Whether you're the parent of a toddler or a teenager, you know that parenting can be challenging, even overwhelming at times. Unfortunately, children don't come with an instruction manual. And being a parent doesn't always mean that you automatically or instinctively know what to do.

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Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) offers proven communication skills that really work. When parents use the skills they are amazed at the dramatic improvements in their families and in all their relationships. P.E.T. was created by award-winning psychologist and three-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Dr. Thomas Gordon in 1962. A major revision of the P.E.T program has recently been completed with new content examples and material that actively address the current problems issues and concerns of today’s parents.

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You, too, can learn these communication and conflict resolution skills through Dr. Gordon’s P.E.T. program, taught by a certified P.E.T instructor.

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You Will Learn How To: 

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• Talk to your children so that they will listen to you and change behavior.

• Listen to your children so they feel genuinely understood.

• Resolve conflicts and problems in your family so that no one loses and problems stay solved.

• Troubleshoot family problems and know which skills to use to solve them.

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The Results for You and Your Family:

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• Your children will feel free to discuss their problems and concerns with you instead of withdrawing.

• You will learn how to work with each other instead of against each other.

• Your children will learn self-discipline, self control and responsibility.

• You'll experience fewer angry outbursts and more problem-solving.

• Motivation by everyone to make rules work because they can help set them.

• Fewer power struggles - less tension and resentment, more fun, more peace, more love.

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How the Program Works

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This intensive, proven workshop is taught only by instructors certified by Gordon Training International. The workshop includes hands-on practice brief structure presentations, workbook exercises, demonstrations, small group discussion and at-home application.

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Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) is an 8-week group parenting class teaching you proven communication skills to help you become compassionate without being permissive, and to be more assertive without bribery, yelling or commercialized techniques such as time-out.

 

The Overall Goal of P.E.T. is to teach parents very practical communication and conflict resolution skills to create more happy and satisfying relationships with their children. The skills we teach are:

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• Listening with Understanding to help children express thought and feelings and solve their own problems independently.

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• Preventing Problem Proactively so that families are happier and stronger.

 

• Communicating Assertively and Honestly to help parents express their wants and needs and deal with unacceptable behavior.

 

• No-Lose Conflict Resolution so the needs of both parents and children are met. 

 

• Strategies to Deal with Values Collisions between parents and kids to increase understanding and acceptance.

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​The Core Values of P.E.T.

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• Children have the right to get their important needs met.

 

• Parents have the right to get their important  needs met.

 

• Preventing problems before they arise is better than waiting to deal with them after they occur.

 

• Families can become more loving, open, honest and happy when they solve problems and conflicts without anyone losing.

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• Parents have the right to share their important values with their children.

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Some Key Aspects of P.E.T.

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1. Practical communication skills training so both parent and child get their needs met, without the use of parental power.

 

2. Effective alternative to punishment and reward.

3. A framework to determine when to use which communication skills for what purpose so you'll know what to say in the heat of the moment when emotions run high.

4. Democratic parenting style (I/O authoritarian or permissive) to have collaborative, cooperative relationships with children.

5. Empathic listening skills so children will grow up responsible and solve their own problems independently.

6. Assertive self-disclosure through honest, clear and non-blameful communication.

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7. No-Lose Method of Conflict resolution so problems in your family stay solved.