All I Could Do Was Scream

A testimonial from Francesca

I was at a time in my life when I felt I could only scream. I couldn’t relate or connect with my kids anymore. I was constantly hearing myself ordering the kids around and losing control if things were not going as planned with them. Then I’d go to sleep at night thinking how badly I handled stuff, or feeling guilty and ashamed because I punished them. I was asking myself why does everything need to be so difficult and stressful even the smallest task to get out the house to go to school?

When I first heard of Rebecca’s workshop on Positive Discipline, I thought, ‘That’s it, I’ve got to try it.’

Rebecca helped us navigate many aspects of dealing with kids in a kind and firm way that is so much better and more effective than the screaming and the punishments that I was using before. Through the role-play we did in the workshop I finally got a glimpse about how my kids may be feeling when we fight or use a harsh tone. I learned to connect with them before any correction takes place, and to treat them with respect as you would with any adult in your life.

Positive Discipline has many effective tools, routine charts being one, and we got to create it together with our kids and to implement it every morning to get efficiently and quickly out of the house. I am so grateful for that.

Positive Discipline has helped us to build more trust between us (the parents) and our kids. As a result I can see my eldest son being more playful and relaxed around me, coming to me to talk more and share his ideas about the things he would like to do during his time with me. He’s still fighting with his little brother and having his tantrums, but we have learnt to deal with them, and we go through the process of validating the feelings he is having in the moment, recognizing there are no “bad” feelings. 

What I loved the most about the workshop was the great feeling of meeting people every week that were experiencing the same kind of issues and problems as me, the community feeling of not being alone and the support that we gave each other during during the session and in the WeChat group during the hardest times at home. The “Parents Helping Parents”, where one parent/couple would share their challenge and all the other parents would brainstorm about possible tools and solutions, was really helpful and helped me a lot to share the most difficult moments and challenges that we face every day as parents. 

Rebecca was there to help and guide us, she has been so resourceful, kind and patient to explain and provide many examples to understand better our kids’ behaviors and the Positive Discipline approach, and she kept us focused and motivated in this difficult and rewarding journey.

I am inspired by Rebecca’s way of dealing with what seemed problems to me, for her were opportunities to learn, and I will always cherish this positive attitude towards my kids and our way of parenting.

I would definitely recommend taking this workshop together with your partner or spouse, it helps a lot to be on the same page when implementing new tools with kids.

I want to thank Rebecca for this experience, my family is more relaxed, and we are laughing more and more!

- Francesca