Parent PhD

Parenting is a humbling experience. Recognizing that we don’t know it all (please don’t tell our kids) is a sign of strength and asking for help when we need it is straight-up common sense.

While friends and family can be a treasure trove of experience, sometimes seeking help from neutral parties who know their stuff can help even more when it comes to solving parenting dilemmas.

Parenting Power is one such local source of trusted parenting advice. Entrepreneurs and moms Gail Bell and Julie Freedman-Smith combine their years of experience and cooperatively operate Parenting Power by offering educational opportunities to families through courses, coaching and workshops.

Since every family (even a savvy one) can use a little (or a lot) of support, we took Parenting Power for a test drive. Not only did we find their advice to be straight forward and sensible, we actually learned something in the process (go figure).

For example, we learned that you can actually tell a seven year old that their public misbehavior is embarrassing or that a four year old can be taught to stand up to older sibs or even that talking back and arguing is not all the kids’ fault (takes two to tango after all).

Keep in mind that what works for one family does not work for everyone so it’s worth investigating your own unique situation. The beauty of Parenting Power is that questions are always welcome even in group parenting sessions to help you get to the bottom of your own issues.

Most courses are offered by teleconference after the kids have gone to bed making them accessible with spouses and without babysitters. One-off programs dealing with topics from sibling rivalry to temper tantrums run 90 minutes and cost $50 per family.

Parenting with a Plan is their most popular course. This five week program allows you to become intimately aware of your family’s dynamic and teaches you to teach values and foster your kids’ self esteem. The next program starts April 15 and costs $220 per family.

No matter how many siblings you have, how many years of post secondary education you’ve logged or how much advice your mother doles out, raising kids is a challenging exercise. So get a coach on your side.

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