Every parent knows it - parenting is difficult. No amount of reading, studying or planning is adequate to prepare you for the awesome responsibility of raising children. To paraphrase author Charles Dickens, parenting can feel like "the best of times and the worst of times".

If something in your family life seems stuck in "the worst of times", perhaps there are identifiable stressors such as child/parent conflicts, differences in parenting strategies, sibling rivalry, communication breakdowns, depression, anxiety, ADD, ODD, academic underachievement, separation or blended family dynamics, just to name a few...

While occasional struggles with parenting and raising children are perfectly normal, if you are finding that your struggles are frequent and intense, a skilled counsellor can help you and your family break out of negative patterns, achieve greater harmony and create a better functioning home environment.   

Consider the following questions...
About you:

• Do you feel increasingly frustrated and worn out trying to get your children to do simple, routine things like get up for school, get dressed, eat, do homework, or perform a chore?

• When you say no to your child and your child cries, are you overcome by guilt?

• Do you find yourself giving in to the original request of your child—saying yes to what you had just said no to?

• Do you engage in long conversations with your child, defending why you said no to a certain request?

• Do find it hard to follow through with consequences?

• Do you frequently lose your temper and then feel bad about it afterwards?

About your children:

• Do they have to be asked to help around the house on a daily basis?

• Do they disrespect you and not value what you have to say?

• Do they fuss about obeying you?

• Do they lack for nothing?

• Are they engaged in one or more extracurricular activities?

• Do they need to be reminded more than once to do something?

• When they slam the door in your face, do you write it off as “just the way kids are”?

• Are mornings or bedtimes a battle zone?

• Are you worried that your child doesn’t feel good about himself or herself? *

If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions, counselling can help you:

• Be a positive role model to your children.

• Learn new methods for working together as a family to achieve harmony and balance in the family.

• Nurture a strong, loving bond with your children while employing positive discipline strategies that set limits and encourage independence.

• Guide  your children to develop effective problem-solving skills for success at home, school and in the community.

• Experience a greater sense of well-being and increased satisfaction with family life.

• Manage present and future challenges creatively and effectively.

Call us at 905-321-0550 to book a free consultation or to learn more about our services for parents.