Karen Kraut, MPH

I recently participated in the Think:Kids' Collaborative Problem Solving workshop, and it has made such a positive impact on our family life. The education provides a completely different perspective to challenging behavior which in turn has allowed me greater empathy and patience towards my children. It provides a practical framework for dealing with the issues, and feedback from Karen and my classmates really helped solidify the approach for my specific situation. I enjoy being with my children more and feel better equipped to deal with challenges due to my new understanding of their needs. My frustration is less, and I am much happier with my parenting style. The changes do not happen overnight as it involves skill building for both the parent and child, but I believe that this class has been a real turning point for our family. The response from my children to the changes I have made have been amazing, surprising, and rewarding! -Gwendolyn, Brookline

I was tired of using threats and punishments to get my kids to do things. In fact, my biggest problem with the behavior of my children was listening to myself! I really couldn't deal with my way of parenting any longer. When things were going well, there were no issues. But if there was a conflict I'd pull out my time-tested, highly ineffective bag of tricks that I learned from my own parents. Included were all the typical techniques such as counting to three and then punishing, telling kids what they had to do, and problem solving for them when issues emerged. After a few classes with Karen Kraut I understood exactly what had been bothering me about my parenting (not to mention, my own parents!) all along. There was no collaboration in the problem- solving process. Karen has such valuable insights; she guided our class and helped us understand, in a totally nonjudgmental environment, how to use the Think:Kids approach for problem solving and most importantly, to strengthen the bond between parents and kids. Very quickly I saw a huge improvement in my children's behaviors and my youngest daughter told me, for the first time, "Mommy, you understand me". I no longer hate listening to myself and I feel that my parenting has become more positive and effective in a few short weeks." - Sharon, Brookline