Kristina Dickhaut-Saelee
I provide parents with the tools and support they need to raise happy and healthy children and to find joy in parenting.
- Office in Seattle, virtually on zoom
- By appointment.
About
I am a South Puget Sound based Parent & Life Coach
I provide parents with the tools and support they need to raise happy and healthy children and to find joy in parenting. I have been working with parents and teachers for 8 years in various support, education and coaching roles.
As the mom of four amazing children (Desmond, 24; Darius, 21; Karissa, 18 and Laurence, 12), I have found comfort in my understanding of positive parenting practices and would love nothing more than to connect with other parents around the work of raising confident, capable, and cooperative children.
I love working with families because I deeply believe we ALL need more support in this wonderful and challenging work of parenting. What I love about the Positive Discipline approach is that it is rooted in the belief that our deepest human desire (after food and safety) is a sense of love, belonging and significance. I teach Positive Discipline because it is rooted in respect, both for one’s self and one’s children.
The Journey...
When my oldest was 16, I was in desperate need of parenting tools. Everything that had worked when he was younger, was no longer working! Although, I had felt confident in my parenting skills when my kids were younger, the teenage years were throwing me for a loop. That’s when I learned about Positive Discipline.
Although, I didn’t really know how much I needed Positive Discipline until I really learned all about it. I had thought I was a great mom, until I learned how much better I could be. I guess, “you don’t know, what you don’t know!” The truth was, I was a yeller! I would lose my patience and just react, instead of taking a breath and thinking consciously about how I wanted to respond.
I’d like to tell you after a 7 week Positive Discipline Class, I had transformed into this amazing and peaceful parent.
But, no-not at all! Bad habits are hard to break! It turns out…especially, hard for me! In fact, I share with the parents in my workshops, it took me facilitating the classes myself to really start implementing the strategies more consistently.
But, boy, am I glad I did! It turns out learning Positive Discipline isn’t about changing our children’s behavior, it’s all about changing our own behavior and once I did that…everything changed for the better! Not only did I have much more connected relationships with my children…not only were they more cooperative…but the biggest impact was on the peace in the home. Positive Discipline gave me more peace and joy in parenting.
I truly believe our children are our biggest teachers and parenting is all about learning and growing ourselves so we can guide our children to do the same. It is the most important work we will do. I am so blessed to be a mother to Desmond, Darius, Karissa and Laurence. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.
Our children growing us is even more true for me, since I was still a kid when I had first became a mother at just barely 18. I was a teenage mom that was determined not to become a statistic. My husband and myself married young, had a few kids, and divorced young. So, at the age of 24, I was a single mom. Still, I was determined that my children would not suffer the consequences of growing up in a single-mother household. I worked my butt off to provide every opportunity and be there fully as if I weren’t a single parent.
Which lead to OVERWHELM…which then lead to RESENTMENT! I was trying to be everything to everybody…which lead to a lot of yelling… I hadn’t any peace or joy. So, in addition to learning the Positive Discipline tools. I had to also learn self-acceptance, self-compassion, and self-care. I cannot stress enough how important that is.
This is why I am so passionate about sharing Positive Discipline and coaching parents!
