If you are like me the pressures of daily life make it difficult to consistently offer your children the patience, guidance and care they deserve. The “Parenting: The Art of Trying” series is a concisely organized set of practical ideas to help you keep things moving in the direction that you would like to go.
These booklets were formed by countless conversations that I have conducted with parents during appointments and workshops at Parents Helping Parents in Park Slope, Brooklyn for over 15 years. I have also shared ideas that come from my work as a teacher and mom to step, birth and adopted children.
The series began after the death of my 4 year old daughter. At that time I wrote a book entitled “My Girl Elizabeth” and over the years my writing went through many changes, eventually culminating in these booklets.
Some of the beliefs that I incorporate into the work are:
- You know a lot about your child and your family dynamics.
- Care and patience produce progress even under the most adverse conditions when manageable next steps are tackled one at a time.
- Parental actions, no matter how awkward or seemingly futile, always make a difference to a child.
Try the ideas that best match your family and let me know how it goes!