- Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 April 2018 16:33
Have you ever wished your son or daughter were more confident? This is the problem many parents around the country and the world are facing.
Maybe your child has been labeled "shy," and has a hard time being independent, making friends, or just leaving the comfort of your side. Or, he could be the complete opposite - a child with a very strong personality that has a hard time channeling his strengths, and so gets the label of "bossy" or "overbearing." The only place to turn to is a few articles on the internet that promise "tips" for you to use in hopes of making a change for the better. That is, until now.
Local businesswoman, coach and author Kara Czerniak recognized this need and knew that it wasn't being met in the ways kids needed most.
"I started a leadership program in my Kinder Karate® classes," Czerniak said. "I wanted to focus on confidence and being good examples as leaders for the other kids. What happened in that program was so much more. I began to get stories of how life-altering changes were being made with the kids -- kids who would hide behind mom and cry were now able to introduce themselves and make friends. Others told how they were now able to exhibit confidence, and were re-teaching the lessons to family members and friends. It was really amazing, and I knew I had to get this information out there beyond my Kinder Karate® classes."
What started as a leadership class for her kids became Kids Confidence Academy. The Academy is an online program that will offer lessons to kids on confidence, both by video and by interactive group video calls. Czerniak created her live event, called Confidence 101 for Kids, to introduce the program.
Explaining why she wanted to have a live event, she said, "I wanted to have a live event where parents would get to see firsthand the kinds of things their kids would be learning, and they would get to see results for themselves, right away. When kids are taught confidence as a behavior, and not a feeling, it makes more sense to them. They get excited when they understand they are NOT their labels, and can really be what they want to be, which is happy and confident."
Czerniak has partnered with MindUp, part of the Goldie Hawn Foundation, and is the only independent provider of the MindUp curriculum.
Kids Confidence 101 will be offered at the Crowne Plaza Suites Pittsburgh South, on Fort Couch Road in Bethel Park, on Saturday, April 21. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/confidence-101-for-kids-tickets-43198108706#tickets.
Learn more about Kids Confidence Academy and Kara Czerniak at www.KidsConfidenceAcademy.com