How the 120-day course is organized

The 120-Day Mom Has Fun Parenting Method Home Study Course is designed to be delivered electronically via email. The lessons and other learning materials are sent as PDF files, approximately every 5 days, all throughout the entire 120-day period.

You learn one step at a time in the comfort of your own home. You also receive various exercises and homework, each designed to build on what was learned previously and to prepare for the next lesson.

How this page is organized

There are over 200 pages of material included in the home study course, broken down into over 30 small documents. Each section below shows an outline of that document. Sections are listed in order of how the materials are delivered. The underlined word links in the column on the left are simply shortcuts to the outlines below.

 Welcome & Mind Dump

Gives an overview of how the course is designed and organized.

• Why it takes 120 days minimum (or even longer).
• How to get the most out of your course.
• The purpose of a Mind Dump notebook plus instructions and examples.

 Lesson 1: Inventory

Explains the importance of bringing non-critical awareness to your current parenting style. You can't put new tools on top of old ineffective habit patterns.

• Where do we normally focus our awareness?
• The goal is not perfection!
• Homework:
  • How much fun are you having?
  • What's your parenting style?
  • What's working?
  • What's not working?

 Child Development Stages

Explains the basic stages of emotional development in children, how they learn, and how best to interact with them at each stage.

• Stages have approximate ages, fuzzy boundaries.
• Children progress at varying rates.
• Characteristics of stages:
  • Babies
  • Toddlers and young children
  • Older children
  • Pre-teen, teen and older

 Lesson 2: World of Emotions

This essential lesson forms a basis for all lessons and information that follows. By understanding how emotions work and how they impact yourself and others, the usually unconscious underpinnings of interactions are revealed. The chart gives you a map to navigate within this world.

• Noticing thoughts and impact is essential.
• A description of the learned emotional 'operating system' vs. the innate pristine 'operating system'.
• Why this is important and how it relates to reacting instead of responding to situations.
• Illustration of the pristine operating system showing how it relates to body energy centers.
• How the dimming process of these centers happens as a child grows.
• An explanation of the learned emotional operating system and why it is essential.
• Illustration of the emotional operating system and how it relates to the pristine operating system.
• Where are emotions created?
• Shifting your awareness and being curious about emotions.
• Receiving emotions from others.
• The inner dialogue of emotional justification.
• How to have choice over emotions.
• Homework:
  • Notice the situations, triggers and emotions that occur in your household.
  • Notice what happens when immediate feedback is given to your child.
  • Notice what happens when pressure builds up without feedback.

 World of Emotions Chart

Contains a larger full color chart of the pristine World of Sensations and Experience, and the learned World of Mind, Emotions and Memory.

 Intention, Attention

Introduces the first parenting 'quick fix' tools.

• Speaking with intention and what that really means.
• Get your child's attention and make eye contact.
• Using 'Look Up' when your child is stuck in emotion.
• How it works, can use with adults too.

 Lesson 3: Manipulation Games

Explains how children learn to use the different 'operating systems' (from previous lesson) to get what they want. Assists you in being aware of the games and their impact.

• How children learn to manipulate with emotions.
• The shift from a fun game to an ingrained habitual character trait.
• Coaching children to be aware of their own use of emotions.
• Core skill underlying Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
• Detailed example of 'Pouty Patricia' for younger children.
• Detailed example of how to work with older children using the charts.
• Homework:
  • What emotional games do your children play?
  • What do they get out of the game? How does it 'work' for them?
  • What is the impact of the game? Did you get hooked?
  • What is your usual response and what are the results?
  • Change your response to their game. What are the results?

 Mom/Dad Has Fun Signs

Print out the sign: Rule #1 for this house is... Mom Has Fun! and hang it up for a reminder. Contains three signs, one for Mom, Mum and Dad.

 Lesson 4: Mom Has Fun

Explains why it's so easy to fall into the parent-as-martyr trap and why it's absolutely essential for you to have fun as a parent.

• A short 'history' of parenthood.
• The parenting pitfall of giving too much.
• Why "Mom Has Fun" is such an important rule.
• What's really fun for you, your unique gifts and talents?
• How your gifts are connected to happiness.
• Your kids want you to be happy.
• Homework:
  • Schedule fun activities for yourself.
  • What happens when you have more fun?
  • What do you really need in your environment to be happy?

 One Person in Charge

The parenting tool of having "only one person in-charge" is explained in detail. It's a simple and effective de-stressor for everyone.

• A clear hand-off of authority.
• Do not intervene.
• How to handle separate households.

 Lesson 5: Setting Boundaries

Describes the critical differences between coaching vs. controlling. You learn about the types of consequences and how to establish your boundaries.

• The analogy of soccer coach.
• What makes a good coach; the parent as coach.
• The boundary exercise - why it makes things easier.
• The difference between punishment and consequences.
• Natural, designed and on-the-spot consequences.
• Homework:
  • Pick rules to implement from previous lesson.
  • Detailed guidelines for conducting a family meeting to introduce the new system.
  • Establish rules and consequences for each child.

 Practice What Works

How to use role-play and practice to teach your child the behavior you want instead of correcting what you don't want.

 Time Out

Describes in detail a particularly flexible and effective parenting tool - the time-out. How this method is quite different from a formula or 'cook-book' time out.

• The real purpose of a time out.
• The basic elements of an effective time out.
• Specific instructions for time outs for babies, toddlers, and ages 5-6 and up.

 Parents Helping Parents

Describes in detail how our Parents Helping Parents referral reward program works. Explains why we do it this way, how to join, and how to get a generous reward for telling your friends about the Mom Has Fun 120-Day Home Study Course.

 Lesson 6: Conflict Resolution

Addresses the basic issue underlying nearly every parenting problem - power struggles! Gives you effective tools to avoid or diffuse power struggles.

• What is a power struggle?
• Who wins in a power struggle?
• When and how do power struggles start?
• What to do if you're on the receiving end.
• What to do if you're on the engaging end.
• Tools to avoid and diffuse power struggles, such as pattern interrupt, see the brilliance, work with charts, reflective listening and more.
• Homework:
  • Notice situations where you avoided a power struggle.
  • Notice situations where you engaged in a power struggle.

 Give Two Choices

How to empower your child and avoid power struggles by giving them choices that you can live with.

 Reflective Listening

How to work with an older child to open up communications with you. Learn to avoid criticism and advice and assist them in creating their own solutions.

 Who Has the Problem?

How to avoid getting pulled into every disagreement that occurs in the house. Teach your children how to come to you with solutions instead of problems.

 Avoid Saying No

Sidestep power struggles by avoiding saying No all the time. What to say instead.

 Make it a Game

Melt resistance by turning everyday tasks into fun games such as beat-the-clock, follow-the-leader, and more.

 Lesson 7: Appreciation

How to use appreciation as a parenting tool and why it is so often under utilized.

• The essential ingredient for appreciation to be effective.
• The difference between motivation and appreciation.
• How to use appreciation to ensure your feedback is heard.
• Detailed instructions for conducting a family appreciation meeting.
• When to use/not use bribes and rewards.
• Homework:
  • Look for common threads.
  • Create your own parenting tools.
  • Give feedback with/without appreciation.

 Temper Tantrums

Explains the basic kinds of tantrums and how to deal with them.

• The natural temper tantrum.
• The manipulation temper tantrum.
• Handling tantrums with appreciation.

 Lesson 8: Team Building

Discover the advantages of running your family with the team approach. Includes detailed instructions on how to do it.

• Small teams, large teams and why it's not easy.
• The advantages of working as a team.
• How to make a family team work - point by point comparison with sports team analogy.
• Detailed instructions for using a family project as team practice.
• Who should be the coach?
• Detailed instructions on the when/why/how of conducting family team meetings.
• Homework:
  • Start having team meetings.
  • Do some team building projects.

 Give Responsibilities

Explains why it's important for everyone in the family to have age appropriate responsibilities.

• How trust is related to freedoms and responsibilities.
• Why assisting around the house is vital.
• Try a cleaning blitz.

 Lesson 9: Welcome Mistakes

Explains why mistakes are essential for success and how to shift from avoiding them to welcoming them.

• No perfect parent, no perfect child.
• How successful people deal with mistakes.
• How we lose our ability to make mistakes.
• How to increase your child's capacity to make mistakes.
• How to coach children through their mistakes.
• Homework:
  • Make a mistake chart.
  • Look into the mirror.

 Make Everybody Right

How making everybody 'right' - including yourself - is the paradoxical path to a happier life.

• The difference between judgment and blame.
• How making someone wrong invites a power struggle.

 Lesson 10: Holding a Picture

Describes how your beliefs are a powerful - but usually unconscious - influence in shaping your child's behavior. Plus how that ultimately impacts a child's potential.

• The power of perception and the 3 mental 'drawers'.
• How pictures create self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Why you can't avoid creating pictures.
• The effect of pictures on freedom and potential.
• Homework:
  • Observe the picture forming process.
  • What are the current pictures of your child.
  • Create a commercial.

 Give Five More Reasons

Introduces a fun game that will help you break up firmly held pictures and answers.

• The problem with cause and effect.
• What happens when you know 'why'.

 Lesson 11: Bring out the Brilliance

Presents the keys to understanding and valuing the different types of intelligences. See how your child learns in order to help unlock their genius.

• The magic of honoring genius and the clues to finding it.
• How discipline fits in with supporting a child's genius.
• Common pitfalls that crush your child's genius.
• Explaining the 7 main intelligences and how they relate to energy centers and emotions.
• How emotional intelligence (EQ) fits into the picture.
• Homework:
  • Practice stimulating all intelligences.
  • Observe and nurture each type of intelligence.

 Stimulate Intelligences

How your own primary learning method can limit what you can recognize and how you communicate with your children.

• For each type of intelligence, lists fun activities you can do with your child to stimulate that particular intelligence.

 Lesson 12: Outside Influences

The inevitability of outside influences and how to make them work for you instead of resisting them.

• Why outside influences are vitally important.
• How to transform them into lessons. Specific approaches for younger and older children.
• What to do about relatives that spoil your kids.
• Who's in charge when visiting others or when others visit.
• What to do about unsolicited parenting advice.
• Divorced and merged families.
• Homework:
  • Notice outside influences and their effects.
  • Observe your reaction to advice.

 What's Different?

A quick re-inventory of your parenting style, what's working, what's not working, and your current 'fun' level. Compare this with where you started in lesson 1.

 Congratulations! What's Next?

Some final notes on reviewing the Mom Has Fun course materials, how to stay in touch, give us a testimonial or feedback, and Dr. MacKenzie's Self-Actualization seminar.

 Summary Outline

A convenient outline of the topics covered in the entire 120-Day Mom Has Fun Parenting Method Home Study Course, document by document. It can be used to help you quickly find the topic you're looking for. Includes instructions on how to easily search through all PDF documents from the entire course to find a particular word or phrase.

(Essentially this is the information you are now viewing on this webpage, except in PDF document form.)