I WANT TO BE A BETTER MOM

August 2005

Lashun Burkhalter lives in Franklinton, Louisiana--a rural area in the southern part of the state not far from New Orleans. Franklinton is surrounded by countryside filled with tall pine trees and rolling hills. Lashun comes from a large family with a mother and father who work hard and believe their children should, too. Lashun married at a young age and she and her husband struggle to raise four kids, all under the age of eight.

When Lashun signed up for the Right from Birth classes at her local Head Start, she had one goal in mind: in her own words, she wanted “to do a better job at raising my kids.” She hoped these classes would provide just the opportunity she was looking for to achieve her goal. Lashun simply wanted to learn – and learn she did.

When the classes first began, Lashun felt too bashful and embarrassed to contribute to the discussions. Within a short amount of time, however, Lashun felt very comfortable doing so. You see, the activities in the Right from Birth series were designed to encourage interactive participation by all parents and to foster support and friendship.

With every passing week, Lashun grew more confident, not only in her ability to contribute to discussions, but also in her ability to parent effectively. Lashun admitted that she was often frustrated and stressed out by her children’s behavior. She soon learned that the source of her stress and frustration was not that her children were bad and out of control, but that her children were confused by her inconsistencies and lack of clear expectations. Rules in her home had been one way one day and another way the next day. Now Lashun understands how important it is to be calm, firm, and consistent, and to follow through with proper consequences. The behavior management strategy of redirecting – at one time a concept foreign to her – has now become a standard operating procedure and has netted great results.

Because she truly wanted to learn and was determined to achieve her goal, Lashun is now exactly what she hungered to be: a better parent whose new parenting skills have reduced frustration and increased consistency in her home.

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Craig and Sharon Ramey consider CDL the official ‘trainer of trainers’ for the Right from Birth Parenting Series.To learn more about how to bring the Right from Birth Parenting Series to your area, contact CDL at learn@cdl.org or 985-893-7777.