Conscious Discipline Aligns with National Head Start Standards

“A parent came in and said, ‘I’m just coming in to check on him because I don’t want anybody babying him and letting him get away with behaviors just because his mom passed away.’ So I shared experiences with him about how his child has not only learned to handle upset for himself, but is using his skills to help other children in the classroom too. Then I asked, ‘So tell me, how long do you think those skills are gonna last?’ And he goes, ‘He can use those the rest of his life.’ I go, ‘Exactly. And I appreciate your concerns, but it’s okay that he has these feelings, it’s good that he identifies with them, and then we can teach him how to handle that.’ Then he got it.”

” Conscious Discipline training has helped our Head Start parents see discipline as teachable moments instead of punishment. Parents praise Conscious Discipline for teaching them how to gain composure and parent in more helpful ways.”

“I would recommend it to everybody that has to deal with children… I mean everybody. Grandpas, grandmas, parents, aunts, whoever, if you’re gonna have to deal with children, you ought to sit down and listen to some of this. It will change your attitude.”

“With Conscious Discipline we’ve seen growth in social-emotional skills for parents, students and teachers. Conscious Discipline is an essential tool for creating a safe preschool environment and more connected, empathic classrooms.”

“Sometimes you can just keep counting or you just need to take deep breaths. This kind of reminded me of a pregnancy Lamaze class. When you’re around a stressful situation you can handle it better when you’re calm because you can’t handle everybody else and take care of everybody else unless you can take care of yourself first.”

“The Family Conservancy has used the Conscious Discipline parent curriculum to inform parent education events at early childhood education centers across the Kansas City Metro area since it was released in 2017.  The curriculum offers an accessible path into Conscious Discipline and has been invaluable in helping us focus on sharing the strategies parents will find most helpful.  We have consistently met our goal of increasing positive parenting skills, and have received nothing but positive feedback at all of our classes.  It is our hope that parents will seek to continue their own CD journey and that we provide continuity between classroom and home. “

“Conscious Discipline applies to a cross-section of Head Start services, which makes it a natural fit with the Head Start Program Performance Standards. The research-based design creates a natural, consistent approach that meets the needs of every child and parent in our program, and what is taught in the classroom easily translates to the home environment. We haven’t had a single behavior referrals since 2008 and that is directly attributable to Conscious Discipline.”

“Conscious Discipline has truly changed the atmosphere in my classroom. It’s taught me effective ways to support children through their upsets and helped me teach kids how to handle their own upsets. Conscious Discipline is a wonderful gift that serves children well throughout their whole live.”