PARENTING

Perfect

Imperfect parenting for mentally healthy kids

Whether you’re just starting out and trying to get off on the right foot, or if there are years of struggles and you don’t know what to do, I Can THRIVE Counseling is here to to provide education and support for healthy, trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate parenting – from birth to young adulthood.

Every stage of parenting comes with different challenges. Just when you think you’ve got it – their needs change.

Healthy Parenting for All Ages & Stages

Infancy (Birth - 18 months)

Raising mentally healthy adults begins at birth. Infants are forming their world-view based on the fundamentals of trust vs mistrust. Responsive parenting lets them know if their basic needs will be met, and emotional co-regulation helps them learn to self-soothe. What is co-regulation? Basically, an infant's emotions often match that of their caregivers. So, if their caregiver is upset or stressed (for whatever reason), they may become distressed as well. And when they are distressed, a calm caregiver can help them settle as well.

Toddlerhood (18 months - 3 years)

Toddlers are developing independence and learning to express their will (often through tantrums!), which can make toddlerhood a frustrating time for parents. Remember that co-regulation thing? As toddlers are growing their vocabulary, this is where having a parent who is attuned to their own emotions can help a toddler learn to name theirs. Tending to their emotional states teaches them that their feelings matter and that they are loved unconditionally (even when they are having a tantrum). As awareness of their own emotions grows, so does their empathy for others.

Preschool (3 - 5 years)

A child who learned to express their emotions during toddlerhood can use words to express their wants, needs, and emotions, rather than have a tantrum. Relationships become more complex as they are really absorbing the spoken and unspoken messages of those around them. They also copy the behaviors of the people around them as they learn to navigate a much larger world. This is where parents can instill a sense of confidence in themselves through teachable moments, and modeling healthy self-care, boundaries, conflict-management, and relationships

Middle Childhood (5 - 11 years)

Middle childhood is full of major changes as they pull together all of the things they learned thus far. The confidence learned during toddlerhood will impact their confidence to express more complex opinions and negotiate solutions. Empathy becomes a more driving factor in their behaviors and relationships. A parent that is open to hearing their thoughts, opinions, and emotions supports a healthy sense of self-esteem and self-worth, which is especially important as they reach the middle school years, where the social scene is often more chaotic.

Adolescence (12-18)

The primary job of adolescence is forming a self-identity that is separate from their family. This includes everything from peer relationships, body image, emotional intimacy, sexuality, to shifts in morals and values. This can create a time of frequent conflict as the teen tries to exert their own autonomy. Some call this "rebellion," but it's really one of the most critical stages of human development! A teen needs unconditional acceptance as they figure out where they want to fit in the world, which can be hard for parents when their teen is making choices that don't align with theirs.

Young Adulthood (18-25)

With a firmer sense of self-identity, it is now time to let them fly, and hope you gave them all the tools they need to survive in the wild world of adulthood. You no longer have control of their decisions and behaviors - some of which may have consequences you can't save them from. This is where the self-confidence and resilience to adversity instilled in them during childhood pays off! Even as they stumble along, seeing them come into their own can bring as much joy (and anxiety) as when they started taking their first steps so many year ago.

Common Issues

Relationship changes with new parenthood
Differences in Parenting Styles
Parent mental health
Parenting a Child with Mental Health Issues
Parenting through a divorce
Adjusting to an empty nest

Forming healthy attachments
Teaching emotion regulation
Building confidence and resilience
Helping them find their voice
Behavioral Issues & Impulse Control
Parent-Teen Conflict
Raising abuse-restant kids

The things we say to our children

become the voices in their head.

“We’re not raising children. We’re raising confident, competent adults.”

If I were to summarize my approach to parenting,

it would be:

Clients Say

My husband and I were on very different pages when it came to parenting. It was causing a lot of conflict, and we could see it was starting to impact the kids. So we decided to get some professional guidance. We're so glad we did! We not only learned about how inconsistent parenting affects the kids, we also learned how our own childhood experiences were impacting our stances on parenting. Counseling helped us focus on what was best for our kids mental health, rather than arguing about who was parenting "right."

T.N. & P. N.

Clients

Schedule online and receive $20 off your first three sessions!

*Full value will be applied to your third session

I Can THRIVE Counseling is an LGBTQIA+ Safe Place