Fort Bend County Parenting course

Unlimited Choices to Recovery is now offering a 6-hour Texas Cooperative Parenting Course for Separated and Divorced Parents. The program consists of 4 hours of online training PLUS 2 hours of classroom discussion. Participants will receive 2 Certificates of Completion (one for the online training, and one for the classroom discussion) totaling 6 hours to file with the Court.

The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course is COURT-APPROVED in Fort Bend County by Judge Robert Kern and Judge Ron Pope to satisfy Local Rule 11 (Parent Education Course) for divorcing parents. All classes are facilitated by a Certified Parenting Instructor.

Many parents attend the parenting class because they need to fulfill a court or legal requirement. However, all parents, stepparents, and grandparents (and anyone who wishes to assist children) are welcome to attend the class without a court order, simply to receive the excellent information and help that it provides. The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course is written by licensed therapists who have decades of experience helping families in transition following a family break-up. It helps parents learn ways to end conflict, positively co-parent children in 2 homes, and help their children adjust to the divorce.

CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT (281) 762-1260 or (281) 701-8604 (24 hours). Website:  www.ucrecovery.com

Unlimited Choices to Recovery offers additional classes to fulfill court-mandated requirements as follows:  General Parenting Classes (4-12 hours, such as for Child Protective Services (CPS) cases); Drug & Alcohol Education; Anger Management Classes; Domestic Violence (BIPP) Batterer Intervention Prevention Program; Grief and Bereavement Counseling; Anti-Theft Shoplifting Class; Individual Sessions; and UA Drug Screening Tests.
All classes are available at 301 South Ninth Street, Suite #102, Richmond, Texas 77469.

As of 10/01/12

It is our understanding that every Family Court in HARRIS COUNTY, Texas accepts our online course, except Judge Lisa Millard (310th District Court), which requires parents to attend a course in-person.

In LUBBOCK County, every District Court accepts our online course.

In FORT BEND County, every District Court (328th and 387th) accepts our online course.

In MONTGOMERY County, Judge Tracy Gilbert prefers that parents take an in-person course, but you may inquire with the Court if an in-person course is not possible.

In BEXAR County, Judge Renee McElhaney (73rd District Court) has information about our online course, and may accept it at the court’s discretion depending on your circumstances – please inquire with the court.

In TRAVIS County, the online course is generally accepted in place of the CPP in-person course, but please verify with your Judge.

For other counties in Texas, please inquire with your Judge.

If you would like to add info about your Court to this list, please email us today. Thanks!

******

IN-PERSON OPTIONS:

• Austin, Texas

You can take the in-person version of this course at The Travis County Domestic Relations Office in downtown Austin, Texas. To view the schedule, please visit: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/dro/parenting_class.asp or phone (512) 854-9216 for assistance.

The course costs $34.95 per person.
Click To Enroll

10% Discount For Subscribers:

Subscribe to our newsletter and we will immediately send you a Welcome Email containing your DISCOUNT CODE to use at checkout when you enroll in the course.  Applying the discount, your price will be only $31.46. BEST VALUE on the web!

Please fill in the form below.

 Join Our Newsletter!

The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course Online

Name:

Email:

Your information is strictly confidential.

Maybe the marriage didn’t work out. But the children’s adjustment following the divorce can be very successful …IF the parents are willing to follow these essential strategies.

1. Avoid Fighting with Your Ex in Front of the Children

Children should not be subjected to this type of conduct. It is hurtful and damaging because it puts children in conflict between the two people they love most in the world. Also, a child’s self-image is formed by the image he carries of both parents. A child will internalize criticism of one parent as criticism of himself. When a child is made to hate a parent, he comes to hate a part of himself. Instead of telling your child, “You’re just like your mother!” when she misbehaves, let her know she is “like Mom” at proud moments. (“What a beautiful picture you’ve drawn. You have a gift for art, just like your mother.”)

2. Reassure Your Children the Divorce is Not About Them

Children, especially those in the preschool years, often think they did something to cause the divorce to happen. They feel guilty and responsible. Your children need to know the divorce is between their parents. They need reassurance that they will continue to be loved by both parents, even if Mom and Dad no longer live together.

3. Maintain Routines

A regular routine helps children experience the world as a safe and predictable place. When routine is disrupted, children exhibit increased levels of anxiety. When one parent has recently left the home, parents should make every effort to minimize other disruptions in the child’s daily routine. For instance, this is not a time to make a change in daycare providers, and it is best if a move to a new home or apartment can be avoided at this time.

4. Communicate Effectively with Your Ex

Parents help their children immensely when they are able to effectively communicate with each other regarding the children. Most experts and parents who have successfully maneuvered the difficult terrain of post-divorce communication recommend “business-like” communication between the parents. This involves inter acting with the other parent in a very formal and limited way. The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course will discuss business-like communication in more detail.

5. Respect Parent-Child Relationships

One of the responsibilities of all divorced parents is to actively encourage a positive, loving relationship between the child and the other parent. Encourage your child to communicate good news and accomplishments to the other parent. Allow your child to talk freely about what he does with the other parent; make sure your child knows that it is okay for him to enjoy himself when he is not with you. Your child will love you for supporting his positive relationship with his other parent.

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL in The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™

The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™, a parenting course online made for Texans, equips separating, divorced or never-married parents with skills to successfully co-parent children between 2 homes. It is the only online parenting course written by a Texas Domestic Relations Office and meets the requirements of Texas Family Code sec. 105.009. This 4-hour, 7-part course includes these topics: Parents, Children and the Courts; Positive Co-Parenting Practices; Child Development; Communication; Conflict Resolution; Anger Management; and Special Interest Topics (Family Violence/Spousal Abuse/ Child Abuse & Neglect and the Financial Responsibilities of Parenting). Please visit us at http://www.txparent.com.

© 2011. TXparent.com

According to published data, Texans experienced 77,806 divorces statewide in 2007. Almost 14,000 of those divorces occurred in Houston (Harris County). Most parents are very concerned about how their children will react to the divorce. They want to be sure their children will continue to grow up healthy and happy, whether in one home or two.

Here’s the hard fact: Your children’s healthy adjustment will not happen on its own. Divorce is an intensely stressful time for both the parents and the children. The parents’ attitudes and behavior surrounding the divorce will make a big difference on how their children fare.

Texas Dads and Moms in Houston who enroll in an online parenting class made especially for Texans will learn important ways to assist their children’s healthy adjustment at every age and developmental stage. Also, they will learn the Texas law and resources that are available to all divorced families in this great state.

While the online parenting class explains the details, a child’s response to the divorce generally will depend on these 5 factors:

1. Age

For example, preschoolers often assume they did something to cause the divorce. (Mommy and Daddy are getting divorced because I used my crayons to color on the wall.)

2. Gender

While boys may externalize their suffering (e.g., by fighting) and girls may internalize their distress (e.g., by becoming depressed), how a child comes through the divorce depends more on the quality of the parent-child relationship with both parents, than with the age or gender of the child.

3. Personality and Coping Skills

Even within the same family, children may vary greatly in their strengths and weaknesses and their capacities to cope with change. Each child is a unique individual with his or her own way of looking at and responding to the world.

4. Amount of Conflict Between the Parents

This is a huge factor. The effect of parental fighting on children is so negative, it is the #1 cause of suffering and maladjustment in children of divorce. The lesser the parental conflict, the greater the children’s chances are for a successful adjustment.

5. Amount of Support from Friends and Family

Following a divorce, children do best when surrounded by loving adult family members and friends who can provide emotional warmth and reassurance to the children. Friends and family can teach new activities, act as role models, and let children know they are important and valued.

Take heart: Other Houston, Texas parents have navigated the stormy period of divorce and you can, too. Enroll today in an online parenting course to gain the information you need to assist your children. They need your assistance to come through the divorce in a healthy way.

Recently, a father was provided with some proven tactics for better communication. He responded, “Yes, but you don’t know my ex. The other parent is the problem! What you say may be true for communicating with reasonable human beings, but it won’t work in my case.”

When you focus on the other parent’s need to change, you are making a fundamental mistake that is counterproductive to the goal of improving the co-parental relationship. In fact, we only have control over our own behavior, and we can do very little about what the other parent may think, feel, or do.

In our communication with the other parent, it is important to choose our words, tone of voice, and body language with care. When trust is lacking and there is a history of angry words between two people, those individuals tend to “have their antennae up;” each is expecting an insult, sarcastic remark, or roll of the eyes at any moment. For the sake of our children, we must strive not to offend the other parent or to incite unnecessary conflict.

“But why should I tip-toe around that other parent? Why should I go out of my way to be decent to someone who so clearly does not deserve decent treatment?”

It doesn’t matter whether or not the other parent has “earned the right” to be treated with kindness. Our children have the right to see and hear their parents speaking to each other with kindness and decency. We choose our words carefully and we attempt to avoid unnecessary conflict with the other parent because our children will benefit.

Concentrating on the other parent’s behavior leaves you feeling victimized and powerless. Take the lead. Begin taking small steps toward changing your own behavior today. It feels good to be the bigger person.

For a more detailed look at improving communication to minimize and resolve conflicts, please

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL in The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™

The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™, a parenting course online made for Texans, equips separating, divorced or never-married parents with skills to successfully co-parent children between 2 homes. It is the only online parenting course written by a Texas Domestic Relations Office and meets the requirements of Texas Family Code sec.105.009. This 4-hour, 7-part course includes these topics: Parents, Children and the Courts; Positive Co-Parenting Practices; Child Development; Communication; Conflict Resolution; Anger Management; and Special Interest Topics (Family Violence/Spousal Abuse/ Child Abuse & Neglect and the Financial Responsibilities of Parenting). Please visit us at http://www.txparent.com.

© 2011. TXparent.com

A divorce legally ends the marriage, but the unfinished business of raising the children still exists. When the parents continue fighting, the children feel that tension. They may feel unstable, concerned, stressed, and in some cases frightened. Ongoing conflict between the parents is the #1 CAUSE of suffering and maladjustment in children of divorce.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Consider these 3 tips.

1. Recognize You’re in New Territory

Following a separation or divorce, it’s normal to feel confused about how to interact with the other parent now. The situation is confusing. The challenge is to learn to relate to your child’s other parent in a completely new way to achieve your common goal of raising healthy children.

2. Consider Taking a Parenting Course Online for Divorced Parents

These classes go by many names (“parenting,” “co-parenting,” “family stabilization,” etc.) but the goal is always the same: to help parents learn ways to successfully raise well-adjusted children between 2 homes. The information is so useful that many divorce courts require the parents to complete a class, and file a certificate of completion with the court, before dissolving a marriage involving minor children.

But you don’t need a court order to take a class. Just go online, register, and get the information today. Investing 4 hours in The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course online can give you a lot of bang for your buck. Everyone benefits when there is less conflict at home.

3. Move Away from Intimacy and Back to a Business-Like Acquaintanceship with Your Ex

Instead of interacting as husband and wife (which you no longer are), it is very liberating to form a completely new business-like acquaintanceship with the child’s other parent. This is a huge key in ending the conflict.

What is a “business-like acquaintanceship”? An acquaintance is the pharmacist, the waiter, or the person we just met at a party. In our interactions with these individuals, we each follow an implicit and explicit set of rules. When we speak to the pharmacist, we give her the prescription, and she fills it. The pharmacist presents us with a bill, and we pay it. Business associates do their business courteously and efficiently while maintaining a low emotional profile. They work to fulfill a common goal. No assumptions, formal courtesies, public meetings, written contracts, little confrontation, high personal privacy, and low personal disclosure are hallmarks of an acquaintance or business relationship.

Creating a business-like relationship with your ex-spouse will bring many benefits. First, it will place the emphasis back on the well-being of the children, which is the common goal. Second, it will afford you privacy. Communication will be limited to matters involving the children. For example, the child’s health, school performance, and the parenting time schedule are acceptable topics. Topics such as the dating habits of the other parent, past mistakes, and attacking differences in parenting styles are off-limits.

Third, establishing a business-like relationship with your ex-spouse will empower you. In a business-like relationship, the parties treat each other with courtesy and respect … no matter what. Even if they have to “fake it until they make it.” The “courtesy and respect rule” is empowering because no matter how the other parent behaves, your plan of action remains clear and unchanged. You don’t need to wait helplessly by, hoping the other parent will act like less of a jerk tomorrow than he or she was yesterday. Starting today, you take the lead in a positive way.

Adopting the “courtesy and respect rule” models positive social behavior for our children. Also, it offers an island of safety for your child. While the behavior of the other parent may remain frightening and unpredictable for the child, at least your child will have the comfort of knowing that when Mom and Dad are together, one parent will always remain in control and speak respectfully. One fool is better than two!

For a more detailed look at forming a business-like relationship with your co-parent, please

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL in the Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™.

The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™; a parenting course online made for Texans, equips separating, divorced or never-married parents with skills to successfully co-parent children between 2 homes. It is the only parenting course online written by a Texas Domestic Relations Office and meets the requirements of Texas Family Code sec. 105.009. This 4-hour, 7-part course includes these topics: Parents, Children and the Courts; Positive Co-Parenting Practices; Child Development; Communication; Conflict Resolution; Anger Management; and Special Interest Topics (Family Violence/Spousal Abuse/ Child Abuse & Neglect and the Financial Responsibilities of Parenting). We look forward to hearing from you.

© 2011. TXparent.com