Your Family Matters   

Your Family Matters offers a variety of workshops to fit your needs and your schedule:  parenting and self-care, days or evenings, in-person or teleclass, the choice is yours.

Please be patient.

A new and improved site (as well as a full calendar) of programming will be available to you in January.  In the meantime, take a look at all the programs YFM has to offer in the new year.

Powerful Parent Jumpstart Program

A powerful six-session teleseminar to learn and implement the core skills:

  * identify  your most important values and find ways to put them at the center of your family.

  * learn critical listening and speaking skills so that you and your teen have more sharing and respectful communication.

  * strategies to help you  step aside, so  you can stop micromanaging your kids and allow them to handle their own problems.

  * problem-solving strategies that will ease frustration in your family.  You'll be able to teach these strategies to your kids, too, so they can handle their own responsibilities and challenges more effectively.

Additional benefits:

  * email access to me during the program, to ask a quick question or share your successes

  * worksheets to go along with your skills training

  * access to recordings of all our calls

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 MomTalk! 

Real Moms, Real Concerns, Real Solutions

Parenting a teen or young adult can be like visiting a foreign country -- you just don't speak the same language.  They are no longer babies, no longer turning to you for all their needs.  As they change in body, attitudes and emotions, your parenting style and strategies have to change, too.

Welcome to MomTalk!  We'll pay attention to your real-life concerns about raising teens and keep your sanity.  You will have support, skills and strategies to:

  * keep the lines of communication open and strong.

  * encourage responsible, respectful behavior.

  * take the confusion out of decision-making by putting values, rather than   

    rules, back at the center of your family.

  * let your children experience life and its consequences, so they can learn 

    to problem-solve and self-correct.

  * keep you as a trusted adult in their life.

  * pursue your own interests and potential.

Spaces are limited, and a reservation is required.  Contact me to reserve your seat.          fgweis@gmail.com   or   201-747-9642

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Step In or Step Aside:

  Knowing When and How to Intervene (or not) in your child's challenges

"When the going gets tough, the kids need to learn how to 'hang on' and the parents need to learn how to 'let go'." (Malcolm & Laura Gauld, authors of The Biggest Job We'll Ever Have)

Are you a parent who tends to jump in and fix things for your child? Although done with love and good intentions, this "take charge" attitude actually prevents  your kids from growing up and becoming independent.

This program explores why parents' hopes and dreams for their children keep them from learning how to cope with problems.  Parents will learn to determine how and when to get involved in a situation or let go of it.  You'll also be given strategies and tools to help your children be accountable, learn from consequences, problem-solve and set realistic goals.

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The Family Meeting...

why you need it and how to run it.

Everyone is going in a different direction.  There are days when it can feel as if you're living under the same roof, but not connecting as a family.  There are also things that need to be talked about... as a family, and not on the run.
 
A regularly scheduled family meeting is just the thing to discusswhat's going well, what needs work, and to set some goals for your family.  It's not meant to be crisis management, but rather a time to listen, share, problem-solve and celebrate each person's accomplishments. The family meeting can actually help you deal with concerns before they turn into crises, and foster cooperation and well-being.
 
Join me for this *F*R*E*E event, in-person or by phone.
 

How to Listen So Teens Will Talk

Our kids are experiencing major stress.  Some need more help than others in coping with the pressures of grades, friends, sexuality, technology, and the temptations of alcohol and drugs. Their friends may be there for them, but don't have the wisdom and experience to help them through these challenges.  As their parent you have the life experience, you care most about their well-being, and you have their best interests at heart.  So how do you become the one they turn to when there's something important to talk about? 

At How to Listen So Teens Will Talk  you will learn the skill of empathetic listening that will make you the trusted adult in your child's life.  Learn to go beyond the words they say, and get right to the heart of what they're feeling.  You don't have to fix it for them or agree with them. When you understand how to truly listen, you are providing a safe place for them to express their emotions and begin the process of problem-solving.  And you're in their loop.

Next event to be announced.

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"S.M.A.R.T Goals for Success"

Don't work harder, work SMARTer!

Have you made the same resolution several years in a row?           

Do you have goals that don't get off the ground?

Believe it or not, your success has more to do with your choice of goal than your physical ability to attain it.  At this event you will get laser sharp clarity about what you are trying to accomplish and why, and create a plan based on the S.M.A.R.T. Goal process.  By the end of the class you will have a system to monitor your progress and make course corrections as needed.  Set yourself up for success, the first time around.

SMART Goals are a recognized method of developing realistic, manageable steps to accomplish just about anything... from organizing to exercising, or from choosing a new career to making time for self-care.  You can also teach your children to SMART Goal for managing their time, school work and possessions. With SMART Goals you'll have the pride and satisfaction of finishing what you start!

Don't just be a goal-setter... be a goal-GETTER!

At these free, introductory events you will:

 * hone in on what you want to accomplish
 * identify the roadblocks that keep you from starting or following through
 * learn strategies to keep from being overwhelmed
 

Date:  to be announced

  The Biggest Job - Parenting from Principles- TBA

What character traits would you most like your children to have?  The Biggest Job examines the "Ten Priorities of Effective Parenting" of the Hyde School program, which help parents raise children to become people of integrity, compassion and courage.

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           The follow-up event to                  How to Listen So Teens Will Talk

This three-week skill-building program will address developing empathetic listening, shifting responsibility to teens, helping teens learn to problem-solve and creating effective consequences.

* maximum of eight participants