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The Need for Parent Education

7/31/2012

2 Comments

 
Check out this article I found on recognizing verbal and emotional abuse:  http://decodedscience.com/identifying-signs-of-emotional-and-verbal-abuse-in-kids/16438

It is an important topic and needs to be addressed seriously. However,  I am actually concerned by the proposal in this article to place more of an assessment responsibility on pediatricians. Pediatricians are not meant to be trained social workers and it is unrealistic to assume that they can handle this additional responsibility on top of their other work with families. As a Parent Education Specialist, I am aware that pediatricians are often asked for parenting advice and generally rely on misinformation. Pediatricians do not receive ANY training on parenting theories, research or techniques. In their training, the pediatricians I work with have over 20 specialties they focus on during residency. We cannot and should should expect them to add parent education and now social work to their repertoire. There are professionals in these fields who are competent and should be utilized as resources for families. Yes, we do need more assessment for recognizing emotional child abuse! We also need more resources for support and education for EVERY parent to help proactively address risk factors in new parents and work with parents before things become larger problems. We need more ways for parents to feel "safe" seeking the help that they need before things get out of control (criminalizing poor parenting choices is not always the best solution for families). What we need most is for parent education professionals and social workers to be present in-house at pediatric offices and other health care facilities (and businesses) that serve families. Let's collaborate so we can truly empower parents instead of asking one set of professionals to "do it all." 

2 Comments

"Hot Sauce" as Discipline

8/25/2011

1 Comment

 
I'm looking into the story of an Alaskan mom of 6, who was charged with child abuse after using hot sauce and cold showers to discipline her son. I am going to write more on this story later today and hope to get some interesting discussions going on. 

Happy Parenting
1 Comment

My first posting!

7/21/2011

2 Comments

 
Picture
Hi everyone!! I am so excited to be starting a blog about parenting.  It happens to be one of my favorite topics to discuss and I am really looking forward to having some honest and real discussions about current trends and issues in parenting.  I will usually begin each post with a response to parenting in the media, since that is accessible to most people.  But my hope is that our discussions dig deeper from there and really help us improve as parents.  More importantly, my vision for this blog is that is serves as a support network where we can help each other reach our parenting goals. 

This blog is also a great forum to ask parenting questions and seek resources. 

Enjoy and be well, Sheena

2 Comments

Whatever it Takes to Make Your Kid a Star

7/21/2011

0 Comments

 
I have recently began watching "Dance Moms" on Lifetime, simply out of curiosity.  Lets completely set aside the abuse that the dance teacher, Abby Lee Miller, berates on the little girls and their moms.  The thing is really disturbs me is the fact that the moms are so willing to just take it.  Not only do they continue to expose their daughters to such extreme conditions as dancing until 10pm for 4-7 hours at a time, strutting costumes that are way too sexy for little girls, but the moms are actually PAYING tens of thousands of dollars for the maltreatment.  

I understand how, as a mom, you want your child to succeed.  If you see talent, personality and sparkle in your child, of course you would want them to aspire to be a star and might be willing to go to great lengths to support them in that dream.   But I do not think that means doing ANYTHING!  I would even go so far as to call this neglect. The moms (and of course Abby Lee Miller) are putting their owns desires and needs before the needs of their children.  The girls highlighted in this Pittsburgh-based reality show deserve to be children!! They deserve to get enough sleep and feel innocent and free--enjoying the experience of dance, instead of feeling like professional performers!

I'm really curious to hear what other parents think about this.  Feel free to reply based on your own experiences or check ou
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First Post!

7/18/2011

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Start blogging by creating a new post. You can edit or delete me by clicking under the comments. You can also customize your sidebar by dragging in elements from the top bar.
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    Sheena Hill

    As a certified Parent Educator, I have seen almost everything parenting can throw at you. Have no fear, help is here! 

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