SMART Parenting – how to parent using SMART goals

Summary: Learn how to achieve the universal SMART goals for parenting. Parents earn the respect of their children. Children learn how to make good choices. Because the sum of our lives is the result of the choices we make.

Objectives: 1. Understand why these are the goals of parenting and what to expect when you focus on achieving them. 2. Know how to earn their child’s respect. 3. Eliminate power struggles from parenting and other adult-child relationships.

Description: SMART parenting is focused on identifying the basic and foundational pieces of parenting. This approach breaks parenting down into its basic aspects that apply to every parent. In order to achieve this universal result, universal theories had to be explored. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is central to this approach. In short, Maslow theorized that there are five sets of needs that every human being has in common. #1 the need for food, clothing and shelter. #2 the need for safety- both physical and emotional. #3 the need for a sense of belonging and love (where we build relationships). #4 the need for self-worth. #5 the need for self-actualization -which is becoming the best version of yourself. I have discovered within my 25 years of experience in the mental health field and all of my years as a parent of five sons that the one aspect of need that is often overlooked or misunderstood is the need for emotional safety. Being able to consistently provide emotional safety for a child is the key to unlocking every parent's dream relationship of connection, respect and love. Conversely, the lack of consistently providing an emotionally safe environment is the root of every parents nightmares. This presentation aims to give parents, and others who work with children, a working understanding of how applying the smart goals of parenting can help them to achieve the desired relationships and potential outcomes when working with children.