Kristen Balhoff

Certified Instructor

Cary, North Carolina

Motivated by the developmental differences of her own children at home, Kristen left her original career to learn about supporting children with unique social/emotional profiles. She immediately fell in love with Conscious Discipline’s adult-first and relationship-based approach to parenting. Based on brain science, Conscious Discipline benefits all families, and Kristen has developed practical strategies for […]

More About Kristen Balhoff arrow-right

Motivated by the developmental differences of her own children at home, Kristen left her original career
to learn about supporting children with unique social/emotional profiles. She immediately fell in love with Conscious Discipline’s adult-first and relationship-based approach to parenting. Based on brain science, Conscious Discipline benefits all families, and Kristen has developed practical strategies for any family to build on their strengths and solve challenging problems.

Kristen encourages an affirming approach of parenting that honors each child’s individual developmental timeline. She loves to help parents make everything more concrete, predictable, and sensory-aware while incorporating each child’s special interests. She also believes that in all situations… there’s a visual aid for that! Kristen teaches others how to create authentic connections and how to best support those children hesitant to enter new relationships, with adult-led creativity, playfulness, persistence, and innovative strategies that yield transformational results.

As a retired camp counselor, Kristen loves to incorporate humor, games, singing, and riddles into all of her workshops. She offers energetic optimism to inspire parents to go deeper in their own journey of Conscious Discipline. She invites steady progress with hopeful encouragement as we all grow together.

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    Experience

    Kristen’s enthusiastic insight as a Parent Educator originates from her own journey as the parent of three amazing neurodivergent children. Her engaging workshops include relatable, heart-warming stories of the many ways that Conscious Discipline has transformed her family’s ability to connect together and build on their strengths to strive for their potential.

    Specialization

    Kristen delights in collaborating with all families, and she specializes in supporting families with social differences, neurodivergence, executive-function challenges, and anxiety. She teaches families how to increase their sense of safety and to adopt intentional practices to strengthen connection.

    Certification

    Kristen is a member of both NAEYC and National PTA.

    Education

    Bachelors of Science in Computer Science
    North Carolina State University
    Louisiana State University