Parents want to raise their kids well. They want to do right by them, and create an environment where they can thrive and go out into the world with confidence and all they need to handle the complexities of life. Most parents, though, wonder and worry about how best to treat their kids, especially teenagers. They struggle to know how to best care, support, encourage, and develop their kids. Every kid is different. On top of that, you add the demands of school, the pressures of competitive college admissions, social media, temptations to vaping, identifying their career aspirations, financial responsibility, driving, heartbreak, and the influences of friends.

Can you say challenging?

We know your kids are the most important part of your life. We can help. 

INTRODUCING: RAISING WELL
Digital Parenting Series

• We developed a custom, intuitive digital learning platform to be able to guide parents through thoughtful self-reflection on their own with short videos, while providing a mechanism to structure meaningful conversations they can have with their kids.

What parents model and demonstrate for their children sets the foundation for who they become. We believe so strongly that healthy families build healthy emerging adults. We also know that parents are incredibly under-resourced to face the challenges that parenting in today’s world brings. That’s why we’ve designed a digital curriculum series, to guide parents into the right conversations every family needs to have in order to raise healthy, thriving adults.

We believe that parents need the right information. But, more importantly, they need to be guided to the right reflection. Our parenting curriculum series consists of nine distinct workshops with building blocks for healthy families and strong parenting. It has been shaped by decades of work with students and families, as well as parenting experts- not to mention our own parenting experiences and perspective.

What are the topics? See more details below.

We have these courses available through our custom, intuitive and interactive digital platform. A family can purchase one or all of the courses. Ideally, though, an entire school or district is investing in the best parenting curriculum so that all stakeholders are aligned in the same direction. We know how hard it is to get a large attendance at any school event, so we make our curriculum series available live or in digital format so parents can access the content any time at their convenience.

Course 1: RAISING HEALTHY ADULTS

The Problem: when we have kids, nobody sits us down to give us proper instruction on how to raise them. Sure, we all had several copies of What To Expect When You’re Expecting, and these days it’s hard to scroll through a social media feed without seeing a post about parenting kids in today’s world- issues with vaping or how to limit your kids’ screen time. But where do you go if you actually want to figure out how to raise your kids to become thriving, flourishing, mature adults? Your kids are your most important project you’ve ever taken on- so what would it look like to feel confident that you are guiding them into health and wellness?

Solution: There’s no one who knows your kids better than you do. You know their personality, their talents, even their weaknesses. There’s also no one else who could have a clearer imagination of what they might turn into. You need to take time to reflect on what kinds of qualities and attributes you hope they embody when they become adults. If you can clarify what success looks like, not only can you start communicating those qualities with your kids, but you can also become more focused to embody and model those qualities with them. If you know what success looks like and who you hope they become, you can work backwards and reverse engineer the experiences and lessons they need to learn to gain those qualities naturally.

Result: You can feel more confident that you know where your parenting focus needs to be. You can reduce anxiety in your family because you’re clear about what’s most important. You can have a more focused approach to cultivating an environment for your kids to learn the lessons about life that are most important to you.

Course 2: DEVELOPING RESILIENT ADULTS

The Problem: Life is challenging. Everyone faces setbacks, experiences failure and disappointment, and gets overwhelmed by their circumstances throughout life. How will your kids respond when life gets heavy or complicated? Will they have the internal fortitude to push through the setbacks, transform failure into learning, and keep striving? Your role as a parent- what you model and how you guide your kids throughout their childhood and adolescence will determine how they respond to life when life gets hard. 

Solution: Parents can guide their kids to reflect on foundational principles and life lessons that provide deep roots they can lean on. They can share the lessons they’ve learned about their own experiences of setbacks and failure, and share about what they’ve learned and how they apply those lessons to their current challenges. Parents can share their family stories with their kids to help them get a deeper sense of where they come from, the kind of people they come from, and give their kids a feeling of deep rootedness.

Result: Your kids can become resilient, gritty, focused, and committed to their values and committed to their ambitions. They can develop true resilience, grounded in a deep trust that not only this too shall pass, but their setbacks and challenges will actually be useful for their growth and maturity.

Course 3: EXPANDING BOUNDARIES

The Problem: As our kids grow up, they naturally want more freedom to make their own choices. That’s a key dynamic of growing up, in fact. Our job as parents is to share responsibilities with our kids at the right time and with the right support so that they’re able to handle increased freedom with maturity and wisdom. Also, we need to walk with them closely as they fall short of our expectations so that they can meaningfully grow. The problem is, how do we know when it’s the right time to hand off more freedom? What if the stakes feel too high, or our kids haven’t yet demonstrated the kind of maturity we think they need? What will happen if we hand off too much responsibility, or not enough?

Solution: Every parent needs to give more and more freedom for their kids to make their own choices so that they have the capacity and resources to be self-sufficient in life. Parents need a simple framework to help them make the right decisions for what to hand off and when. Our framework will help every parent partner with their kid in providing clear expectations for successful responsibility, and a clear framework to provide effective feedback when things don’t go well. 

Result: More mature kids who feel the self-confidence and have the capacity to handle a lot in life. Kids who feel cared for and supported, as well as challenged, to take on more and more responsibility. They feel truly cared for and empowered by their parents. 

Course 4: REDEFINING CLOSENESS THROUGH THE STAGES

The Problem: As our kids get older they push against the closeness of their parents and move towards more independence. For many parents, this shift feels like disconnection and causes anxiety and friction in their relationship with their kids. The sheer volume of time we spent with our kids when they were really little is now replaced with short carpool rides between practices or late evening chats after homework is finished. How can we redefine what closeness means in terms of connection and support as our kids get older?

Solution: Have continuous, honest conversations about how we’re both feeling about the amount of closeness and connections. Initiate productive conversations about how to make shifts in the relationship so that both sides are honored and needs are met. 

Result: Kids who feel like you understand them, and relationships that continue to grow and change throughout the years. 

Course 5: BIG CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER

The Problem: Tensions in any family can get high at any given moment. There are incredibly stressful moments in a family, especially during the school years. With parents working, kids in school and sports and activities, there are plenty of opportunities for big triggers, big feelings, and miscommunication. How do you have big conversations with your kids without saying or doing harm to the relationship?

Solution: Learn how to recognize your own triggers as the parent and deal with them in healthy outlets. Take more ownership of your reactions and words, and model what effective communication with your kids looks like. Commit to calm, clear communication, especially when feelings are high. Share your expectations with your kids, give them helpful and frequent feedback so that they can learn how to engage in healthy communication, too.

Result: Kids who grow up learning how to handle conflict maturely. Relationships with our kids that continue to grow closer in understanding, trust, and care for each other. Less tension or unresolved issues as your kids grow up.

Course 6: FROM PARENT TO TRUSTED ADVISOR

The Problem: As a parent to little ones, much of our role involves logistics and care taking. Over time, as they get older, our role shifts and our kids need us less and less for their daily tasks, but more and more for their bigger challenges- like emotions, relationships, and vocation discernment. As our kids pull away from their parents and seek to create their own identity, they often share less with their parents about what’s going on in their relational or inner worlds. However, as parents, we have much to share in terms of wisdom, affirmation, and guidance. How do we intentionally shift our role with our kids so that we become one of their trusted advisors into adulthood?

Solution: Learn how to grieve and mourn the losses you might feel for being practically relevant and central to their lives. Initiate mature conversations with your kids with a posture of humility, and consistently demonstrate your willingness to be supportive but not directive to their lives. Overwhelm your kids with support and encouragement so that they continue to trust you in their lives. 

Result: Sharing life with your kids as they grow into mature, wise adults. Continued mutual support and care for each other.

Course 7: IDENTIFYING THE TALENTS OF YOUR KIDS

The Problem: You believe in the potential for your kid to do great things in this world, and there’s no one who knows your kid better than you. But, how do you avoid the temptation of steering them in the wrong direction, or attempting to recreate them in your own image? It’s easy to misplace our kids in the wrong roles or the wrong path- we know that because it happened to us as we were growing up. 

Solution: Learn to see your kid with a neutral lens. Develop a habit of identifying and reflecting back to them their unique and natural talents. Invite other adults to observe them and share their thoughts about their talents. 

Result: Kids who feel truly affirmed for who they are, and confident in their own abilities to create a meaningful life. 

Course 8: NAVIGATING TECHNOLOGY

The Problem: It’s nearly impossible to avoid a dependence if not an addiction to devices, and the research that’s being released is helping us all see the impact of our technology usage is rewiring our brains and relationships. Most parents are struggling to demonstrate healthy habits and design healthy usage rules for their kids. How can we be the adults who lead our kids to healthy technology use?

Solution: Reflect on what matters most to you as a parent and for your family. Clearly and consistently share your values and your expectations with your kids. Be consistent in the rules and the consequences you enforce so that the boundaries you put in place for your kids helps them to make the wisest, healthiest choices and develop the most helpful habits for their technology use.

Result: Families who don’t let technology set the terms for their time spent together. Kids who grow up with healthy relationships to technology.

Course 9: SENDING OFF AND LETTING GO

The Problem: As our kids grow up, they will yearn for and demand more freedom and independence. Eventually, our kids will likely move away and create lives for themselves. Many parents don’t do this well- they cling to their kids and create unhealthy dynamics. How can we appropriately bless them into their futures so that they feel empowered and also build relationships with them of mutuality?

Solution: Learn how to practice grieving of what you’re losing, and celebrate what you’re gaining. Initiate conversations with your kids throughout the transitions that help them know what you’re letting go of and how you intend to support them differently. Continue to remind your kids about your unending support. 

Result: Kids who feel empowered to leave the safety of your home and have the confidence to create lives for themselves.

WHAT IF…

• You had the tools to have the right conversations with your kids?

• You felt confident that your values were going to pass on to your kids?

• You were empowered to build internal motivation in them?

• You had a clearer sense of your family story and how your kids fit into it?

• Your kids felt more understood and supported by you?

• You were more connected with your kids?

• Your kids were more prepared to thrive in a meaningful life?