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Intrepid Parents:

The New Roadmap to Parenting Today 

 
Transform challenging behaviors without the outdated and ineffective punishment/reward trap!
Then feel less stress and more joy in your parenting adventure.

 

As Albert Einstein said: "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."   If what you have been doing worked, it would have worked by now.

It's time to try something different. 

But this means, we need to take the path less traveled. And while this is not as simple and easy as "when your child does X, you do Y and Z", it IS effective and life changing.

Intrepid means fearless, adventurous AND with a note of humor; this is what will get us through the challenges of parenting those kids who are so easy to love, and hard to raise.

You will discover the essential role of the body in behavior, as well as the reasons beneath your child’s challenging behaviors.  

And these are the secrets you will need to transform that challenging behavior into calm, connected and cooperative behavior!

Here's our New Roadmap to guide us in our parenting... 


Instead of using behavior management techniques, we reframe what we are seeing (maybe its not misbehavior, but stress behavior?), befriend the body (the autonomic nervous system in particular!) and get compassionately curious about... why? why now?

That's when real change happens. 

The New Roadmap to Parenting Today is a semi-guided learning journey, to a whole new path of parenting. 

Go through the core material, including on-demand videos, handouts and assessments, at your own pace, accessible 24/7, for the life of the program.  There are three video courses, each including approximately 2 1/2 hours of short video lessons.

In addition, you will have ongoing, accessible support for four months, which includes: 

  • live office hours, an opportunity to connect live with Melissa, both drop-in during the scheduled hour each month and reserved for one-on-one times to connect, for 20 minute sessions, also offered an hour each month,
  • live trainings and workshops, 45 minutes - 60 minutes in length, on special topics and Q&As, offered 1-2 times a month, with an option to watch any replays,
  • ongoing contact with Melissa through messaging within the online community,
  • and a helpful community forum, for connection and support.

The investment is $800.

 

Join Intrepid Parents: the New Roadmap to Parenting Today

Life was stressful before the global pandemic hit and upended everyone’s version of “normal”.  

And while you’re trying to hold it all together in this sh**show of the past few years, your child may also be experiencing some (or many) of these behavioral challenges:

  • Acting out
  • Defiance, resistance and pushback
  • Hitting, biting, pushing
  • Blatant disrespect, talking back, not listening
  • Tantrums
  • Meltdowns and hysterics
  • Checked out, numb, withdrawn, unreachable

And if your child is experiencing more challenging behaviors, they are not alone. 

Oh, and if YOU are also  feeling the overwhelming stress, the exhaustion, depletion and parental burnout, then you are in the right place. And you are not alone.

I have been there; I feel you and I’m here to help.

When I discovered the Self-Regulation Path (the path less traveled!), which incorporates the latest research in neuroscience, the autonomic nervous system and the science of connection, everything changed…for the better.

This had been the missing piece; and through this lens, I could now see how and why everything else helped… a little bit.

You’ve probably tried: limits, consequences, rewards, punishments, sticker charts, timeouts, yelling, not yelling, reasoning, and more.

But there is an obstacle, preventing any of these approaches from having a lasting impact, which is this:  you’ve been addressing the behavior, which is only the tip of the iceberg. And this approach – to focus on only behavior - is necessary… but not sufficient.

It is what is underneath the behavior, that is driving the behavior and this is the key (hint: the Autonomic Nervous System!) And when you are able to unpack why your child is behaving this way, then you will start to see your child differently.

And when that happens, you will start to see a different child.  Beautiful.

If we see behavior as just part of the picture, and more of an observable symptom, and ultimately, we just see behavior as a form of communication – then we can focus on what’s underneath their behavior, what the behavior is trying to tell us, and address it there, at the root… with soft eyes, care and compassion. 

And when we do that, the challenging behaviors diminish! We tip the balance to less stress and more joy and connection.

In the New Roadmap Program, you will discover: 

The Body's Stress Response

An effective understanding of the “biology of the stress response” which then serves like an internal map to navigate your child back to calm.

The Behavior Iceberg

The secrets below the surface, that explain why your child is engaging in challenging behavior. What is kicking off the stress response?

The "Vulnerable Nervous System"

Why some kids have a highly sensitive nervous system which can result in a very quick trigger for big reactions and what to do about it. There are valid reasons for a nervous system that is primed for threat. 

How to Be a "Stress Detective"

Identifying the potential stressors that are driving your child's behavior is challenging. Learn to identify the overt and hidden, surprising stressors your child experiences.

How to Identify Stress Behavior

How to use physical and emotional cues to discern stress behavior from simply misbehavior. Learning to discern this difference is essential.

Strategies that Support Regulation

Learn key strategies that will make a powerful difference to support your child’s regulation (and your own). This is essentially the ability to manage stress.

Why this Training?

In completing this powerful, transformative training, you will ultimately understand what is going on beneath your child’s challenging behaviors. 

This is essential, for three reasons: 

1.  It will completely change how you relate to that challenging behavior, when you can see it for what it really is (of course, you won't always, being human and all). This is essential because this means... even if your child's behavior doesn't change, you will still feel less stress, and more joy!

2.  It is the information you need if you want to transform those behaviors for the better… to more calm, more connected and more cooperative.

3.  You will save time, effort, energy, money by directing your efforts specifically towards the root causes of the behavior, and the contributing factors.

Join Intrepid Parents Today!

Frequently Asked Questions

In case you are wondering...

Meet Melissa

Melissa Holland is the founder of “Inner Wisdom Parenting”. She supports parents in addressing their children’s challenging behaviors, with online courses, workshops, coaching and consulting in the essential areas of emotional and self-regulation, self-compassion and mindfulness. She is an experienced coach and teacher, previously in the areas of positive psychology, career and life transitions.


She lives with her boys in Boulder: the big one (husband), the little one (son) and the fuzzy one (Rocket, the Cat). When she’s not creating courses or supporting parents, she’s reading, learning, drinking coffee, feigning interest in Minecraft and Star Wars, reading about trail running (not actually running – yet) and hanging out with her favorite boys. Her motto to live by – lately – has been “hold it lightly”. She’s still learning how.

Professional Training

  • Parent Coach Certification, Being With, a year-long training with Robyn Gobbel, completion in December 2023
  • Certified Facilitator of Self-Reg, extensive training in emotional and self-regulation, MEHRIT Centre
  • Befriend your Nervous System, Deb Dana, LCSW, clinician and consultant specializing in complex trauma
  • Beyond Behaviors: Effective Neuroscience-based Tools to Transform Childhood Behaviors, Dr. Mona Delahooke
  • The Power of Self-Compassion, Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer
  • Nurtured Heart Approach, a parenting methodology and philosophy, based on relationship, connection and positive psychology
  • Mindfulness and meditation, Naropa University, Shambhala Center and Johann Robbins, Impermanent Sangha
  • Master's of Science, Counseling and Human Development