Congratulations Jen you have successfully completed your first Parent Effectiveness Training course. Please tell us a little about yourself.
Thanks Kathryn! I’m thrilled to have completed my first course. I’m from Sydney, married, and a mum to two kids aged 15 and 11. Before I had children I worked as a primary school teacher. I am a certified life coach for mums of kids with ADHD and anxiety, and this year I am also helping solopreneur mums create space in their schedule and mind so they have time and energy for their business, family, and self.
How did you first hear about P.E.T.?
I first heard about P.E.T when I was reading the book ‘The Explosive Child’ by Ross Greene last year – P.E.T was a recommended resource in the additional reading section at the back of the book. After some internet searching, I discovered the ETIA website and saw both the P.E.T course and the instructor training. The philosophy of the program aligned with my own
beliefs around parenting and I very quickly signed up for both the course and the training!
What inspired you to become a P.E.T. instructor?
I had been looking for parenting training that I could use both personally and professionally with my clients, P.E.T ‘ticked all the boxes’ as far as what I was looking for, and a conversation with the very helpful Kathryn Tonges reassured me that this was the right decision for me.
Tell us your experience of conducting your first P.E.T. course?
I conducted my first course online with 2 participants – 3 hours a week for 8 weeks. I admit I was a little nervous launching into instructing my first program so soon after completing my training, however I found that the training, the materials and the support provided by my
instructor/Kathryn helped me to feel ready to take the leap.
Having gone through the program as a participant, and then again in instructor training, as well as the continual practice I was getting with my own family, I was pleased with how familiar I was with the material. I was able to provide examples from my own experience and help my participants with any questions they had along the way. Most of all I enjoyed hearing snippets along the way of how P.E.T was changing my participants’ family lives in a positive way.
Whilst I think I managed to maintain a reasonable balance of teaching/listening, next time I would like to make sure I am asking more questions that lead to learning to help keep my participants engaged.
You decided to conduct your first course online. Please share why, and also how you found this experience. Any helpful tips for others would be appreciated.
In my work as a life coach, I conduct all of my sessions online so it was a natural choice for me to do the same with P.E.T. Working from home during school hours and still being available for school pick up etc., makes life a lot easier! I made use of the ‘presenter notes’ feature of Google Slides to assist me stay on track with the program outline, and tested everything ahead of time to make sure I didn’t have any tech issues during class time.
I completed my P.E.T program as a participant in an online format and found it to be convenient and engaging – I still felt connected to both the instructor and the other participants despite it not being face-to-face.
What were the significant areas of growth and change for your participants after completing the P.E.T. course?
One participant shared how much she has changed since completing P.E.T as she has become more aware of her needs and her kids’ needs. She also shared that she found P.E.T to be a very valuable structure to resolve conflicts in the home environment.
Another participant said “I believe I am more accepting and willing to listen more. I am happier and worry less because I am no longer “taking on” our kids’ problems but rather listening and helping them find their own solutions.”
What are your future plans as a P.E.T. Instructor?
I am looking forward to offering more online P.E.T courses in 2023 – in Term 1 I am offering a class on Saturday afternoons and another on Tuesday evenings to cater for working parents.
Do you have any words of encouragement or advice for new instructors who are hesitating or are about to conduct their first course?
Running my first P.E.T course was so rewarding and well worth pushing through the initial feelings of nervousness! The resources and support available to you ensures that you have everything you need.
