【welcome speech】Playful Parenting makes you a better parent

WELCOME/INVITATION SPEECH

Hello, I’m Lawrence Cohen,a psychologist from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. I’ve worked in the field of parenting and child development for over thirty years since I received my doctorate in psychology from Duke University. I’m the author of the books of Playful Parenting, and other books about children’s friendships and children’s play. Just as important as my training as a psychologist, I am a father and grandfather. I warmly invite you to my Ximalaya course.

Over the last two years I have been sharing my Playful Parenting approach with parents across China, and I have been listening carefully to your questions and concerns.

I have observed that parents in China have many strengths: They are very conscientious, very committed, and very loving. That is an excellent foundation for the Playful Parenting ideas you will learn in this course.

 Parents spend a lot of effort and money helping their children have a good start in the areas of academics, athletics, and music. But children also need a good emotional start to their lives. Emotional well-being is essential for children to develop into happy, healthy, resilient, and successful adults. Children’s emotional development is worth the effort of every parent to study.

Parents in China—like parents everywhere—face many struggles and challenges. Some of these are the same for parents around the world—like how to help children be more cooperative with daily routines, and how to reduce conflict and tension in the home. Some challenges are especially strong in China, such as helping children improve their study capacity and shape good character, how to manage stress between parents and grandparents in the home, and how to handle sibling rivalry. That’s hard when many parents did not have any siblings! Chinese parents tend to have very high expectations for their children’s success. That’s a great attribute, but sometimes it can create too much pressure and stress.

Above all, I have heard from many parents in China that they would like to be less serious and less impatient, more relaxed, and have more fun in the family.

The answer to these challenges is connection. Connection is the heart of parenting. A strong, secure parent-child attachment has been proven again and again to be crucial to children’s success in life, in every area from academics to work to marriage. Unfortunately, that connection can be strained by academic pressures, the fast pace of life, financial worries, all the time we spend on our smart phones and computers, and the loss of time out in nature with its slower pace of life. Playful Parenting is all about restoring connection to its right place at the center of the family. Connection is the key to this course.

Many Chinese parents have read my Playful Parenting books or listened to my other online courses, but this Ximalaya course is entirely new. It contains sixty episodes and additional material based on the latest research into parenting. We will address topics chosen from hundreds of real questions from Chinese parents. Each episode will cover a topic that every parent can relate to. The insights I will share are based on thousands of real-life cases of families in China. This course will help you face everyday parenting challenges—big and small, and will turn family conflicts into joyful connection. You will immediately see the results in your children, and in yourself.

Here is a preview of what to expect: The first section of the course will cover how to handle children’s strong feelings, such as tears, tantrums, fears, and aggression.

The second section will address forming good habits, such as cooperating instead of dawdling, not needing to buy something every time they enter a store, or behaving well in public settings.

Shaping good character is the focus of the next section, from self-confidence and independence, to good manners and good sportsmanship.

The fourth section of the course is about developing social abilities, such as making friends, sharing, and controlling aggression.

I know many parents will be especially interested in the next section, which covers improving study capacity. You will be surprised by some of my suggestions and activities for helping children with homework, self-management, focus, and resilience.

The sixth section addresses common questions about solving family conflicts: between siblings, between parent and child, between husband and wife, and across the parent-grandparent generations.

The final section brings all of the knowledge of Playful parenting together with the goal of becoming better parents. This section deals with our own struggles such as how to set limits effectively, how to break a habit of scolding and yelling,and how to be more playful and relaxed—while keeping your high expectations for success.

Throughout all of these sections you will learn about the power of connection, the power of empathy, and above all, the power of play.

My approach,which I call Playful Parenting, is based on the latest research in child development and on the leading theories of attachment and learning. I have tested all of these ideas in my own life, and with families around the world. This course provides an in-depth understanding of the principles and practices of Playful Parenting. I think it is just what parents in China need right now.

Finally, one of my main goals in developing and sharing this course is to help parents overcome the pressure to be perfect. I’m sure you know what I mean. We try to be perfect parents and it’s exhausting. We need to take care of ourselves. We need to take time to pause, to reflect on what it means to be a parent. What kind of parent do I want to be? What’s important tome? These are some questions I hope you will ask yourself—and answer for yourself—as you learn more about Playful Parenting.

Please join me on this journey of discovery.

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