@davidj – YES!  What an important lesson, an important audience, and a great way to teach it (kinesthetic).  Nicely aligned 🙂  If you haven’t read these before, I highly recommend How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk and also Listen.  Each of these books underscores the significance of listening and the neuroscience supporting it.  The first (which I first read 20 years ago as a junior high teacher) is filled with cartoons and specific strategies and examples that are SO helpful and have had a dramatic impact on my interactions with people of all ages.  The second, published just last year, highlights the importance of not only of carving out that safe space for our children, but also being sure to seek out our own “listening partner” so we have somewhere to turn when the demands of parenting inevitably push us beyond our limits.

@mars – What an incredible compliment.  Thank you.  I’m so glad my work has resonated with you and that you’re eager to share it with others.  I’m thinking this is the first essential concept I need to address in my HealthCaring course.  Kind of daunting, though, because in my head the concept is so huge and has so many different components.  I need to keep things simple and stick to the essentials.  I’m going to go back to your progress log and use your outline as a reference.  I was impressed at how well you outlined each element of becoming a doula and then fleshed it out with engaging activities.  I’d like to be able to do the same thing with my course 😉

Darn you all!!!  You all just keep driving me forward!!!