North American Christian Convention

Every year at the North American Christian Convention, NACC, thousands of people and hundreds of churches from all over the country, gather for a 3 day conference. http://www.gotonacc.org/2012-convention/

This would be a wonderful opportunity for Hope and I to share with all those attending about Empowered Parents. We are looking to get an exhibit booth at this year convention, as it is in Orlando, and get the word out right here in Central Florida and state wide.

We need to raise $1000, $600 for the booth and $400 for banners and print material. Would you consider this? You can donate here and all donations are tax-deductible. Click here to donate. Please put NACC in the memo.

Timeouts

Have you ever placed your child in a timeout? What about your teen? We have hundreds of parents that put their teenagers in timeouts. One minute per year, so a 13 year old would spend 13 minutes in timeout. And here is the good part, they work!

One of the reason that parents fail is that they are not consistant with disciple. "I not going to put my child/teen in a timeout, they are to old for that." Let me ask you this, so what are you doing? and how is that working for you?

In order to change unwanted behaviors in your child/teen you have to be consistant. Most teens do two things, disrespect adults/parents and blow up in anger. When the child/teen disrespects the parent or yells in anger, parents react in the same way. And so we teach our children to yell and scream. One reason for the timeout works is they help the child/teen to calm down and the parent. Then you can have a calm conversation with your child.

Also a timeout fits the way a child thinks, here and now not a week from now. Children/Teens live for today. A 13 minute timeout is more doable than a weekend restriction. It also teaches them to respect you as the parent. We teach this powerful method at our Empowered Parent Conferences. We have parents that almost never place their children on a weekend or weeklong restriction because they have mastered timeouts, even with 17 years old!

To Denver and back.

This past weekend I took a trip out to Greeley, Colorado just north of Denver. For a Florida boy it was cold!

I had the opportunity to speak at Journey Christian Church's Men's Conference and lead a class on parenting with dads. "How to give kids the right attitude."

One thing that is common across the country is that kids are way different than when I grew up. They are different even after being out of youth ministry for 7 years. Our kids have changed in so many ways but there are some things that are the same.

1. We have to tell our kids that we love them everyday.
2. As a parent YOU NEED A PARENTING PLAN.
3. Parenting is hard work, period.

Even though most of what Hope and I teach is geared toward parents of strong-willed children, the parenting skills that we share are good for compliant children too. We help give parents a plan and hope!

Camp Pictures

Just got back from a weekend at camp with families. Camp is an option for parents to help give both parents & kids a wake up call. At camp we show the parents how to work the Parent Project plan.

Our new setup.

We have 15 acres now.

Getting ready to work.

Training & Coaching parents.

National Cemetery

Helping clear 3800 Christmas wreaths.

Both parents & teens working.

Thankful for those who served.

Only One.

Wednesday night we started parent support. In support we coach parents after they attended a weekend conference. This past weekend we had 9 parents come. Some were out of town and others were local. Weekly support is a huge deal because this is where the real work begins. This is where parents get hope. This is where behaviors are changed.  This is where they become Empowered Parents.

So, Wednesday night began with one parent. 

One parent who loves her son. One parent that is ready to do whatever it takes. One parent who knows she's not alone anymore. One parent who makes our job worth having and doing!

That's why our motto at Empowered Parents is...Changing families, one parent at a time.

Children need Love & Affection

"Simply loving children is not enough. Parents' love for their children must be expressed." page 3 Parent Project.

One of the key elements to being an effective parent is love and affection, telling your children that you love them. In order to have better communication and discipline in your home parents need to display love and affection. To often we don't tell our kids how we feel about them. It is vital we do this. The Parent Project says this:

"Children are now centered. They seldom think of the future and do not hold on to parental messages from one day to the next. For these reasons, most experts agree parents' love for their children should be communicated daily."


Parent, you can do this. Tell your child, your teenage, that you love them. Give them hug before they go to school. Write them a note and leave it in their room. Tell them you love them before they go to bed.  Most of the parents we work with start to regularly tell their strong-willed child that they love them and see changes in behavior immediately.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Wanting to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

We couldn't have done what we did this year with out your support.
2012 is going to be a great year for Empowered Parents of Central Florida.

3 things you can do for us still this year.

-Donate, we are a 501c3 non-profit.  Helps us scholarship lots of parents.
-Promote this blog, share & like us on facebook.
-Tell parents you know there is help for them: www.theparenthelpcenter.com

Blessing to you and yours this Christmas,
Jesse, Hope, Justus, & Elli Kegg