll look at some developmental changes that happen as your toddler becomes a preschooler and ways to prepare for or manage those issues as they arise.

For class schedule, cost and registration, click here.

(http://www.aparentconnection.com/classschedules.htm).

As we learn from ancient cultures around the world, more and more parents are massaging their babies from birth. We see these babies experience relaxation and a decrease in the duration and intensity of common infant discomforts such as gas, evening fussiness and colic. We watch the connection between parents and their babies strengthen. We've also learned that preterm babies gain weight faster with regular massage. Babies of depressed mothers can thrive with daily massage. Babies with sensory defensiveness, high or low muscle tone and other special needs can benefit from specific strokes to counteract their challenges. And adopting parents often use massage to bolster the attachment process.

One of the most important aspects of infant massage is learning to listen to baby cues. From birth, babies use a whole range of physical and physiological signals to let their parents know how they are doing and what they need. They will tell us when they are content and when they need a break from stimulation. Massage is an ideal time for parents to learn how to read those cues as they spend uninterrupted, one-on-one time watching their baby's body.

Once parents learn which cues their baby uses to communicate, they report feeling much more confident because of their ability to respond immediately to their baby…often long before baby resorts to crying. Meanwhile, babies build a strong foundation of trust in their parents because their needs are being met quickly and consistently.

Nancy Goodman is a Certified Infant Massage Instructor with special training in working with preterm babies and babies with special needs. She offers private lessons for families of special needs babies and families with older babies and children. Classes are designed for parents of babies ages birth to pre-crawling.
In her classes, parents learn:

*Massage strokes and technique
*How to read baby cues
*Techniques to soothe common infant discomforts such as gas, evening fussiness, colic,
reflux, etc.
*Ways to cope with the range of new parent issues
*How to adapt massage to fit your growing child

Testimonials

"One night, Christian was so fussy, I didn't know why. So guess what? I turned him on his belly, on a big pillow on my lap, and proceeded to do those big rubs on his little behind. He settled right down, just lika an adult receiving a back massage!! It worked almost instantaneously. Since, I have been able to use this technique every so often and he really seems to be relaxed as result." - Jenni and Christian, 4 months

"I just wanted you to know that the massage has been a wonderful thing for him. I've tried to do it consistently and it really helped his tummy problems early on. He gets really excited when I give him the symbol for massage and still really enjoys it. I really believe that taking the class helped me better understand and respond to his cues and really has enriched our relationship." - Erin and Evan, 8 weeks

"Lately, Kaylyn does not enjoy laying down while she is awake... however, when it is massage time she welcomes it and does not fuss when I have her on her back. Not to mention I usually give her a facial massage when she gets that tired look and it always helps her fall right to sleep." - Julie, Greg and Kaylyn, 2 months