Gratitude

Thank you, Sharon. You don’t even know how brilliant your email articles and continual support are. I appreciate you and your wisdom so so much.

As my son just came over to give me one of his wonderful hugs, it reminds me how he started to express himself, through hugs, after his sessions with you last spring. Your influence is long-lasting.

I just wanted to let you know that both times that my daughter has left your sessions, she is literally floating on a cloud of excitement and positive energy. We always go for a snack and drink afterward and I can feel the buzz of excitement radiating from her. She says you are ‘so, so nice’ repeatedly and today said that she considers you a ‘trusted adult in her life that she is lucky to have’. She has taken complete ownership of this process and feels she is making good choices in spending time with you and learning about herself. Obviously, she has connected with you in the way I thought and hoped she would. I feel that such great, positive changes are on the way for her. I wanted to sincerely thank you. I share her excitement for what the future will bring for her.

I just have to tell you that you made an amazingly positive impact on our daughter. She asked if she gets to go back and see you again, I asked her if she wanted to, and she replied ‘Yes please!’ She doesn’t get overly excited, or that impressed easily so this is huge! Thank you so, so much.

When you explained some things that kids go through it seemed so logical but we both failed to see it. Nothing is more important than the happiness of our kids, so we really appreciate you giving us a few things to work on. It makes me wonder how often parents blame their kids for their behaviour, when in actual fact it might be them! I know we still have to work on things, but we feel we’ve taken a huge step in the right direction. The recent parent-teacher interview was an excellent meeting, with positive comments about the huge difference in our daughter’s attitude! I can’t begin to express how much my wife and I appreciate your help!! It means so much to us!”

A few encouraging things in the last few days that I thought I’d share. Yesterday, our son managed to enter a men’s washroom at the beach by himself, which is the first time he has done so. He was initially very reluctant, but we used the language you’ve taught him. Yay! Tonight we talked about going to school tomorrow to practice using and flushing the toilets there, armed with several of the strategies you have taught him. His enthusiasm about the fact that he could see the value of something you taught him seems so important – not only does it show his receptiveness but it shows me that he feels ‘helpable’. This is a big change from before when he stated clearly that he didn’t think anyone could help him with his fears.

Just wanted to tell you that this morning’s workshop was great! You explained everything really well and I liked how you used different ways to illustrate your points (real life situations, your son’s Halloween story). I was most impressed with how you obviously know your material and stayed focused because there are so many ways one could go off on a tangent! So thanks for the very informative workshop! I plan to attend the next one.

My daughter was struggling with anxiety and it was getting to the point where it was beginning to affect her and our life on a daily basis. If she knew she was going to be outside of her comfort zone she would start to panic and focus on something in an obsessive and negative way in anticipation of the upcoming situation. She was the most anxious she had ever been when she started the six week anxiety management course with Sharon. She loved Sharon immediately and felt very comfortable with her. She has learned through Sharon why she may feel this way and how to use skills to help her cope better. I wondered how much she might absorb as a six-year-old but she seems to be able to remember and use what Sharon has taught her. As she was taking the course her anxiety decreased dramatically. When she begins to get anxious again we use the skills she has learned and talk about how she can manage and cope with the things that are bothering her. I have also learned how to help her. Our experience with Sharon has been invaluable. My daughter says she is the best teacher she has ever had! Thanks Sharon.

I have relied on Sharon for exceptional parenting advice, particularly related to anxiety, for several years. She has guided me through the system, directed me to various practitioners, resources, books, etc., and offered me great comfort and perspective when I really needed it. I recently attended one of Sharon’s Connected Parenting series workshops on anxiety and I was so impressed by both the content and Sharon’s communication style. Without even a glance at any notes, Sharon walked us through the latest brain research about anxiety. She has such a clear and thorough understanding of the material that she is able to break it down and share it in a simple and practical way. Sharon also shared some of the ‘tools’ that she has used with her own children and students that she has worked with over the years. I have found these tools particularly useful. We are lucky to have Sharon as a valuable resource in our community.

After having children, life became frantically busy. So, in order for me to continue to be effective and offer quality time to my children I simplified my life on all levels. One of the things I did was re-evaluate every mailing list I was on. I am happy to say that SharonSelby.com is the ONLY parenting subscription I kept, as it seems to consistently offer me quality information that supports me in raising my kids. The information from Sharon is informative, interesting, useful, and from a fresh new perspective; it is also in line with my values. Having read various books on parenting, attended many workshops, and been through several difficult life situations, the same old perspective offered by many other newsletters was not inspiring to me anymore. Each week I look forward to Sharon’s next issue for some new inspiration to take home with me.