Haleh Banani – Parenting Classes

			Okay, Salam aleikum. Welcome back to the parenting series shala, we're gonna get started a lot off
montura hemos Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah. Today we're going to talk about the four types of
parenting styles. Okay, so up until now, before I get into this up until now, we've talked about how
important it is to, to work on yourself, right as an individual, to work on your marriage on how to
have a very loving harmonious relationship at home. Because no matter how much you try to raise good
kids, if you have a hostile environment at home, if there's tension, there's fighting, there's
issues, those definitely need to be addressed. And if you yourself are not
		

			emotionally balanced, if you yourself, are not able to handle the difficulties of life, the ups and
downs, if you're not reacting in the right way, guess what, your kids are going to have the same
kind of reactions are going to learn. So first of all, we always have to work on ourselves and our
relationship prior to even thinking of the parenting cinematical. So now, it's, you know, they've
done a lot of research on how
		

			the, you know, the emotional intelligence is even more important than IQ a lot of times and I think
in, in our countries, all the emphasis is on academics, right? We want our kids to be smart, we want
them to get A's, we want them to become doctors, it's all about get the grade, do the work and the
feel like that is making them successful. But now the new research, there's a lot of a lot of
research done by especially like the Gottman is that it is about your emotional intelligence, right.
So you can have someone with a very high IQ, and they're antisocial. Right, they will be in a you
know, they can be a CEO of a company. And they don't know how to deal with their co workers. They
		

			don't know how to resolve conflict, they don't handle criticism, they are not able to, they're not
able to resolve issues as they come up. And those are the individuals that are getting fired,
they're getting bad reports, and they have problems in their marital relationship, they have
problems with every relationship, right. So there's now a move towards improving the emotional
intelligence making sure that our kids are learning how to deal with the ups and downs of life,
because that's what's going to determine who is successful and who is not. So your IQ could be
average, you could have an average, you know, GPA, but yet be much more successful than these
		

			individuals who are like scoring perfect scores on their LSAT and have like 4.0 averages, because
they know how to interact with people, they know how to
		

			resolve their issues. And this is what actually went now in the job applications when you're
applying for a job. They're not only just looking at your aptitude, but they are testing they're
doing personality tests to see who's going to be the one who can get along with others. Well, who is
the one who has the ability to ease through any kind of difficulties, because it's very easy to be
happy and content. Right? when everything goes your way, when everyone listens to this one, I was
trying to teach my daughter as much as I teach her, you know, it was the night after the after our E
right. And she was so happy and she's kissing me and she's like so content I go, you know, I'm so
		

			happy that you're content I'm so happy.
		

			But it's easy to be happy and content. When you know you got pretty much everything you want it we
had a beautiful day. You got to get through it, you got the outfit, you wanted all of that. The test
is being able to be happy when things don't go your way. When you didn't get that that you didn't
get the you know the gifts you want it maybe someone you didn't end up going to the place that you
were hoping to go to. Then if you can be happy and grateful and kiss your mom and say thank you.
That will be that will be amazing. So that's what I'm striving for. And, and we have to remind
ourselves because also, we might have these kind of expectations that we feel if
		

			You know, if my husband does everything that I say, my kids, listen to me, if there's no
disturbance, if there's no mess in the house, if this, this, this and this, then I'm gonna be a
pleasant, charming lady. But if not be aware,
		

			you know, be aware, because then it's not going to be pretty. And I think that's what we're trying
to teach our kids from early on, because unfortunately, I think most of us have not had that kind of
training. Most of us have not had parents who handled difficulties with ease, who knew how to
navigate through all of the stormy waters, you see, people losing it, you see people yelling and
screaming, and, and being judgmental, I actually had a client who has a very important position in
their company. And she said, You know, it's really hard.
		

			Because it's very hard for me to teach other people and it really, when, when I'm teaching them, I
feel that they're really stupid.
		

			Stupid, I cannot understand that I like and so sometimes they write, you know, they have to give a
report and kind of analysis of the person and they say, some people will write that, Oh, she made us
feel stupid, right? And these kinds of things are not good, right? If we don't, if we're not able to
give this message, if we're not able to share in a positive light, then we're not going to be
effective. Okay? So all of this that I'm telling you is not just for the parenting, it's, it's about
how we deal with everyone, right? So this emotional intelligence is what we're going to be focusing
on in sha Allah.
		

			Now, Allah says in the Quran asserts molcajete number two, I love the harlot, Allah azza wa jal,
hyah, Talia Bella Balu, I come I Yocum, Sonoma wahala z is a local food, it is he who created death
and life to the blue icon to test you, right? To test you to see what to see which one of you is the
best, right? And he is exalted. And most forgiving. So all of this, all that we are going through is
a test.
		

			This is sort of more look, sort of more Look, I a number two. Okay. And so all that we're going
through in our parenting, all that you're going through, and I and our focus is parenting, right,
all that you're being faced with is a test, right? It is a test to see who's going to be the best.
Now, if there was a cookoff
		

			and you have to prepare your best what video honey,
		

			by how enthusiastic Are you going to be to get you know, your grandma's recipe, and you're gonna
like make the best efforts. So you're gonna be named, you know, biryani, Queen,
		

			the video on you, Queen. And for the herbs out there, you know, if you have who's who makes the best
one up, right? The grape leaves, and people will just put so much time and effort and energy because
they want to be the best is very natural. So it's very natural for us to want to Excel to want to be
the best I remember. In my kids school, they have Sports Day, and it's on sports day, they included
the the parents as well. And I remember as as moms, we became so competitive, you know, I myself
like we were doing ping pong. So I was like, oh, getting really into it. And I was like all excited
being named, you know, as the ping pong champion. Yeah. And it's just, you know, silly things that
		

			we get. Either we feel proud about it, or we're excited about it, and we exerted our effort. Now,
imagine, this is such a huge test, right? And this to see who's the best is so much more important
than any cookoff than any athletic competition. This is seeing like who's going to be the best
parent who is going to be exalted by a law, right? And then what's the end result? The end result is
not just some certificate, it's not some, you know, cheap metal, right? It's not just having your
name written down in the newsletter. It's about a status that will give you this like, this
continuous charity, right? We get a continuous charity when we invest our time, our effort, our
		

			energy into
		

			Our kids, it is it is the ultimate saga God. And that's why so many, so many moms. And so many dads
dedicate their time and attention. So many moms give up going and building a career and doing so
many things because they want to focus their time and attention. And this is, this is really an
ultimate sacrifice. And it's it is a wonderful thing. And as my kids were growing up, it was
definitely an hamdulillah priority. It was always there were by my center of attention. And anytime
I was doing anything, it was always revolved around their naptime. What after they slept, and when
you do that, you see the results later on, you know, when people are struggling with in the teenage
		

			years, right? You ask what was going on during the childhood, right? I was giving a lecture once and
one lady came up to me and she's like, she's just crying. And she's like, my, my daughter is, you
know, disrespectful. She is rude to me, she talks back, she does all these terrible things. And, you
know, she, she just she wanted sympathy. And I had to ask a very critical questions like, what were
you doing with her when she was about five or six, like I didn't have time for anytime she came up
to me, it's time she wanted my attention. I didn't have time for you, you know, and when, when a
person is consistently neglected, consents to consistently told you're not important, I don't have
		

			time for you, you know, stay away, get away, leave me alone, you're driving me nuts, you're, you
know, you're, you're the cause of my problems. Guess what's gonna happen as they get older, as they
get older, then that's gonna, that's going to build up and they're going to be full of resentment,
and they're going to like tear away, right. And so, when we make this kind of investment, first of
all, for those of you, you know, who are tuning in, I'm sure most of you are, stay at home moms, and
I just want to say that I know, it's the toughest job, it is so hard, there are times that you'll
just break down and cry, because it's overwhelming. There are times when you feel like you know, my
		

			God, how can I can I carry on, you have the the struggle of keeping the house together, you know,
taking care of the kids and and it's you know, it really builds up. So first of all, I want to honor
all of you who are doing that, and, and know that it's a long term investment, you know, when you
put in your money, and they say, you know, this is, this is one of those long term, you're not gonna
get rich quick.
		

			If you put it in, and you're patient, and you put that money, and then like after 3040 years, then
you have built like wealth, real wealth, right? And it's, it's not risky, because, you know, there's
like this guarantee, inshallah. And so when you are investing that time, the effort, the energy, the
patient, all this, that your the fact that you want to even learn about being a good parent sets you
apart from the 99.9% of the field, because a lot of people have this feeling that oh, I I already
know, this, I don't need to learn. I remember someone had recently,
		

			you know, she was pregnant. And I and I with a lot of enthusiasm. Because I know when I was
pregnant, I was reading every book that I could get ahold of I was I attended like eight classes,
just to know how to take care of my baby, because I don't want to just rely on my mom, a lot of
times, you have a baby like mom
		

			here, and then, you know, you feel inadequate, or you feel incompetent. I didn't I wanted to be
competent. And so I went to this sister and I said, Would you like me to recommend, you know, some
books for you to read? No, no, no, I already know this stuff. Like oh, wow.
		

			You know, for someone to just refuse to want to learn new material, that that means, you know, we're
not we don't have that motivation, but the fact that you're taking the effort, I think it's
wonderful. Mashallah, so, we're being tested, and we're gonna see how we can pass this test. I'm
going to talk to you about the four different kinds of parenting styles The first one is the
dismissing parent, okay. And this is based on like, like I said, the research done by the gardens on
like, on emotional, emotionally healthy kids, and dismissive parents, this is when they treat their
kids as being there unimportant, okay. They feel that you know, whatever your feeling is, is
		

			trivial. They, they kind of ignore if the
		

			The child is asking for their attention if they're trying to talk to them. And they just kind of
dismiss them. I don't have to. And I think a lot of baby, the generation our parents are from, I
think they a lot of a lot of the parents fall into this category. Right, that kids are a side issue.
And, and not so important issue. Right? We know the kids are to be seen not heard that man, it's
kind of that mentality. Right? And, and then they want to see negative emotions disappear quickly.
You have you ever
		

			you're sad, you're crying, you're angry, suck it up, right? Get over it. Not. And there's no
direction about how, right because I remember there were some there was these shows, I used to love
watching Oprah because it was all about self improvement, making changes in yourself. And and there
was one episode where a lot was being discussed about that kind of like get a gaining, gaining
control over yourself and how you react. And this one, one lady just looked up with such you know,
big confused eyes, but like how, right? That's the big question, how do you do it, because everyone
can talk? theories. It's so easy. And I remember before having kids, I would do parenting classes,
		

			and I had a totally different outlook.
		

			I would do that. Because it was from what I learned in the books, right? I didn't have I didn't have
the kids, I didn't have the struggles. And there were moms in the audience who had two, three kids,
some of them were like, you know, in their teenage years, some of them were had sibling rivalry, I
couldn't relate to any of that, because I hadn't experienced it. And that that goes a lot into, it's
so important to have the experience to, to go through these issues, not just in the books, you can't
just read a book, and then to start talking about it, you have to live it, you have to experience
the struggles to be able to relate. And then I changed so much about my style and my technique
		

			because I then I could really relate to the moms who are, you know, who are struggling. So the
dismissive parent,
		

			they see the child emotion as a demand to fix things. So when the child is crying or getting angry,
they just feel like they're being demanding. And they just want to shut them down. Right? It's like,
just stop the cry, stop the anger. And they just feel that with time, it thinks should get better,
right? And they minimize the child's feeling. And they downplay any event that occurs. So that's,
that's their outlook. And there is no problem solving. There is not like, Okay, I understand you're
feeling angry because you didn't get to go to your friends. But let me tell you, and let me explain
why this happened. And there's no validation, right? It's just about time will make you feel better.
		

			Okay, with enough time you're going to forget, and things are going to be okay, so how many of you
experience that kind of parenting Seriously? You're not on video? Almost everybody. Almost everybody
here had that dismissive. Be quiet, don't talk, don't show emotion. Go sit down, be quiet and be
obedient. Right? So that's not what is what is the effect of this style. Okay, now you're gonna,
you're gonna understand a lot about yourself. Because this is how you know how you were raised,
right? So they learned that their feelings are wrong. So it's wrong to ask feelings. It's
inappropriate. It's not valid. Right? I remember when I was doing,
		

			you know, I was doing my master's program. And in the Masters, bro, it was all about how to express
yourself. I think we've gone through, you know, like, express your emotions without it being an
attack. So I tried it out with my dad, because my family were the first people I try it out with. So
I tell my dad, I feel you know, I mean, I stay married and making a tag that you never do. I said, I
feel like let's say, I'm sad. When you don't spend time with me. It's like you're on to feel that
way. You're not supposed to say that. My instructors said that your feelings will never be
questioned and it won't be invalidated. You're not following the script.
		

			So it would be so funny because that was their mentality. No, no, if you feel this way, you're
wrong. Okay. I didn't, I didn't want you to feel sad. So you must be wrong. So this kind of then
you're constantly then
		

			Feeling that there's something wrong with the emotions that you're having. That's why people have
such a hard time when they get married, discussing problems trying to resolve it, because they were
never made to feel that their emotions are valid. So this is, this is what happened. So they and
then also they're gonna have problems regulating their own emotions because they just weren't
taught. It was basically Be quiet, stop crying, but how how do I stop crying when like my heart is
broken? Because I didn't make the team? How do I stop crying when let's say that the engagement has
been called off and I'm devastated? How do I stop crying when my best friend has like started a
		

			rumor about me? Right?
		

			It's just, he's just like, I don't want to hear it. It's basically that what the parents are saying.
Now, then there. So that was what kind of parenting they're dismissing. They just dismiss whatever
you're saying. The second is the disapproving, okay, disapproving parent. And this is actually has a
lot of the same behavior as the dismissing parents some of the same behaviors, but it's much more
negative. It's much more negative. So here, we have their disapproving so it's full of judgment,
criticism, there is not many of your may saying no, no, no, my parents were this.
		

			Right.
		

			So they criticize the emotional expression. So if your child is, is yelling or screaming, you're
just like, Oh, you're so you know, you're you're so out of control. You You're driving me nuts,
what's wrong with you get it together. So it's more of it's all criticism, right? And emphasizing
it's, and it all is about conformity to good behavior, right? It's about when someone says, and you
know, with with the Arab saying, Hey, this is a this is very bad, be good, right? And this is where
the whole people pleasing. I mean, I know I was a people pleaser, because though everything was
about what the people say,
		

			dress nice for the people get good grades for the people. Everything was about the people, right?
And then it took a lot. I think it was basically my first few years in college when, as I started
learning about Islam and trying to implement it, where I thought you really have to do away with the
people, right? When you're caught your whole focus is about pleasing the people, then, you know,
where does Allah fit into the equation? We really have to replace what people think with what a lot
of things right? I had one client who says, I'm always going around thinking, What will my mom
think, and her mom unfortunately, is a is a negative influence in her life. Her mom doesn't have
		

			good relationship doesn't give good advice. So it's actually it's not someone that she could rely on
for for advice. And so I said, Why? In those situations, why not ask? What will Allah think of me?
Right? What would Allah want me to do? When I am about to get into a fight with?
		

			Where if I'm about to get into a fight with my spouse, what will my what would Allah want me to do
when I'm about to lose it? And I'm about to get angry from my kids, right? How would How would
things change? If you replace the people or my mom or my husband with what will Allah thing how will
that change things? You think?
		

			It's just loud if you don't mind? Or if you have to the air conditioner was not that Oh, it kicked
in. Okay, good. Thank you for having fannish
		

			All right. So how do you think that would change things around when you have your whole focus is
about pleasing Allah, how would that affect your relationships? What do you think?
		

			How
		

			to
		

			write so your anger will subside? Because you're no longer just thinking about people. You're
thinking, Oh, my God, like, this is this is my status with a law. Bye, because the people first of
all, they may have really different morals, right? They may they may be unethical themselves, so who
cares what they think. And and then you run after people and this is the example I gave her. I go,
how hard Have you tried? How hard Have you tried to please your mom hasn't been successful. She's
like she's never satisfied, right? You may work so hard to please your spouse. It was so hard to
please your parents, but they're never
		

			content, it's never enough. But when you do it with that intention of I want to please a law, what
happens, I want to please the law, and you know that every little effort is rewarded, every little
thing is acknowledged, every little is recorded, then you feel like, every moment you feel joyous,
because you're not waiting for that pat on the back. Because that pat on the back,
		

			ain't gonna happen, right? It ain't happening. So when you're just relying on that appreciation from
your kids, which may take till they're like 25, by until that deep appreciation comes when they're
married, and they have kids. I remember, I was potty training my son, my firstborn son. And then I
called up my mom. And I said, Mom, thank you. I never, I never thanked you for potty training. And
I'm so indebted to you.
		

			And I just, I never realized that the struggle you go through, and sometimes you won't be
appreciative until you're in that same situation. So this is like, talk about what is it delayed
gratification, right? parenting is all about delayed gratification, you are planting the seed you're
doing so much, and and you may not see any of it, right. It's like when you're planting a bamboo
tree, right? I, what I've read is that you planted and for five years, you don't see anything, you
know, so imagine, plan says like, Hello,
		

			watering it, and then it suddenly like shoots up like 80 feet, like, right, it shoots up. So
sometimes parenting is like that, you may put so much effort into it. You may like you know, and you
feel like it's just going in one year out when you're like I've been saying the same thing every
morning, you know, so funny, like with my son, my younger son, you know, as you're eating
simultaneous, you can multitask, take a bite and put on your shoes.
		

			So, you know, we'll repeat this, you know, we're about cleaning your room, don't leave until your
beds made all these things. And we think when is it finally going to sink in, right? that these are
the behavioral things, then there's those emotional things where you're like, you know, handle
things with ease. And then that beautiful moment comes when someone someone from the outside will
comment on your child's behavior. And that's why like, I love parent teacher conferences, you know?
		

			Because Mashallah, that if you're doing those things, if you're being consistent, finally someone
recognizes, oh, wow, like I really, I saw that your your child was really attentive. Everyone was
picking on this kid, and it was yours, your son who went and became his friend and stood up for him.
Yeah, it's those moments where you feel like Okay, finally something something saying something
thinking and they're finally applying what they're doing. Now. So as far as the the disapproving
parent, okay, what they feel that emotions make a person very weak, they feel that emotions are
making them way. And children have to be emotionally tough, right? I remember, then you see that
		

			actually, in coaching, there are different kinds of coaching styles too. I put my son, when he was
about four years old, into martial arts, it was in America and it was like the best experience ever
the coach was we keep
		

			Thank you.
		

			The coach was so positive, all into positive reinforcement, he would give out sheets, and in that
sheet, every little thing that my son did would get us, you know, would get stickers and stars. And
he had stars across his, you know, chairs and across his thumb. And he was so motivated to do good.
And he and any form he did. The coach was all about like, oh, wow, you're really good. You're really
strong. And so he was thriving in that environment. Then we went to the Middle East, and I signed
him up for soccer.
		

			And it was a totally different approach. Totally different approach. I sat there and I would always
sit throughout there, you know,
		

			the practices just to observe because I wanted to know, I've worked really hard on my kids. I don't
want someone to undo or do something wrong with with them during that hour. So I would see that the
coach would just chew up the kid was like, totally, hey, I don't know what you're doing. Keep your
eye on the ball, what's wrong with it, you know, and I said, Oh my god, I looked over to the other
moms. I'm like, Oh my god, you see what they're doing? It's like it's good. It's making them strong,
making them a man. And I said, I don't want that kind of event. Right. And so I actually pulled them
out. Although I paid for the whole year. I pulled them out. And I said I don't want my son's self
		

			esteem to be the
		

			stroyed by this kind of like coaching style, so you see that the same kind of like, you know what
we're talking about parenting style, sometimes you see it with coaches, sometimes you see it with
like employers where they might have these kinds of styles, so you can see it in, you know, in so
many different areas. And so what happens is that with these with this kind of parenting is that
they believe that like negative emotions are unproductive, like, it's a bad thing. And it's, you
know, you just got to shut it down. Now, what are the effects? So how many of you now feel that you
had disapproving parents?
		

			do you have?
		

			Okay.
		

			Okay.
		

			Right.
		

			Has that so you were in a joint system, joint family system, and you had other family members who
are disapproving. It's very tough, you know, because what happens is that most people are not open
and receptive to hearing comments from others, even if you're an expert, they don't want to hear it.
Right. It would be it'll be so interesting, because sometimes I'll be sitting, you know, I would be
sitting amongst moms who are struggling in their, you know, in their daily things. And, and and, you
know, yet it never occurred to them to like, you just asked what would be the most effective thing,
because each person feels that their problem is unique, and they're doing the best they can. So
		

			that's a little bit challenging. Maybe we'll address that at the end on how to deal with other
people's parenting styles. But here's the effect the effect of children. It's basically the same as
the disapproving same thing that people will feel like, Oh, my, my feelings are not important. They
don't feel validated. They're going to not be able to handle their own emotions. Okay. Now, we have
also the third parenting style is, is the laissez faire
		

			Oh, I'm sorry. Are they people downstairs? I'm sorry. Salaam Alaikum. I didn't realize that people
were downstairs because we had the moms up here with the kids.