Six-week mindful parenting class begins Jan. 24

By Helen Tarleton, MS Counseling & Resources Director and Mary Agee, Mindfulness Coordinator

In a post entitled "Pets and Co-regulation," podcaster, blogger, and therapist Justin Sunseri writes the following: 

"Co-regulation is something that happens between two mammals ... It's a social interaction that helps to regulate their physiology and thus optimize bodily resources. For example, the parent that gently looks into the eyes of their toddler who is throwing a tantrum. The parent is in their safe and social state, giving cues of safety spontaneously and easily. The child is in a more sympathetic state, highly energized but dysregulated. The parent's safety cues might help that toddler to regulate back into their own safe and social state and to calm down. The child is receiving passive co-regulation versus active self-regulation.”

But what happens when life circumstances (such as a multi-year global pandemic) prevent a parent (or people in general) from providing the cues of safety spontaneously and easily? Nature would indicate that the result is a chronically-dysregulated child. We certainly find ourselves navigating these waters daily at USN, and we suspect you are at home as well.

Perhaps the place to start is to begin by co-regulating each other first. If that sounds appealing to you, we invite you to join Mindfulness Coordinator Mary Agee and MS Counseling & Resources Director Helen Tarleton for a six-week class on mindful parenting held January 24 through March 7 each Monday at 8:30 a.m. with the exception of Monday, February 21 when school is closed for Presidents' Day. 

We are hopeful and excited to gather in person. We invite you to carefully read the COVID-19-related protocols listed on our registration page. Your registration for the class will indicate your implied willingness to follow these guidelines. Additional details on the class are listed below. We look forward to you joining us.

Mindful Parenting & Grandparenting Class
Monday, January 24 – Monday, March 7 (excluding February 21 for Presidents Day)
8:30 – 10 a.m. in the Gordon Multipurpose Room
Registration fee: $120 per participant for the full six weeks

While it is understandable that missing a class is unavoidable at times, our hope is that you can attend all six weeks. If you know that you will be traveling for some of the sessions, we encourage you to check back for the fall offering of our class. Please contact MS Counseling & Resources Director Helen Tarleton if you have any questions or are interested in applying for a partial or full scholarship.