12 PM - 2 PM | July 8 + 15
If you’re a parent, then you know that little kids often don’t make complete sense. They act bizarrely and their emotions are erratic, even bewildering. This course helps make sense of a child’s behavior, as well as the complex emotions that drive the behavior. Once parents fully understand their child’s emotions, they can understand what to do and how to help their child.
But there’s another related, perhaps more important piece to the parenting puzzle that no one talks about: narratives. Narratives are essentially core stories that develop as we emotionally react to and make sense of our earliest experiences. These narratives tell us what to expect about the future, who we are, and who others will be. They determine every decision we will make. If that sounds like a big deal, you’re right. But here’s the catch: because kids naturally misperceive what’s happening, they frequently form long-lasting, inaccurate, and even harmful narratives about themselves and others.
In this session we’ll explore the relationship between narratives and emotions, and how parents can help their child develop healthy narratives. Optional part-2 takes place on Saturday, July 15.
At its core, this second session explores how we all struggle and stumble and succeed as parents, and we’ll do all this in a non-judgmental, supportive way. Using everything that was covered in the first class, this second session will now further explore parenting challenges with real-life examples. Parents will be encouraged to share situations in which their child’s behavior, motives, and/or feelings were not clear, nor was it obvious what the parent should do.
We’ll break down all the details into their parts to understand the child’s behavior and feelings, how a parent might speak to these emotions, what narratives might be forming as a result, and how parents can help their child form healthy narratives. Expect a lot of lively discussion as parent participation is strongly encouraged.
Location: Main Campus. Look for Craigardan Event sign at the end of Main Campus driveway (two “doors” west of the farm store, towards Keene).
Registration
$60 per person or couple for two sessions
We are offering a 50% discount for WIC and SNAP beneficiaries, please bring any verifying information and pay in cash or by check upon arrival.
Evan Shopper, LICSW, holds a Masters in Social Work from the Smith College School of Social Work. He currently is a psychotherapist in private practice in Amherst, MA. Though he sees all ages, he specializes in working with kids and adolescents. For years he has taught both parenting classes to parents of preschoolers and toddlers as well as state-mandated co-parenting classes for divorcing parents. He is currently writing a parenting book that incorporates the tools and understanding therapists use when working with young children.
Prior to being a therapist, Evan Shopper received a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. For many years, he was visiting faculty at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, teaching fiction and nonfiction. His fiction has appeared in Glimmer Train, The Sun Magazine, The Massachusetts Review, The Colorado Review, The Indiana Review, and others.