During the COVID pandemic, we noticed several behavioral issues with our kids. We have two sons ages 3 and 6. The added stress of working from home while helping our kindergartner with remote learning and keeping an eye on our preschooler had us at our wits end. It got so challenging that we began to wonder if we needed to get my 6-year-old tested or take him to a child psychologist! He was having huge outbursts of rage that we just didn’t know how to handle and nothing we tried seemed to work. Fortunately we finally decided to sign up and give a parenting class a shot before we started to seek a medical professional for help.
In the few months since taking the Parenting from The Tree of Life class with OneFamily, we have seen huge improvements in both of our sons, but in particular with our 6 year old. We are changing how we talk to the kids (and to each other) by focusing on “life words” at the same time expressing the values we want to instill in our kids and the virtues we expect them to display. This has also changed how our kids relate to each other with less yelling/screaming and more “using their words.” We still have a lot of work to do, but it’s so encouraging to see progress we’ve made!
What’s the big deal with CouchTime?
Our marriage has seemed to be in a good place, so we were skeptical about implementing “Couch Time” on a regular basis, so it really didn’t seem necessary. Well, CouchTime has completely changed our bedtime routine in our house. Our 6-year-old often complained, at bedtime, of being scared and having bad dreams even though he hadn’t slept yet to be able to dream. He would spend over an hour coming in and out of his room and then our room saying he was scared and had bad dreams. Bedtime was stressful for us and we had tried everything we could think of to comfort and reassure him. We even tried the other end of the spectrum by being firm and sending him back to his room. Now that we have implemented CouchTime on a regular basis, all this has all disappeared! He never complains about being scared or having bad dreams. In fact he encourages and reminds us to have our CouchTime. It’s like magic! Most nights he is in his room and falls asleep in less than 10 minutes after going to bed.
Mealtime Behavior
Mealtimes are improving for us in a dramatic way, as well. Instead of constantly asking our kids to get back in their seats, or sit up and eat, they love to compete to see who can name the most mealtime manners. They’ve actually turned it into a game by earning points by naming correct manners and then losing points when they forget to display it correctly. Mom and Dad even lose a few points sometimes from elbows on the table!
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These are just a couple of snapshots of the transformation that has taken place since we’ve taken the parenting class. It’s given us new tools and principles to make our house a more positive environment with kids who listen and behave much better. We have hope as we continue to see changes in our kids and parenting.
We’re grateful to OneFamily, too, for facilitating this class for us and our friends! It’s been a huge blessing to have friends with kids that are learning the same skills and values as our family. This not only encourages and supports everything we’ve been instilling in our kid’s hearts, but it helps us to support and encourage each other as parents too! I’ve even had co-workers, who saw my children interacting courteously when I was on a Zoom meeting, say “I didn’t know kids could do that!”
We would encourage anyone, whether you’re struggling as we were with our kids or not, to get involved with OneFamily classes, workshops and marriage/parenting coaching. Maybe get your friends and neighbors together to join you like we did. Because even though they may look like they’ve got it all together, we’re pretty sure they could use some hope and transformation in their family like we did!
The OneFamily mission is to Equip, Encourage and Sustain you for your marriage and parenting journey. The parenting classes, workshops, marriage coaching and online content are helping build strong, healthy families locally and around the globe. Your generous donations, prayers and involvement are needed. We hope you will join us in supporting OneFamily financially so they can keep bringing hope and help to more families and communities in the coming year!
OneFamily is blessed to have a special donor who is matching all one time and recurring gifts! This is a unique opportunity to double the impact of your generous donation to OneFamily this giving season!
Donate Here on OneFamily Website
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Venmo “Nonprofit Donation” to: @onefamilyhwl
Holiday Blessings to your family,
Jill and Jason Holmes for OneFamily
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If you wish to learn more about OneFamily and ALL of our 2021 goals, or how you can directly participate in our 501c3 Nonprofit Organization, please contact Shelly Howard at shelly@onefamilyhwl.org