This fall, HCOS + Flex are pleased to offer a free three-part Parent Webinar Series presented by Colleen Drobot, Registered Professional Counsellor, educator, adjunct faculty member with the Neufeld Institute, and mother of two. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in education and counselling, Colleen offers practical, research-informed guidance to help parents navigate everyday challenges with confidence and compassion.
Whether you are parenting a young child, a teen, somewhere in between, or all of the above, these webinars will provide practical tools to strengthen your relationship with your child.
- Schedule
Who’s in Charge? Parenting from the Alpha Position
Wed, Sept 23 | 7:00-8:30 pm PDT
When your child is in charge of the relationship, many problems can manifest in different and varying ways, such as:
- anxiety
- clinginess
- constant pursuit of your attention
- instructing you on how to parent
- preoccupied on taking care of things
- unable to hear no
- refuses to follow your directions or listen to you
- bossiness
- bullying
- aggression/frustration
- behaviour or discipline problems
This webinar is excellent for anyone who wants to learn more about being in charge of the relationship with their children so their children can rest in their care, and therefore grow and realize their potential.
In this webinar, we will discuss why it is so important that we are in “right relationship” with our children, how children being in their natural dependent position reduces their stress levels, fosters maturity and restores the authority parents were meant to have.
Through theory, stories, and examples we will focus on how we can take charge and be the parent/caregiver our children need us to be. There are many subtle ways we can lose the ‘alpha position’.
Using the approach of Dr. Gordon Neufeld, we will discuss how to identify when we are not in charge and how we can get there.
Cultivating Resilience in Children
Wed, Oct 21 | 7:00-8:30 pm PDT
When your child is full of frustration, is angry, or upset and difficult to parent, he/she/they may exhibit some or many of the following:
- unable to hear “no”
- has frequent meltdowns or tantrums
- has frequent meltdowns or tantrums
- refuses to follow your directions or listen to you
- fights chronically with siblings
- speaks rudely or swears
- whines constantly
- wakes up grumpy
- makes many demands
- has difficulty not getting their way or losing
- tries to negotiate or change your mind
- calls others names
- blames others
- hits or can be physically aggressive
- negative or moody
When facing frustration, disappointment, or a limit, it is common for children to feel upset and attempt to change parents’ minds. Often this frustration leads to meltdowns and tantrums or just chronic negativity. Some children may get stuck in these difficult emotions and this can lead to a host of perplexing and concerning behaviours.
Understanding the roots of frustration and aggression is the key to being effective in dealing with these intense emotions and the challenging behaviours that can result. It is also the key to cultivating resilience in our children throughout their lives.
During this webinar, you will learn how to:
- Respond to your child when they have a tantrum or become aggressive
- Set limits and help your child accept hearing no
- Discipline in ways that preserve the connection
- Handle family conflict that preserves attachment to you and between family members
- Understand the roots of frustration and aggression
- Cultivate resilience in your child
This webinar is suitable for parents of any age group but examples will focus on dealing with children from toddlers to pre-teens.
You’re Not the Boss of Me: Understanding Defiant Behaviour and Cultivating Cooperation
Wed, Nov 4 | 7:00-8:30pm PDT
A common dynamic that is often frustrating to parents and potentially erodes the parent/child relationship is when a child balks and defies us. It can be as subtle as ignoring our requests or as blatant as telling us “You’re not the boss of me!”
When we ask them to clean up, get ready for school, go to bed, come to the table, be kind to their sibling, hurry up…we may be met with a “No!” or they may in fact do the opposite. Developmental psychologist, Dr. Gordon Neufeld describes this oppositional behaviour as counterwill.
Although the reaction is quite normal and even healthy in certain circumstances, its manifestations and impact can be highly disruptive, making life difficult for parents and teachers.
We will discuss the meaning of this deep-rooted instinct and the dynamics that control its existence and expression. We will provide strategies to help adults reduce the effects of oppositional behaviour and deepen attachment and cooperation with children and adolescents.
This webinar is suitable for all parents and any professionals working with children and youth. In this workshop we focus on:
- the many faces of this oppositional dynamic of counterwill
- how to differentiate between counterwill that is healthy and counterwill that is a sign of something amiss
- a three-pronged approach to dealing with counterwill
- why pervasive and chronic defiance is a sign of attachment problems
- why chronic counterwill is a sign of psychological immaturity
- how to prevent and defuse oppositionality in children and teens
- how to safeguard one’s relationship against the fallout from counterwill
- how to avoid a battle
- how to help children grow out of counterwill
This webinar is suitable for parents of children from toddlerhood to young adulthood.
- Details
- Cost: Free
- Audience: Parents and guardians of K-12 students
- Options: Attend one, two, or all three webinars – choose the topic(s) that best fit your needs and schedule!
- Can’t make it live? Recordings of each session will be made available to all registrants and can be viewed for two weeks following the live session before they expire.
