Deepening Your Relationship with Your Child

I'm reprinting a write-up of last Wednesday's parent ed event, written by Moira Kenney:

"Anne Brozinsky held her last Parent Education event for the year, this one focusing on Deepening Your Relationship with Your Child, at the Depot on Wednesday night. Over the course of two conversation-filled hours, parents explored a series of techniques for connecting with their children in ways that improve family dynamics, reduce conflict, and, most importantly, lead to deeper conversations with children about the challenges they face. Anne provided a number of ideas for activities and conversation-starters, all based on the idea that you need to meet your child where they are, before you can help them move to where they are headed. Anne talked about the power of role-playing as a way of working through stuck family dynamics, and at least a few in the group seemed willing to try. One example that seemed particularly intriguing (and worth trying on a slow weekend) was the role-playing around morning routines, letting your child (or children) pick which parent they want to pretend to be and letting parents role-play the child's typical routine. There was much joking about what the breakfast menu might include, and what your kids might do to get you out of a cozy slumber. As always, parents appreciated the chance to talk in small groups, meet new parents, and share stories of struggle on the parenting front lines. Thanks, Anne!"