Parents Share a Much-Needed Positive Change through Collaboration
“My husband and I had been trying to get our daughter back on track in school by taking her phone away and grounding her. These tactics were only making her stay in her room more and talk to us less which meant she wasn’t getting the help she needed. Cynthia taught us that not only were we using ineffective punishment to gain control over her, we were also using communication blocks. Because of commanding, interrogating, moralizing and using sarcasm, she felt hurt, mistrusted us and wouldn’t open up. It was scary to stop the controlling tactics and focus on listening to her with empathy and acceptance.
We told our daughter that this was a problem to work on together. So we sat down and first listened to her feelings and thoughts about the math. After she felt heard, we brainstormed ideas together on what she needed for help and how we could help.
We made a plan of when she would get our help. Now, instead of feeling bad, she accepts our help rather than saying, “I don’t have any”, or “You don’t do it like my teacher does.”
Her low grade has gone up two grades. The three of us are much happier with each other as we work together to create a unified and problem-solving family. Thank you Cynthia for teaching us this powerful approach." A happy couple of a teen girl |