Chrissy was recently interviewed by Emily, editor extraordinaire of Newburyport
Macaroni Kid, in preparation for an upcoming free parenting
workshop hosted by the Greater
Newburyport Mothers & Families Club and sponsored by Newburyport Macaroni Kid. We wanted to be sure to share this interview here on
our blog and invite those of you that are local to come and join us for this
free public event.
“It's happened to all of us. Despite giving your
toddler plenty of warning about an impending departure, the child has a tantrum
in front of everyone when it's time to leave. That's totally normal from a
developmental standpoint, but you feel anxious and embarrassed. You bear
the weight of your child’s misbehavior as a direct reflection on your
inadequate parenting. We all feel this crazy unspoken pressure to have it
all together - it’s no wonder we’re all feeling isolated and exhausted.” (Early-education
specialist Chrissy Rupp, owner of Harmony Natural Learning Center in
Newbury)
Announcing "Parenting Today: Finding Joy in
Today's Families," a new parenting workshop hosted by the Greater
Newburyport Mothers & Families Club and moderated by Chrissy Rupp. This
free public event will take place on March 4 from 9:30-11:45 AM at the
Newburyport Public Library. We caught up with Chrissy to find out more about
the workshop and how it might help parents feel a little less judged and a
little more joy in their day-to-day lives.
We caught up with Chrissy to find out more about
the workshop and how it might help parents feel a little less judged and a
little more joy in their day-to-day lives.
Newburyport Macaroni Kid: Based on your
description of that mom, it sounds like you've been there, too.
Chrissy Rupp: Oh, absolutely. My own girls (ages 3 and 8) remind me daily that raising small human beings is no walk in the park - and I have a Master’s Degree in child development and parent education! In fact, I was absolutely steamrolled by my first child and our whole family suffered for it. It wasn’t until I finally got my head around the trickiest aspect of parenting - the dreaded "D-word" - that our family finally came back into a place of better balance.
Chrissy Rupp: Oh, absolutely. My own girls (ages 3 and 8) remind me daily that raising small human beings is no walk in the park - and I have a Master’s Degree in child development and parent education! In fact, I was absolutely steamrolled by my first child and our whole family suffered for it. It wasn’t until I finally got my head around the trickiest aspect of parenting - the dreaded "D-word" - that our family finally came back into a place of better balance.
MK: The "D-word"?
Chrissy: "Discipline." Research
shows that there is a real lack of joy in parenting today. What I've learned
both from personal experience and professional observation is that there's a
direct correlation between lack of joy and lack of a sense of control.
That mom with the non-compliant child doesn't
want to make a scene. Setting a reasonable limit is absolutely going to lead to
conflict. I speak from personal experience when I say that if she’s
uncomfortable with that conflict, she’s going to hesitate. It's in that pause –
"how am I going to handle this?" – that the child feels just a little
more power then they should. ("Oh, I’ve got some control here.") That
misplaced sense of power, repeated over and over again can grow into bigger
problems with self-regulation.
MK: What are you hoping to accomplish with this
workshop?
Chrissy: I am now certain that as we learn to be a
confident leader for our child, we will begin to restore a natural order in our
homes. This order leads to peace and peace offers more room for the joy that we
all desire. Effective discipline is so much less about what tactic you use and
so much more about a healthy mindset. I hope this workshop will help parents
begin to deconstruct some of the confusing and misguided aspects of our current
parenting culture and begin to empower them in their role as a leader for their
child.
In future workshops we’ll tackle the nuances of
individual temperament and how the emergence of will requires us to shift our
role are parents. We even have a great session in the works on how we can
simply our schedules and our home environments to create a more natural and
joyful family rhythm.
Hosted by the Greater Newburyport Mothers &
Families Club, the free workshop "Parenting Today: Finding Joy in
Today's Families" will be held Saturday, March 4, from 9:30-11:45 AM at
the Newburyport Public Library. Newburyport Macaroni Kid is a proud sponsor!
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UPDATE
Parenting Today ~
Finding Joy in Today's Families is now a three part series!
Part I Joy
& Discipline
Part II
Building on Temperament & Will
Part III Becoming
the Architects of our Families
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