CONNECTED PARENTING BOOT CAMp

June 15, 16 and 17, 2017
Holiday Inn Express Sheboygan

Mark Vatsaas of Seen and Heard will be leading an intensive three-day Connected Parenting Boot Camp on June 15, 16 and 17, 2017, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  Mark is a trained TBRI® Practitioner and parenting coach, a moderator for the Parenting with Connection Facebook group, and the father of 4 biological and 2 adopted children.

The Parenting Boot Camp will be limited to 10 families. Each family is allowed up to two adult participants. For two-parent families, it is ideal for both parents to attend. If you are single or your spouse cannot attend, you may (optionally) bring an adult family member, child-care or respite provider, teacher, or other adult that supports your family. Childcare will not be provided, and children may not attend the training.

What is Connected Parenting and TBRI®?

  • Connected parenting is a label for a family of parenting approaches that emphasizes the primacy of a child having secure attachment to their primary caregivers. Secure attachments are built upon a foundation of safe, deeply connected, and trusted relationships. A child with a secure attachment knows that there exists at least one person who believes that they are precious, knows that they have a voice to negotiate their needs, and is confident that their needs will be met by their caregivers.
  • TBRI® is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. While the intervention is based on years of attachment, sensory processing, and neuroscience research, the heartbeat of TBRI® is connection.
  • Attachment is the foundation of child development, and it is upon this foundation that every child develops independence, maturity, and empathy for others. The relationship skills learned though attachments to caregivers set the pattern for all future relationships. It is through attachment that parents derive their power to parent their children. When attachment is interrupted, development is interrupted.
  • When children misbehave, they are communicating through their actions that something is not right in their world. An infant is completely dependent on their caregivers for survival. When they are calm and content, they smile, giggle, and coo. But as soon as they become hungry, tired, cold, or soiled, they squall and fuss. With an infant, our expectations lead us to the proper conclusions, and we meet the child’s needs. As children get older, we somehow lose sight of this basic fact of child behavior, and expect that children will communicate their needs with clear and respectful words. When they squall and fuss instead, we label them and naughty, selfish, or even defiant, and oppositional. Somewhere along the way, we lose our ability to see that our children are not bad kids – they are feeling fear, shame, frustration, or some other emotion they do not know how to handle. Or they are hungry, dehydrated, tired, or stressed.
  • Traditional, old-school, authoritarian parenting strategies often leaves you feeling more like a prison warden than a parent. Connected parenting helps you see past the behaviors to the hurting child within. If you are ready to be your child’s ally instead of their adversary, this Connected Parenting Boot Camp is for you.

What is included in the Connected Parenting Boot Camp?

Each participating family will receive the following:

  • Comprehensive training in the three principles of TRBI®
    • Empowering Principles to address physical needs
    • Connecting Principles for attachment needs
    • Correcting Principles to disarm fear-based behaviors
  • Interactive group coaching
    • Trouble-shoot challenging behaviors
    • Gain awareness of contributing factors
    • Brainstorm solutions
    • Identify SMART action items (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based)
  • Role-play practice
    • Identify challenging scenarios
    • Plan out connected responses using TBRI® strategies learned during the training
    • Rehearse and practice with the other participants
    • Get encouraging feedback and helpful suggestions
  • Your own TBRI® Pocket Guide to take home with you

Participants may also schedule follow-on remote or in-home coaching at a special discounted rate. In-home coaching scheduled to follow immediately after the boot camp pay no travel costs. Dates immediately following the boot-camp must be reserved in advance to ensure availability. Email Mark Vatsaas at mark@seenandheard.coach for more information.

Schedule

Each day will start promptly at 8AM. Please plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early to minimize interruptions and delays.

We will break from noon to 1PM for lunch, and from 5PM-6PM for dinner. There will also be several short breaks during the long sessions to keep everyone fresh and alert

Water, coffee, and a selection of healthy snacks will be provided. You will be on your own for lunch and dinner, but there are many restaurants conveniently located in the immediate area around the hotel.

The 12-hour day will start at 8 a.m. and finish at 8 p.m. Breaks, snacks and coffee/water will be provided. 

Registration

The cost is $5000 per boot camp for 8 to 10 families, or $500 per family for 10 families. Reservations are on a first-come, first-reserved basis and are non-refundable,  but are transferable to another family should you be unable to attend.

Remember that the capacity of the boot camp is only 10 families. Register early to secure your reservation.

Questions

If you have any questions or need more detailed information please contact Mark Vatsaas at (720)-507-0809.