Parenting 101

Child psychologist in Orange County

Raising children is simultaneously one of the most rewarding and challenging tasks many of us face in our lifetime. Although parenting is a quintessential role of adulthood, most of us are making it up as we go. Balancing our careers, relationships, and personal health while prioritizing the needs of our children and family members can feel like an ungraceful circus act.

Questions abound:

• How do we set boundaries?
• How does one discipline their children?
• How do we raise independent successful children while avoiding overparenting?
• How can we maintain our own identity while tending to the needs of our children?

These questions and many others are inevitable. Even with fantastic books based on science or respected professionals online, many of us wonder if we are doing it correctly, and how our mistakes might affect our children in the long run. Parental coaching with the help of psychologist Dr. Susan Pazak can be tremendously helpful and impactful.

“The one consistent fact about parenting is that there is no one correct way to raise a child.” Dr. Susan Pazak

Every child is different, and nurturing depends on the needs of your offspring. Nevertheless, there are some foundational concepts that one can lean on when stuck questioning our decisions and wondering if our mistakes will prove detrimental in the long run.

Below is a small sample of the common parenting topics addressed by Dr. Pazak. Dr. Pazak is here to help you navigate your parenting journey and support you through your most challenging parenting moments.

Parent through example

Children are exploring their world from the moment they wake. Their primary means of exploration is observation. Therefore, your behavior as the parent is tremendously impactful on your children’s behavior and growth. How you manage your own emotions, your home life, your relationships are all being observed by your little one. Modeling healthy behavior is one of the primary ways to instill those same behaviors in your child. Of course, being a parent is hard, and you will never be 100% perfect. So be forgiving to both you and your child.

How to have difficult parenting conversations

Speaking to our kids about difficult topics such as pornography, gender fluency, race, divisive politics, and gun violence have become necessities. Even the best digital controls cannot protect our kids from receiving video links or coming across inappropriate content online. We could all use some guidance around speaking to our children in a way that is natural and comfortable. Dr. Pazak can help you normalize these conversations and learn to speak to your children in a simple and direct way. These foundational talks can be the basis of a nonjudgmental relationship that will later permit your children to use you as a resource as they navigate uncharted waters.

Learning how to prioritize

Many parents struggle with how to prioritize the needs of their children while working and tending to their own health, marriage, and personal life. Triaging decisions alone can be isolating and unsatisfying. Dr. Pazak can help you to puzzle through life’s complicated juggling act and determine which choices are the most important to you, and how to spend your energy on what you value most. Once you learn to prioritize and tune out the judgments of others, you can begin to feel a bit more at ease and surrender to the imperfect process of raising children.

Together we will do our best to transform difficult situations into experiences that build resilience and an opportunity for closeness and personal growth.

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Dr. Susan Pazak is a Clinical Psychologist licensed in California and a life coach offering elite concierge coaching services from a psychological perspective. With a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and PhD in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Pazak has a profound understanding of people after her many years of studying and observing human behavior that allows her to provide the most unique and extraordinary coaching experience in the world. Valued by her clients for her keen perspective, caring, logic and insight as being part of the amazing coaching experience.  She has navigated her accomplished, intelligent clients through the most difficult and tragic situations to a simple resolution and change.