True or False? Things to Know about Parent Classes in Houston
When you wish you could get more information about parenting, and the books and websites just aren’t getting you the tips you need to make things run better in your house, what’s the next step? It may be that a parent class could be the right fit--you connect with other parents, learn things that you can apply to YOUR family’s situation, and get tools you can put into use immediately. Finding the right class in a city the size of Houston can be hard. We get it--check out our blog here about finding a parent class in Houston.
What’s a Houston parent class REALLY like?
Seeking parenting help can feel vulnerable--we know parents work so hard to do their best, and it can be hard to admit that things aren’t perfect in your family. But here’s the truth: every family needs help sometimes, and every family has strengths that no other family does. The right parent class will help you feel less alone and will help you focus on your strengths versus what’s wrong.
Questions about Parent Classes in Houston
Here are some common conceptions that we hear about parent classes in Houston, along with a little quiz to see if you think these are True or False. See how many you get right!
If I’m a really good parent, I don’t need to take a parent class.
False. Even really good parents sometimes need some different ideas about how to help their kids. We don’t know about y’all, but we didn’t arrive at parenthood 100% prepared for how to be an amazing parent. It’s been on-the-job training from the beginning. A class just gives you some help along the way.
A parent class will just tell me stuff I can already get on my own.
True (kind of). A lot of parenting involves concepts that are common sense, so we feel like we already know these things, or have read about them, or have heard about them from our friends/family/neighbors/parents at the park. The trick is in applying them to your own situation with your own kid(s), when things are stressful. The right parenting class can help tailor the information to make sense for your family or help you adapt the concepts to your own style.
I must be a horrible parent if I’m taking a parenting class!
False. Absolutely, unequivocally FALSE. No parent we know is failing if they’re seeking information about how to do this better.
I don’t need to take a parenting class if my child is the one having trouble doing what we say at home or at school. They just need to learn to behave!
False. We wish we could help you out on this one and say, “yep, you’re right. It’s all your kid’s fault.” But, alas, it’s not true. The number one mistake we make as parents is to fail to help our kids understand what we expect of them. We add insult to injury by doubling down and getting stricter when they don’t measure up to what we expect, punishing and yelling, and in the end, making things worse and destroying our relationship in the process. Like it or not, since we’re the adults, it’s easier for us to change, and learning to do things that will help your relationship with your child instead of harming it is what you’ll learn in our parent classes.
Things are going great at our house, no problems! We don’t need to take a parenting class!
False. What better time to brush up on skills and enhance your relationship than when you’re not stressed, yelling, sad and mad all the time? You’ll be more able to learn, your kids will be more likely to respond to your new techniques, and you’ll be set for when (not if) things get tough.
A parent class is a big investment of time and money.
Well, true. Mostly. Houston parent classes are typically not free and can meet for several weeks. But here’s the thing. If you take our 10-week parent class, for example, you’ll be learning skills and techniques that will serve you over the course of your child’s growing up. Think of it as the ultimate foundation for your family to have better communication, fewer fights, more compliance, with increased self-esteem and increased responsibility for your kids along the way. You invest in a hurricane kit if you live in Houston--think of this as the preparedness kit for your family’s wellbeing. PS: you get what you pay for.
Good parenting is subjective. There’s no class that will align with my values as a parent; it’s just the teacher’s opinion about what to do.
This one’s kind of a trick question, because the answer is false, and also true. Your family’s values are unique to you, and no one will ever know your child as well as you do. You’re the ultimate expert on them. What our parent classes offer, though, is research-backed techniques for how to decrease kids’ problem behaviors, help parents see their kids in a more positive light, improve children’s and parents’ relationships, and increase kids’ self-esteem and perseverance. We love the material we teach, but that’s not the only reason we use the curriculum--it’s been proven to work. Research shows it, and we’ve seen it, over and over again.
My child just needs play therapy. I don’t need a parenting class.
Maybe. We’ve seen that kids whose parents have participated in our classes and followed our recommendations have improved to the point that they don’t need their own therapy. Kids who do need treatment tend to need fewer sessions if their parents follow what we teach in the parent classes.