Type-A Mom Review

I reviewed the Proactive Parenting™ seminar on correcting toddlers. The motto of the company is: "Because you're raising a child, not just correcting preschool misbehavior", and the seminars reflect that focus. The particular seminar that I listened to is designed for parents of 1-3 year olds, and contains information about correcting behaviors that are common to that age, with methods that are specific to the abilities and intelligence of a child in that age range.

The seminar came to me as a link in my email, and was easy to open. It was in a MP3 format, so it can be listened to on the computer or downloaded to an iPod or other MP3 player, or burned to a CD to listen to in the car. I ended up listening to the seminar twice on my computer, once to get a general idea of the topics, and the second time to take notes on the great ideas.

Pros: The seminar is a good length and could be easily listened to during a child's naptime or playtime. The ideas are well-presented. The first part of the seminar included a detailed discussion about why time-outs, the most popular form of correction for a young child, are flawed and how the use of a time-out has changed from its original intent. There were also some very important points made about our expectations for children who are young. I was reminded that just because my son is walking and talking doesn't mean he has things figured out. The world is still very new to him, and he's trying to explore and learn.

The second half of the seminar dealt with the idea that we cannot just tell our kids what we do not want them to do, but we have to also include information on what we do want them to do and how we want them to handle situations. It also described in detail a correction method based on that idea, called the "Uh-oh, you hit, you sit" method. I thought the method made a lot of sense, and I plan to put it into practice in my house.

Cons: There's a lot of information in the seminar, and I ended up not catching everything the first time and having to listen to it again. Not necessarily a bad thing though!

There are a series of seminars available, including: Correcting Toddlers, Correcting Preschoolers, Power Struggles, Interrupting, Siblings, Whining/Potty Mouth, Listening, Self-Control, Yelling, and Quiet.

Carrie is mom to 14-month-old Ethan and wife to Daniel. She lives with her family in the shadow of the Space Needle.