Peace at Home Parenting is a dynamic hub of knowledge and compassionate support that inspires parents to create radical positive change for their children, their families and themselves. Our content synthesizes the science, our experts’ experience and the power of relationships to support parents as they raise their kids and respond to the unexpected challenges families are facing.
Seasoned expert specialists are drawn to Peace at Home’s body of knowledge, collaborative community and consistent philosophy of practice. Our team of experts focus on development from the womb through young adulthood, as well as specific issues such as difficulties in school, mental health challenges, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ identity formation, handling racism, navigating grief, and other matters parents and our partners identify.
We enthusiastically translate research and experience into practical tools delivered with insight, warmth and compassion. As new challenges arise, we are able to recruit the on-point experts from our vast network, because they trust our integrity and commitment to both parents and to excellence.
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Research findings related to pandemic stressors for families indicate that parental support and increased perceived control are promising interventions.*
We deliver these needed interventions. A University of Connecticut evaluation reported** the following outcomes for parents who access Peace at Home parenting services:
Advanced degree experts who specialize in child and parenting issues from prenatal development through young adulthood and teach from the heart.
Passionate about our mission, our staff provides superior customer service and communications to our clients, parents and caregivers.
Extraordinary people committed to improve the lives of families coming together to support Peace at Home
A calm brain provides the shortest path to a skillful response when your child is emotionally overwhelmed. The ability to keep a calm brain in a tense situation doesn’t happen without practice and commitment. Building a brain calming practice is one of the most powerful things a parent can do for their kids. Once parents find a practice that works, they can invite kids to try a practice that will work for them
The majority of parents in the US grew up with at least one Adverse Childhood Experience and these experiences powerfully influence them as parents. Parents benefit when they increase their awareness of how their childhood specifically affects how they think, feel and behave, especially in response to their children. Understanding yourself can also include reckoning with the history of your cultural group and related traumas as well as striving to break negative family patterns. This process may also include grappling with the difficult question of how to raise and nurture children in a society that wasn’t necessarily designed or intended to support the well-being of all children. And finally, to the best of your ability, work to avoid using your children to “re-do” your own life, make up for your regrets and failures, or fulfill your dreams.
A positive parent child relationship is the most powerful mental health intervention that exists. Healthy relationships are built on positive connection, not control. Your curiosity about your child is a magical ingredient that allows you to really see your child and for them to feel seen. Feeling seen and accepted is vital to well-being. Curiosity happens when you drop your own agenda and approach your child with an earnest wish to see them as they are. In this way, curiosity is a way of expressing unconditional love and acceptance. Stay open to your children, even when they are stressed and misbehaving, and allow them to influence you.
The majority of parents in the US grew up with at least one Adverse Childhood Experience and these experiences powerfully influence them as parents. Parents benefit when they increase their awareness of how their childhood specifically affects how they think, feel and behave, especially in response to their children. Understanding yourself can also include reckoning with the history of your cultural group and related traumas as well as striving to break negative family patterns. This process may also include grappling with the difficult question of how to raise and nurture children in a society that wasn’t necessarily designed or intended to support the well-being of all children. And finally, to the best of your ability, work to avoid using your children to “re-do” your own life, make up for your regrets and failures, or fulfill your dreams.
Rules articulate the expected behaviors for a peaceful home. Rules work best when they are created as a family and are expressed in the positive, telling family members what TO do rather than what NOT to do. Routines define the way an activity, like mealtimes, occurs. Routines are the how-we-do-it and are made more inviting by a positive emotional climate. Rhythms are the order, and sometimes the times, at which things happen in the home. Rituals are activities that mark important events, like holidays or vacations. Daily routines that start to have special meaning become rituals, too. These practices may also reflect traditions like stories of your family or culture that are meant to be passed down through generations. Rules, routines, rhythms, and rituals are important; they signal safety to the brain and strengthen the important feeling of belonging, both of which protect children’s emotional wellbeing
Play and playfulness provide powerful signals of safety and open the mind to cooperation and social learning. Playfulness is a way of being in which a parent expresses joy by engaging with their child. Songs, rhymes, smiles, and silliness are all ways of playfully inviting children to do almost anything. Play is exploring without a goal; playing is like breathing for young children because play is how they learn best. Parents sometimes set aside time to connect with their child by joining in their interests, imaginary world, or a game. This communicates respect and acceptance of the child’s interests. Play doesn’t need expensive toys or materials - using things found in the home or in nature can work just as well to explore or spend time enjoying together.
Help children feel comfortable with their own emotions and those of others. Help your child recognize emotions and name them. What they can name, they can tame. Treat all emotions as normal - theirs and yours. Be a model of expressing emotions, managing emotions, and getting support to handle your emotions. These are the building blocks of emotional intelligence and the first step in helping children become problem solvers.
Children who are problem solvers embody independent thinking, self-awareness, situational awareness, confidence, and emotional intelligence. If your child is of an age and stage in which they are capable of making a decision and living with the consequences, you can entrust them with the power to make their own decisions about most problems. If they need your support, use curiosity to invite them to think through the outcomes. Give choices from an early age and refrain from directing, correcting, and offering unsolicited advice and criticism. Above all, regardless of the difficulties you see around you, strive to parent your child from a place of hope to the best of your ability.
Children look to caregivers for signals of safety or danger. It is vital that parents recognize the nature of their own anxious responses. A child who feels safe in relation to their parents and caregivers will naturally use social-emotional strategies to problem solve. Signaling safety is a powerful way to protect your child’s mental health.
