"If parenting is the hardest and most important job anyone ever does, why is it also the job for which we have the least preparation and support?  What other top-tier, professional position would one have with no training or experience?  And what other top-level executive has no office manager or research staff?

In the communities of long ago, both the preparation for parenting and the guidance of those who had gone before were built into the fabric of society.  Children grew up caring for other children and participating in all the elements of family life.  They had ample opportunities to practice parenting long before they became parents.  And when they did become parents, they had sisters and aunts, mothers and elders all right there to offer perspective, counsel, and a knowing smile when it seemed the whole the world might collapse.

In modern society, this essential support is no longer a given.  I believe we all deserve the care and perspective that were once a built in part of life.  As a parenting consultant, this is what I offer."

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Excerpts of an interview with Beth:

What is the goal of a Parenting Consultant?
"My goal is to help mothers and fathers navigate the challenging waters of parenthood. The focus is on supporting them as they find a nurturing base for family life – including all the joy, struggle, sorrow, and growth this entails.  To do this, I must begin by learning where the parents find their joy and how they see their current difficulties.  So I listen.  That is the most important thing I do – listen. It is most important because it is within the parents’ own description of their goals, successes, and challenges, that the way forward reveals itself.

I think for all of us – parent or not - the trick to moving through our various struggles is learning to hear our own wisdom amid the chaos and confusion of daily life.  We must recognize the growth, the joy, and the commitment that are already there, even if clouded by the challenges.  So I listen and act as a kind of refining mirror, sifting through and feeding back the already existing insight that comes directly from the parent.

The parent-child relationship is a powerful one – and one that can exponentially magnify the complexity of hearing or recognizing one’s own wisdom.  But, while it may not always feel like it, parenting presents an opportunity to really connect with oneself, and one’s child(ren).  The breadth of opportunity stems from the parents’ willingness to jump in, make mistakes, and learn from them."
 

What led you to do this work?
"As a teacher and educational program director for 40 years and parent for 36 years, I have been part of many family and group dynamics.  Throughout this time my commitment has been to noticing and celebrating the positive while remaining curious about the difficult.  That curiosity leads me to ask again and again, what might I learn here - about children; about families; about human dynamics; and about myself.  My own three children and my grandchild - and every one of the hundreds of children I have taught and parents I have counseled - have all offered me innumerable chances to explore these questions.  Additionally, I have been studying children and families more formally during my 40 years of teaching and developing educational programs.  Through this I have gained an extensive knowledge of child development, sensory/neurological integration, and the role of rhythm in family systems.

All the while I have been committed to my own personal growth work – looking at the stuck places and being curious about the patterns of behavior that drain my energy, rather than nourish me.  It is through my own process of self discovery that I have found my deepest ability to hear the wisdom within the chaos – my own and others.

With all that in the “soup of my experience,” I can often see growth that has been overlooked amid the day to day challenges.  This allows me to offer one of the most important supports for growth - recognition of all that has moved forward and all the health that is already present within the family. Then I can bring in new perspectives to open up the parent’s experience.  Then the confusion of daily life stops being the obstacle; instead, it becomes the very thing that sheds light on the forward moving and life-filled path already within the family.

These new perspectives and realizations may inspire the parent to embark on changes in the child’s day to day life, to engage in personal growth work, or to shift the dynamic within the family – different situations will bring forward different possibilities.  When appropriate, I help the parent explore and connect with existing local resources for support.  No two situations are the same, but when the focus is on the parent’s own wisdom, with some skilled listening the unique next step for that person and that family is what presents itself."


About Beth...

Beth Sutton, M.Ed., has been a parent for 35 years and an educator for over 40.  Her work has included developing and directing her own unique approach to education for both children and adults – one centered not only on the child’s well-being, but on the well-being of the family unit.

Workshops and Consultations with Beth

Beth consults regularly with parents all over the world, and offers workshops and programs for parents in New England.  In this work her focus is not only on supporting the children, but on how this process can be part of the adult's vital growth and the cultivation of a healthy family life.  She believes that children, particularly one's own children, are uniquely able to point us towards the places we most need to grow, and provide us with an opportunity to find the depth of our own health, wisdom, and vitality.

For more information about consulting with Beth Sutton contact her by email.

Read what clients have to say about working with Beth.