HAPPY KIDS: “REMAIN RESPECTFUL TOWARD SELF AND OTHERS”

Presenting on Parenting in the New Millenium

On Saturday, August 15, 2015, WFWP Las Vegas conducted its first Parenting Workshop at the International Peace Education Center. Eighteen people attended, including one couple who came to learn more about parenting. The presenter was Mrs. Karen Ryce, a Montessori educator and teacher trainer. Mrs. Ryce started her own pre-school and served as head teacher there for 15 years before turning her attention to the education of parents. She is the author of Parenting for the New Millennium, which focuses on the power of two-way respectful interactions between parent and child. Because her results with parents and children can seem miraculous, she has been called the “Miracle Worker of Education and Parenting."

The attendees constituted a rather diverse group. Some had adult children; others were planning to become parents in the future. Mrs. Ryce offered tools, skills, and strategies on developing positive respect; given her vast background and experience on coaching families, there was unfortunately not enough time to cover all she had to offer. As a result, she focused on topics based on the interest of attendees.

Mrs. Karen Ryce Presenting

The topics she spoke about included strategies for developing a positive-respect mindset, creating a plan that calms the mind and emotions, and a four-step formula for changing undesirable habits of communication. She also outlined a method of holding family meetings in which family members negotiate solutions to specific problems. The key to all these strategies was to remain respectful toward oneself and one another.

One of the participants, Mrs. Hope Igarashi, had this to say about the workshop: “I really enjoyed the seminar and learned very much. Karen is very sincere and very patient. She is an excellent teacher. She seems to practice what she teaches: ‘the importance of respect.’”

She went on to say, “I especially enjoyed learning the way to set up a family meeting to address concerns. These skills can be applied not only to solve conflict differences within one’s immediate family but also in relationships of any kind. Often, in my circles, I find people do not want to discuss problems in order to come to a peaceful resolution. They just go about as if nothing happened or just go on with criticism and resentment. This is probably due to ignorance on how to resolve. This includes me, so now because of Karen’s teaching methods, I learned some valuable tools. Now, I have hope to put these tools into practice. Thank you for inviting me.”

Many questions were raised by the attendees which Mrs. Ryce answered the questions fully and specifically. All in all, the event provided quite an insightful learning experience and attendees are looking forward to the next workshop in the “Happy Kids” series with Mrs. Ryce.

Group Photo