{"id":40319,"date":"2021-11-30T21:55:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T21:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/ftf\/?post_type=family-stories&p=40319"},"modified":"2025-08-08T23:09:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T23:09:46","slug":"sierra-vista-mom-learns-how-to-connect-with-her-daughter","status":"publish","type":"family-stories","link":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/sierra-vista-mom-learns-how-to-connect-with-her-daughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra Vista mom learns how to connect with 5-year-old daughter after taking parenting class"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angela Caruso needed help connecting with her 5-year-old daughter Analee, who had difficulty communicating due to hearing loss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Living in Sierra Vista when the COVID-19 pandemic started, Caruso enrolled in a free, virtual parenting class offered by the Arizona\u2019s Children Association, funded by the First Things First Cochise Regional Partnership Council<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The six-week class offered a research-based curriculum to help parents learn about early childhood brain development, positive discipline and effective parenting for children under age 6.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The online format of the class made it easy for Caruso to attend. \u201cI didn\u2019t have to find a sitter,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I took this parenting class, I was dating a man and together we had six children. I was doing all the parenting and some of what I was doing as a parent wasn\u2019t working. I needed other options.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Parenting Education<\/p>\n

Trained parent educators led a free series of group classes where you\u2019ll connect with other families with young children and improve your parenting skills.<\/p>\n

Find similar programs near you<\/p>\n

With Analee, Caruso knew that she didn\u2019t respond well to loud noises or angry body language. From the class, Caruso learned to get down to Analee\u2019s level and make eye contact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI learned about brain development,\u201d said Caruso. \u201cAnd how girls need face-to-face communication. I also learned about flight or fight responses. If I would come to her angry, then she would be defensive and more difficult to redirect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Caruso learned to create individual behavioral strategies for Analee and each of her children. Caruso learned how to not impulsively react, instead, take five seconds to do some deep breaths and help her children through the moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes kids need their minute to have their meltdown,\u201d said Caruso. \u201cAnalee needs 10 minutes to get out her feelings, then I sit beside her on the floor and ask her to sit in my lap. She likes to be held and have face-to-face conversations. Before, I would have put her in the corner and got upset myself. There would have been more yelling and screaming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now Caruso says she doesn\u2019t get stressed anymore. She uses her strategies and her children are learning to regulate their own emotions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe class has helped me to not get all worked up,\u201d said Caruso. \u201cI\u2019m having more fun with my kids.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dominica Aquino, parent educator for Arizona\u2019s Children Association, said part of the class is to encourage positive interactions with children by providing parents with puppets, blocks or books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With Analee, Caruso plays dolls, board games or card games with her for an hour each day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now after the classes, Caruso sees a change in her children\u2019s behavior and her home atmosphere. \u201cIt\u2019s not as tense. We also go out more. I would never take them in public, because they wouldn\u2019t listen,\u201d said Caruso. \u201cSince I took the class, I can take them out. Every Friday night, we go to a local basketball game, and we have fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Analee has a better understanding of boundaries and rules and the ability to regulate her behavior, which has set her up to be ready for kindergarten, Caruso said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKnowledge is power. If you have the knowledge, you have different ideas to try,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have that knowledge, you\u2019ll be stuck. I felt like I was parenting wrong for so long, but now I have confidence and my kids are benefitting from it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The FTF Cochise Regional Council funds the Arizona\u2019s Children Association Education Program which helps parents learn about early childhood brain development, positive discipline and effective parenting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":40322,"template":"","tags":[182],"class_list":["post-40319","family-stories","type-family-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cochise","regions-cochise"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSierra Vista mom learns how to connect with 5-year-old daughter after taking parenting class - First Things First<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The FTF Cochise Regional Council funds the Arizona\u2019s Children Association Education Program which helps parents learn about early childhood brain development, positive discipline and effective parenting.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/sierra-vista-mom-learns-how-to-connect-with-her-daughter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sierra Vista mom learns how to connect with 5-year-old daughter after taking parenting class\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The FTF Cochise Regional Council funds the Arizona\u2019s Children Association Education Program which helps parents learn about early childhood brain development, positive discipline and effective parenting.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/sierra-vista-mom-learns-how-to-connect-with-her-daughter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"First Things First\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AZFirstThingsFirst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-08T23:09:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Colorado-River-Indian-Community-2021-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"393\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AZFTF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/sierra-vista-mom-learns-how-to-connect-with-her-daughter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/region-stories\/sierra-vista-mom-learns-how-to-connect-with-her-daughter\/\",\"name\":\"Sierra Vista mom learns how to connect with 5-year-old daughter after taking parenting class - 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