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  • SETTING LIMITS CAN BE A CHALLENGING PART OF PARENTING

    But it’s also  one of the most important.

Learn why setting clear boundaries helps your children feel safe and secure, consider their impact on others, and work through big feelings. Clarify your limits, learn how to communicate them, and gain the skills you need to follow through with consistency and care.

This Self-Paced Online Class Will Give You

Clarity

You will learn the brain science behind why boundaries help children and teens develop skills like emotional regulation, impulse control, accountability and empathy. 

Care

You will understand that setting limits does not need to come at the cost of warm and caring connection. Indeed, it is the combination of warmth and structure that helps children thrive. 

Guidance

You will practice the strategy of limits and consequences and build a rich toolkit for setting loving limits with toddlers up to teenagers. We will offer step-by-step suggestions that you can adapt to your family.

You might be swinging wildly between these two approaches:

  • Approach 1: No rules. 

    There are lots of reasons we throw rules out the windows: You are too tired, worn down, and overwhelmed to set them. The world is hard enough on your kid and you want to compensate for this at home. Or maybe you don’t want to squash your child’s independence, freedom, or spirit. No matter the reason, the result is that kids’ feelings, wants, and demands drive the family system.

  • Approach 2: MY rules, or else.  

     

    There are lots of reasons that we resort to harsh punishment: You are too tired, worn down, and overwhelmed to calmly enforce limits. You want to prepare your kids for what they might experience out in the world. Or maybe you were raised with harsh discipline and it’s hard to break the pattern. No matter the reason, the result is that kids’ behavior is managed with discipline that focuses on compliance.

There is another way.

You can practice an approach to discipline that balances warmth with structure and that helps your kids practice the skills of emotional regulation. 

Say Yes to No - Why Kids Need Loving Boundaries and How to Set Them

Here is what you can expect in this self-paced class:

(Delivered in English, video subtitles and all downloads translated into Spanish)

This class is designed as a self-paced class. This means that when you begin the class, you will get access to a new “Spark” every week for three weeks. Watch short videos and work through downloads on your own time. Join our Spark & Stitch online community to ask questions, hear from other parents, and get the support you need. Then access for three months so you can revisit the content when you and your kids need it most.

SPARK 1 – WHY YOUR CHILD NEEDS YOU TO SET LIMITS

We talk about why it can be challenging to set limits, what the research says about why it is important, and what is at stake if we don’t.

Highlights:

  • Why it is so hard to say no in a culture of yes
  • How setting limits helps your kid thrive
  • What brain science can teach us about the significance of boundaries in healthy development
  • How were you raised? Reflective exercises to help you understand your own personal and cultural relationship to setting and enforcing limits 

SPARK 2 – HOW TO SET LIMITS

You have come to understand more about why setting limits matters. So, how do you do it? This section guides you through the steps involved in naming and communicating limits in ways that will help them develop the tools they need to manage themselves.

Highlights include: 

  • Connection Assessment 
  • The Strategies of Limits and Consequences: a step-by-step guide
  • Natural versus unrelated consequences: setting boundaries for every stage of development 
  • All feelings are okay, all behaviors are not okay
  • Ways to set boundaries without using the word “no” 

SPARK 3: TROUBLESHOOTING

Parenting isn’t a science, it is an art. Science can inform the art – but it is your job to test and listen and try strategies to see what works for your family and your kid. 

Highlights include:

  • When yelling takes over (your kid’s or yours)
  • What to do when the consequences don’t work
  • Hitting and grabbing 
  • Differences in parenting styles

  • Register for Self-Paced SYTN

    1 Payment of $45

    ENROLL

Money Back Guarantee

Nobody’s time is more precious and valuable than that of a parent. By the end of this course you will have received engaging video lessons, strategy-packed downloadable guides, and had the opportunity to engage in an online community.

We are confident that if you really engage in this course, you will feel the difference in how you parent. If you don’t see the value within 14 days – we will give you your money back.

If, within 14 days of accessing the class you still aren’t satisfied, you can reach out to the Spark & Stitch team and we’ll work to refund the course fee.

We’ve designed workshops and delivered keynotes and workshops on raising connected, courageous kids across North America for over twenty years. We’ve watched parenting trends and ideas come and go during that time. One of the consistent findings over time and across communities is that children need connection and boundaries to thrive. We also know that setting boundaries is one of the hardest parts of parenting. 

Building on Dr. Dave’s bestselling book No, Why Kids – Of All Ages – Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It, we’ve taken what we’ve learned and brought the essentials into this course so that you can strengthen your toolkit for setting limits and consequences without sacrificing the the warm and caring connections your kids need.

Here is what you are getting when you enroll today:

  • 16 easy-to-digest video lessons  (subtitles in English and Spanish)
  • 13 downloads that include more information, practical strategies, reflection prompts, and exercises that help you know how to implement these ideas in your daily life (available in English and Spanish)
  • An original, customized Loving Limits printable poster for your home
  • Course comments for support, Q&A, and conversations with other students
  • Access to class for three months.

“We are parents of a really young daughter of 18 months, so it’s important that as we start to introduce self-regulation that we are on the same page. This program has been incredible in getting us to shoot for that goal of being the balanced parent as opposed to authoritarian or too permissive.”

– Parent, Minneapolis, MN

Cover of Dr. Dave Walsh's book No, Why Kids - of All Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It

This online class updates and builds on Dr. Dave Walsh’s bestselling book.

“The combination of scientific fact and warm wisdom and real life experiences, for me, it’s invaluable. Who would have thought such a tiny little word “no” could have such a huge impact on the overall success of my child’s life?”

— Roxanne Battle, parent and journalist

  • Get Started Now

    1 Payment of $45 for this Self-Paced Class

    ENROLL

Questions people ask before starting this class:

How much time will it take me to do this class?

The old cliche, “Whatever you put into this is what you will get out of it” really does apply here. We’ve carefully designed the videos and guides to get you the most important information and strategies in a compelling and succinct way while also allowing for a deeper dive for those who want to take it. 

That said, each video is five-minutes or less. You watch the videos and work through the guides on your own time. Remember, you will have access to the course for three months so you can come back and watch the videos again and again and re-visit the prompts and exercises when you need a refresher. 

What if the information and ideas don’t fit my situation?

Parenting is complicated. Kids are complicated. Don’t believe anyone who says that they will solve every challenge in one online class. That said, we have worked hard to make the information accessible and the homework concrete so that you are constantly translating big ideas into strategies that work for you and your child.

Should I still take the class if I have seen you speak before?

We think so! We love delivering live workshops and writing books. Sometimes, however, keynotes only have time for an over-packed WHY and leave you hanging when it comes to the details of HOW and WHAT NOW? Or we had time for practical strategies but you forgot them when you needed them most six months later. 

This class will give you the chance to digest information on your own time, get access to guides packed full of more practical strategies, and troubleshoot challenges as they arise. You also get to decide when and where it makes the most sense to engage in this content, whether it is early in the morning, late at night, or while you are waiting for soccer practice to end in the parking lot.

Do I only have access to the class for a short window of time? What happens after the class?

Every week, for three weeks, you will get access to a new Spark (module). We know that you will get the most out of this course when you commit to the class for three weeks and really dive into the content. That said, you will have access to the content for three full months so you can always come back to it!

You might choose to revisit certain sections when confronted with a challenge, dive into the exercises more fully when you have more time, or run through the whole thing again for a refresher. You do you.

After three weeks, you will still have access to the materials via our online learning platform. Finally, you will be invited to join a private social community specifically for participants of our online courses for ongoing engagement with other parents.

What if I am not a parent?

While this class is certainly packed with “home-based” strategies, anyone who cares about kids can get a lot out of it. The information is relevant to educators, aunties, uncles,  grandparents, child care providers, and youth serving professionals. We invite you to translate the information and strategies into your own context.

How much access do I get to Erin and Dr. Dave?

This course is designed to be a “self study” meaning that you get to work through the content on your own time. But we are excited to be with you on this journey and support your engagement in the course and the materials. You will get invited to a private Spark & Stitch online community for participants in all of our online classes and we will be there frequently to answer questions and interact.

This class is not a way to receive therapeutic support, clinical guidance, or receive one-to-one consultation. We are happy to provide recommendations for resources in your area and we will offer a library of online resources for additional support around specific challenges as well.

Can you remind me of everything I’m getting when I sign up for this class?

Here is what you are getting when you enroll today:

  • 16 video lessons
  • 13 downloads that include more information, practical strategies, reflection prompts, and exercises that help you know how to implement these ideas in your daily life
  • An original, customized Loving Limits printable poster for your home
  • Access to course comments for support, Q&A, and conversations with parents who have participated in any of Spark & Stitch’s online parenting classes
  • Access to class for three full months

Get started today