Empowering change

05‑JUL‑2006 I am a 37 year old mother of three children ages I1, 9 and 6. Like most mothers I found it was a constant battle trying to encourage the children to complete tasks. I found myself forever shouting and arguing with them especially with my nine-year old son. My husband understood the difficulty I had with raising my children, unfortunately, he couldn't do much as he works very long hours and is mentally exhausted to do anything when he arrives at home, When Mary explained to my husband that she was an NLP therapist and working in the field of parenting , he 'knew this would really help me with my children, However, I wasn't as confident. Everyday my husband would arrive home and I would complain about my day. My husband would encourage me to ring Mary and "just ask her what she thinks". I would respond with "I don't have a Problem with raising my kids'. After a few months, I finally had a conversation with Mary and at that moment realized she was more of a support person and not a judge. I explained my situation and she was happy to come to my home and meet the children after a day at school. When my 9 year old son came home he wasn't interested in meeting any one because he was hungry and tired. I encouraged him to be polite and say hello to Mary. A forced hello was all we could get from him. Mary turned him around with her words and nature. Not only was he "showing her his homework, he was telling me that be remembered her looking after him while I went shopping. Something Mary and I knew wasn't true. Mary continued to encourage him to talk to her about his homework. She invented a game which worked on using a timer, and thus encouraged him to complete it quicker and without a problem. She then guided me on how to continue to work with him making sure I used the right language and actions. A simple plan by Mary has made my school holidays more enjoyable, by encouraging the children to work out their own time table we can both agree on what activities we can share together It has helped me a great deal with all my children, and even other children that I see it has me closer to them as there is not the constant fighting and arguing. It's nice to know Mary is there as a support and a friend. Relieved Mum South West Sydney NSW