Workshop # 1

Isn't it strange that we have never been thought how to live up to the most important of our responsibilities, that of guiding our children through adolescence. It's as if parenting were something we can achieve instinctively, a falsehood akin to the idea of flying through a major storm on a wing and a prayer, a misguided notion that ends up isolating us from the realities of dropping out, using drugs, talking in monosyllables, and leaving home to live whatever or wherever.

It's a state of mind that has us burying our heads in the sand and pretending that all is temporary, that all is well. It is, sadly, living critical moments of our children's lives – and of ours – in denial, for fear that we may be labelled bad parents.

To be sure, feelings of incompetence and impotence are a major source of suffering that often leads to guilt, an equally destructive feeling that has us wondering what we are doing wrong while we become angry and ask ourselves what in the world we have done to deserve such a fate.

If that scenario resonates with you, I invite you to free yourself from such myths and shield yourself against feelings of incompetence, impotence, frustration, and anger.

"The 10 secrets to being a teenager's happy parent" workshop will:

• Abolish the myths that are holding you back
• Allow you to acquire a knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms that drive teenagers, thus endowing you with a feeling of competence
• Open your mind to the notion of sharing your situation with other parents or people and help you create a support network
• Give you confidence in your capacity to say and do the right things
• Open a door through which you can develop a quality relationship with your teens

To do so, the workshop will focus on:

• Imparting you with the knowledge you require to understand children's needs
• Help you dig into your past as a child and see to what extent your upbringing has impacted on your life of today
• Inform you of your rights as parents
• Review parenting styles (authoritarian, permissive, democratic, and indifferent) and their impact on child development, communications, negotiating techniques, and other matters

Be ready for action! You'll soon find that one learns more out of doing than out of listening and reading.

Be ready for humour! The topic is such that it should be easy to find a lot to laugh about and to make this experience a memorable and fun one!!!