Parenting Classes & Workshops

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 The Road Map for parenting, teaching and treating children, teens, and young adults with concerning, difficult-to-manage behaviors, developmental challenges and/or mental health concerns can be overwhelming for parents.
Simply speaking, you know something's wrong, but you don't know why or what to do about it. You feel stressed, angry, confused, even scared. You reach out to professionals and find that their language is filled with long unfamiliar terms, and you get advice on approaches that haven't worked or make matters worse. Even professionals and educators don't always know what to do beyond a Token Economy based on behavior charts filled with rewards, consequences and ignoring based on a Behavior Management approach. 

Rewards, consequences and ignoring were NEVER meant to teach complex thinking skills. The Token Economy based approach works for a large majority of kids -- kids who have the ability to be thoughtful, flexible, and intentional with their behaviors -- but this Behavior Management approach doesn't work for kids who struggle with emotional regulation, flexibility and problem solving. No matter no matter how consistently you implement a reward system, set boundaries, and impose consequences, temperatures continue to rise with this population.
You may find that the standard conventional approach is like pouring gas on a fire when you remind your child of consequences, or equally stressful, like pouring salt on a wound when they don't get the reward - yet again.
Emotional dysregulation is increasingly recognized as a challenge for many children and teens. No longer considered just "bad behavior", it's clear that staying in control can be a struggle for some youth despite their best intentions.  But what is a parent to do?  Expectations still have to be met, right?

The answer is 100% right!  When kids are dysregulated, parents can become dysregulated, and families are often thrown into chaos.  Parents describe "walking on eggshells" or "feeling held hostage" in their efforts to manage challenging behaviors and find moments of calm.

CPS can't make impossible possible however it can make the possible more possible.
Some of you have spent years frustrated, chasing down services, being told you are doing the intervention wrong – instead of being told you are using the WRONG intervention.

You don't want to use a shovel, when you need a wheel.
The decade of the brain and the new neuroscience confirms an evidence-based, skill-building, truly trauma-informed, social-emotional, inclusive approach like CPS is what is needed.  

Give your child and yourself the equity you deserve! 

It helps to know a bit about what factors contribute to the development of good regulation -- that's why Helping the Behaviorally Challenging Child (HBCC) was founded. As Peer-to-Peer Parent Coaches we take you on a journey to understand what is going on, what has typically been done about it, why that isn't working and how to help your child keep their behavior within an acceptable range, communicate and express their feelings, develop executive function, cognitive flexibility, and social skills.

Wanting answers to resolve the challenging situation in your life is not too much to ask and it shouldn't be so difficult to find options other than a behavior modification system using a token economy of rewards, consequences and ignoring "bad" behavior. 

If the "behavior modification" approach is NOT working, it is often blamed on the parent's implementation as the reason why the approach is not working.
Parents hear over and over...

• be consistent
• follow through with consequences
• set boundaries
• let your child know they may not get away with bad behaviors
• tell them to make good choices
• tell your child NO firmly and stick to it 
• use a sticker chart to motivate your child
• 
  

These are simplified statements to a complicated issue because rewards, consequences and ignoring were never meant to teach complex thinking skills -- a token economy is an extrinsic motivator for a child who has access to skills that allow them to think about what sets them off and consider expectations, rules and personal goals. That is why conventional parenting advice works for so many ... but not a child with chronic challenging behaviors .... your child is that left-handed child in a right-handed world.  While the majority of kids are right-handed your left-handed child deserves to be taught skills about flexibility, working memory and the ability to monitor their own feelings and behavior so they can develop good reasoning, planning and organizational skills.

Discipline without relationship leads to rebellion. 

HBCC helps parents, caregivers and family members with a Road Map that makes a tough job easier!  
HBCC has grown over the years and is now composed of multiple CPS Certified peer-to-peer individuals who are committed to helping transform children's lives by deepening their world's understanding of their behaviors and promoting effective interventions that focus on connection, collaboration, and inclusion.

As Certified Collaborative Problem Solving(CPS)® parent coaches and mentors, we are here to help you become your child’s Case Manager to confidently understand the road you are traveling and what your choices are to maximize the potential of your child and the entire family.  

CPS is based on the premise that challenging behaviors occur when demands and expectations exceed one's capacity to respond appropriately.  

HBCCs founder has presented this course on Helping the Behaviorally Challenging Child since 2007, reaching thousands of parents. She was that challenging kid herself!  She and her husband have two boys, 21 months apart, born in 1994 and 1995. HBCC has learned from each and every family that has participated in the course over the many years and one thing that is predictable across all families: their challenging child’s behaviors are being misunderstood and it’s time to STOP blaming parenting as the reason for non-compliance and START applying what neuroscience knows about lagging skills that leads to challenging behaviors.  

Challenging behaviors such as swearing, blurting out, yelling, avoiding, eloping, not sitting still, refusal, etc., not only frustrate adults, but challenging children are also punished chronically for their developmental delays and lagging skills with an intense program of rewards, consequences and ignoring which is exhaustingly for everyone.
If a child could do well, they would do well! 

Let HBCC help you on a journey to understanding your challenging child through a compassionate, collaborative, social emotional learning lens! 

HBCC’s curriculum has been fine-tuned across the years in response to parent input to help YOU get results.
HBCC follows up Parenting Classes with Parent Coaching to help you navigate the Sea of Options with Coaching, Training & Therapy. HBCC offers a weekly Wednesday Support Group to grow and continue to learn together.
HBCC is located in the heart of Old Town Tustin, in the Heart 4 Kids Coaching, Training & Therapy Building.
There are mental health educators, school support advocates, therapists, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and more in HBCC's educator/clinician trained community. More and more parents are asking for trained CPS professionals every day, so more and more services providers are being trained in this approach that understands, follows and incorporates the Collaborative Problem Solving(CPS)® approach.

HBCC helps you find and build your team.

If you have made it this far, this information is most likely speaking to YOU!

Parents have little time to take a parenting class. Especially when so many parenting classes have failed them, taking another one can seem like a waste of precious time. Don't quit before the miracle! 

HBCC IS YOUR ANSWER -- glad you found us!

The journey to a healthier happier life begins with YOU taking the first step and signing up for a parenting course!   
(Week 1) What is getting in the way?  Why do challenging children sometimes struggle to meet day-to-day expectations.  What has typically been done about what is getting in the way? 

(Week 2) What are the Five Thinking Skills needed to meet expectations? What is Collaborative Problem Solving®(CPS)?

(Week 3) What are the unsolved problems behind the behaviors?  Dives into Collaborative Problem Solving and the 3 options for responding to unmet expectations. 

(Week 4) Looks through a truly trauma-informed lens to cover how to practice addressing problems proactively - before things become escalated between you and your child. How CPS reduces challenging behaviors, improves relationships and teaches critical skills.

(Week 5) Practice what you've learned through watching roll playing moderated in the class setting.
(Week 6) Wraps up the course with in-depth Q&A's, videos, role playing and a survey to collect data.

Are you looking to:

• Reduce meltdowns & defiance?
• Stop the power struggles?
• Teach lagging thinking skills, durably?
• End the chronic noncompliance?
• Solve unsolved problems?
• Improve communication?
• Build connection?

HBCC offers:

• 6-week in-person Parenting Classes
• Weekly Wednesday Parent Support Groups
• On-going Parent Coaching & Mentoring
• 2-Hour Overview
• On-going workshops
• CPS Educational Advocacy
• CPS Services Navigator