The JEC believes that a strong home-school partnership is critical to children’s education. To further this goal, JEC is proud to provide its parent body with a four part parenting series by Dr. Jennifer Weberman, geared toward empowering parents.

Dr. Weberman, the director of Transformations Therapy in Springfield, is a highly regarded clinician who has worked closely with JEC’s guidance department over the past several years. Her positive and supportive approach has helped thousands of children and parents reconnect, grow and thrive.

Last month, on a cold December weeknight, over 100 JEC parents attended the first lecture of the series titled “Positive Discipline: Fostering Cooperation, Connection and Calm in your Household.” Dr. Weberman discussed the importance of parents recognizing their own triggers, the meaning of true empathy and many hands-on tips for improving the parent-child connection. Most importantly, she reminded everyone that no one can expect themselves to change completely overnight and encouragingly explained that if you change something microscopic and maintain that change over time, you can become a new person.

Dr. Weberman’s second session, “Supporting Your Anxious Child: Fostering Resiliency, Resourcefulness, and Emotional Regulation,” focused on helping parents get comfortable with discomfort and included many practical and effective suggestions about how to support an anxious child.

Parents are eagerly awaiting Dr. Weberman’s next presentation, “Empowering Your (Anxious) Child,” which will take place on February 4.

Dr. Weberman’s classes are geared toward parents of preschool and lower school age students. They have been generously co-sponsored by the JEC Lower and Middle School Parent Organization (JPO).