Course review: Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey

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Conscious DisciplineRecently at a playdate, Maverick was breaking a rule and the situation needed to be addressed.

After I pulled him aside and we came back to play, my BFF said ‘that was some Mary Poppins magic.”

Perhaps. It’s part Mary Poppins magic, but I’ll let you in on how I learned it: I took Dr. Becky Bailey’s 10 week course called Conscious Discipline. (And to keep myself humble and honest here—he started the behavior again less than five minutes later and we did the process again.)

Disclaimer: I think it’s a terrible title for the course and doesn’t explain at all what they teach parents (and teachers—some school districts use this approach including the Higley School District).

I know, I know, there’s so many courses out right now for parents—so here’s my review of the course and how I’ve put it into practice for the past six months, in case you’re looking for a new perspective in how you approach discipline.

XO,

Amy

The Course

An international course curriculum, there are certificated teachers who offer the course themselves. I signed up through The Musik Box in Gilbert, Arizona, although you don’t have to be a current member of their music studio to take the course.

The class is 10 weeks and each week has two parts: a video lecture portion by Dr. Becky Bailey that parents watch on their own (usually 50-80 minutes) and then a live discussion component (facilitated over Zoom) that’s an hour once a week after bedtime for kids.

The zoom discussion is facilitated by the local, certified teacher and was an intimate group of about 12 parents, so we got to ask questions and work through applying the course into our week’s together.

The Cost

The cost is $149 and it’s a lifetime access, meaning you can take the class multiple times when your child reaches different phases.

Another perk is that The Musik Box offers complementary access to the class for grandparents when parents sign up. I thought this was an amazing resource if you’re leaning on grandparents for childcare (read more about tips on navigating that here).

The Content

The course teaches the basics of understanding how children have three basic brain / body / mind states likely to produce certain behaviors.

The course teaches parents how to approach and react to behaviors in ways that understand where a child’s brain function is during different scenarios, while also teaching adults to see conflict in a way we can maintain composure and consciously respond to difficult situations with children.

That’s a lot of science-type speak.

Really, this course could be helpful if you’re looking for help in not yelling as much or having more patience when your child is frustrating you.

I took the course when Mav was edging on transitioning from toddler to baby, and it’s been a life-saver as the terrible twos creep into our home by giving me tools and understanding of how to react to behaviors in the moment, depending on the brain state that Maverick is currently in (ie: how to handle a meltdown in real time at Target versus the nightly teeth brushing battle royale that happens every night around 6:45 p.m.)

The Children’s Ages

My cohort of parents who took the course with me had kids ranging from six months old to 9 years old, so it’s never too early or late!

Stefanie and Robert Jamison, the owners of The Musik Box, were encouraging and supportive to help parents adapt the lessons to each age range.

Some of the parents of older kids were a little timid at first, feeling like it was “too late” to try a new discipline style, but the Jamisons brought the lessons into realistic chunks for parents to apply in real time, and report back the next week with real wins (and challenges).

I’m so grateful I took this class when I did, and I will most certainly be taking it as a repeat parent maybe once every 18-24 months as Maverick ages and challenges me in different ways. The content may stay the same, but different ideas/tips/lessons will resonate different through different phases of my parenting journey.

The next session of class kicks off on Tuesday, June 7th (8:30 PM)
AND Thursday, June 9th (7:30 PM); class is $149 and you can register here.

 

 

 

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