Internationally Recognized Parent Educator Mary Sheedy Kurcinka to Speak at Adelphi University

Adelphi University’s Institute for Parenting, Center for Health Innovation and Alice Brown Early Learning Center will offer two different events focused on parenting spirited children with internationally renowned lecturer, parent educator and the author of the well-known parenting book Raising A Spirited Child, Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, Ed.D.  Dr. Kurcinka will discuss the challenges in parenting spirited children during an event for parents and the community-at-large, “Raising Your Spirited Child,” on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in the University’s Ruth S. Harley University Center in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY. She will also facilitate a full day continuing education event for professionals who work with families, parents and children.  “The Spirited Child: Helping Parents Learn the Secrets to Effective Discipline” will take place on Thursday, April 11, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Alumni House, 154 Cambridge Avenue, Garden City, NY. 

The word that distinguishes spirited children from other children is more. A spirited child is a normal child who is more intense, persistent, sensitive, perceptive, and uncomfortable with change than other children. Spirited children are the super balls in a room full of rubber balls. The parents of spirited children have a wide range of experiences from joy to exasperation, many times a day. Dr. Kurcinka will lead an interactive discussion for parents during “Raising Your Spirited Child” and outline how to understand and provide for the needs of a spirited child. Registration cost is $10 and free childcare is available with advance registration.  

The full-day professional development program “The Spirited Child: Helping Parents Learn the Secrets to Effective Discipline” will equip parent educators, teachers and clinicians to help parents understand what makes a child spirited, as well as develop techniques to help a parent identify and focus on his/her child’s strengths and create an environment where each child can thrive. Participants will also learn approaches to helping parents develop effective discipline strategies for stopping challenging behavior, discuss tools to help a parent teach a child essential life skills, such as managing intensity, coping with change and working with others. Early registration fee before March 11 is $105 and regular registration cost is $115. 

Dr. Sheedy Kurcinka is the director of Parentchildhelp.com and founder of Spirited Child and Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles workshops and was a former director of one of Minnesota’s largest early childhood family education programs. She currently provides training nationally and internationally for families and professionals, including medical personnel, educators and social service providers who serve families. In addition to her Ed.D, she earned a master’s degree in family social science from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Iowa State University. Licensed as a parent educator and early childhood teacher, she has pioneered efforts to bring topics such as temperament, neurobiology, the importance of sleep, and emotion coaching into homes, schools, medical practices and businesses.

Along with her significant contributions in the field of parent education, Mary Sheedy Kurcinka has also authored best-selling books such as Raising Your Spirited Child; Raising Your Spirited Child Workbook; Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles; and Sleepless in America: Is Your Child Misbehaving or Missing Sleep. Books will be available at both events. A book signing will follow the workshop on April 11 and copies of her books will be available at the event throughout the day.

For more information about Adelphi University Institute for Parenting events, please visit http://www.adelphi.edu/parentinginstitute/.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi is a world class, modern university with excellent and highly relevant programs where students prepare for lives of active citizenship and professional careers. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, Schools of Nursing and Social Work—the co-educational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,000 students from 43 states and 45 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University, chartered in 1896, maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.