Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

How many of you don’t feel completely effective as a parent at times? ME!

How many of you have ever wished you had someone tell you what to do when faced with a challenging situation with your kids? ME!

How many of you have had behavioral issues with your kids and feel like you have tried everything but nothing has worked? ME!

How many of you have read parenting books or taken seminars only to find that while great in concept, when transferred into real life, were completely unrealistic? ME!

For all those reasons above, I am thrilled to share with you a local parenting seminar offered through Parenting Classes OC. This 8 or 10 week program in Orange County teaches parents, grandparents or caregivers Parent Effectiveness Training.

In the class you will learn how to:

1) Talk to children so they will listen and change unacceptable behavior.
2) Reduce stress, power struggles, and resentment.
3) Actively listen to your child so they feel understood and able to solve their own problems.
4) Resolve conflicts successfully so children will continue open communication into their teens and adulthood.

SIGN ME UP. Seriously!  Plus, Tiny Oranges readers will receive $25 off tuition!  Yay! 

The next OC classes offered will be:

Tuesdays, starting February 7th through April 10th (10 sessions) from 11:30am – 1:30pm at Move it Momma Fitness in Huntington Beach. Childcare is available for $10 per session if needed.

Thursdays, February 9th through March 29th (8 sessions) from 6:30pm – 9:30pm in Irvine.

And, for my South Bay mamas:

Wednesdays, February 8th through March 28th (8 sessions) from 6:30 – 9:30pm in Redondo Beach.

The class is taught in a small group setting by Meike Lemmens, a certified Parent Effectiveness Training Instructor with a B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Communications from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Meike is also a parenting expert featured on KDOC-TV.  You can click here to watch her recent feature on “Problem Solving Skills for Kids.”

I had the opportunity to chat with Meike on the phone and she told me the classes are taught in a safe and nurturing environment, where parents learn new communication skills  including when and how to use these skills.

Most parents that participate in the course are those with little ones six and younger, but the skills can apply to any age, up through teenagers.

The best part about the program is that you can take the skills learned each week, try them at home, and then come back the next week to share your successes and challenges. You then also have the opportunity to ask specific questions using real life examples.

I think the program sounds incredible and she had me so interested when I hung up I told her I thought I needed to register to take her class myself!

Visit www.ParentingClassesOC.com for more information and to register for the upcoming session.

Specials to note:

* Tiny Oranges readers will receive $25 off tuition for the course. “Like” the ParentingClassesOC.com Facebook page and simply post your biggest parenting challenge so you can join the conversation and stay up to date on their courses and tips! Tell them Tiny Oranges sent ‘ya! Then, when you register, select the first option listed.

* First 10 participants to sign up and pay for their February session will be entered to win 1 free hour of in-home parent coaching. Click here for more information on their one-on-one parent coaching programs.

* First 5 to pay online for the Huntington Beach session will get Free Childcare for the first session. 

[Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Post to help spread the word about their upcoming session, so happy to be able to tell you about it. I know there have been times when I wished I would have known about a class like this!]

I read a great article on Parenting.com recently called Preschool Confidential: What Teachers Want You to Know.

It’s written by a preschool teacher.

Some parts made me laugh out loud and the last point made me a little misty, so I wanted to share it with you.

You might not agree with every opinion, but there are a lot of great points she made that would not have occurred to me.  Like how I am now regretting giving my daughter’s kindergarten teacher a scented candle for her birthday this year…:)

Click here to read it!

Any other teachers out there reading this? Would love your opinion on the article. Do you agree? Anything else we should know?

[Logo and article found on Parenting.com]

I was fortunate enough to connect with Dr. Jerry Weichman‘s wife through my blog. Seeing that October is National Anti-Bullying Month, and Dr. Jerry Weichman specializes  in adolescents, I thought the topic of bullying might be right up his alley. This is a really important topic to me since my daughter just started Kindergarten and we are now in the grade school years. I thought it would be a very powerful post if he could give us expert advice on how we can start educating our children early about what bullies are, what they can do, and what warning signs to look for in our own children. This article is full of valuable information on bullying and what every parent should know.

Read More >>

I am a huge fan of parenting books because as a mom I really can use all the help I can get! With each one I have read, I have taken away different gems of advice or different ways of looking at things that have been helpful at challenging times. One of these gems was something I learned while reading The Go-To Mom’s Parents’ Guide to Emotion Coaching Young Children. And it had to do with kids and sharing.  What I learned from Kimberley has been so incredibly effective with my toddler (and even my five-year-old) that I felt compelled to share it with you!

Read More >>

How many times have you WISHED you had your own Supernanny to tell you what to do in certain situations with your children? Or, been at a loss because your child is acting out big time and nothing you do seems to work? Please tell me, it’s not just me!

Tom and Kisha Maher are the owners of newly launched Simply Family, an Orange County based in-home family consulting service that offers coaching and advice for parents who need help setting up boundaries or modifying challenging behaviors in their children.

As Tom explained it to me, “The goal isn’t to teach people how to be a parent.  We teach parents ways they can modify their child’s behavior.”

Citing what he says is a natural gift and talent for understanding children, along with ten years of experience working with emotionally disturbed foster children and at-risk teenagers, their experience and passion for helping families was the genesis of Simply Family.

Based on a system of rewards and consequences, their hands-on, realistic approach to behavior modification doesn’t come from a textbook, but rather real-life experience working with children.

They offer 30 minute phone consultations as well as in-home one-on-one coaching.  Click here to read about their services.

Would you love to win a visit from this OC Supernanny team? Simply Family is running a special contest now on their website where one family can enter to win a personal in-home consultation.  The contest runs through November 1st, 2011 and the winner will receive a two-day in-home consultation ($400 value.)

Click HERE to read about how to enter.

You can also follow Simply Family on Facebook (<– click to see their great parenting tidbits!) and for every person that “Likes” their page between now and October 31st, 2011 will receive a FREE 30-minute phone consultation!  Click HERE to follow the instructions online on how to set up your phone consult after “liking” their page.

If you are also looking for some great tips on how to choose the right daycare or nanny for your child, check out Tom’s recent article in the September 2011 issue of  OC Family found on page 30.  He provides a great checklist on 10 key questions to consider.

[Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Post and one that I am happy to share because if you are like me, I can use all the parenting advice I can get!]