I sat cross-legged on my living room floor, rubbing my 8-month belly and chatting to my unborn son. “We are going to learn some things today. Are you ready?!” I smiled, imagining him sitting in the womb with a pen and paper in his adorably tiny hand. See, he already takes after me. 

While waiting for the class to begin, I received a call from a friend. Upon hearing that I was taking a class on parenting, she gently teased, only half joking, “Isn’t it sort of instinctual?” 

Is parenting instinctual? Perhaps some parts of it are. Yet there are many areas that feel like a learning-on-the-job kind of thing. 

As we raise our children, we are really re-parenting ourselves, learning day by day as we go. Just as many things are new for our kids, they are new for us too, and it helps to have a little guidance. This is why I feel so grateful that I started my journey with GENM’s positive parenting course. I find myself referring to it even now, years later, with two more kids in tow. 

And if you’re thinking, "I am not a pregnant mama just starting out. My kids are two... five… ten. Is it too late to start?" The answer is no! No matter the age, from babes/tots to teens, the class is so helpful.

Is Parenting Instinctual Or Does A Parenting Course Help?

I'll end with this list of six reasons I highly recommend taking a parenting class with Suzanne Tucker from Generation Mindful:

1. Ever yell at your children? Lecture, punish, or bribe? You are not alone. The course is free of shame, blame, and judgment for our past mistakes and warmly embraces our current growth. We already have so much guilt, it feels nourishing to have a community that doesn’t hide behind a facade of perfect parenting. There is no such thing. 

2. You get an online support group with parents just like you and me who are in the trenches. This is a safe place to ask questions and share thoughts and ideas. 

3. The first part of the course is all about YOU, because you really are a key role in this whole parenting thing. Understand your triggers in seven steps, understand how your childhood affects your parenting, uncover hidden goals, and create new circuits to be the parent that you and your child need. 

4. The tools! So many tools to connect with your child, redirect their challenging behaviors, and set respectful boundaries. If there is one thing I have learned on my parenting journey it is that the bigger your toolbelt, the easier it is to be in relationship with yourself and your child during the tricky moments. 

5. Because we are busy parents, the course is at your own pace, which was a must for me. I could rewind and take notes or pause and stop when I needed to break and make room for life. 

6. I learn best when others share their personal experiences and I liked that the course wasn’t an “expert” telling me what to do but a knowledgeable mama and coach guiding me back to myself so that I could navigate parenting without the checklists, have to’s, and shoulds. 

So if you are a parent on the edge, wondering if the course is for you, I can tell you from the bottom of my mama heart, it is one of the best parenting decisions I have ever made.