For many parents, the hardest part of raising children isn’t love — it’s the moments when emotions run high, expectations collide, and communication breaks down.
That’s where educator and facilitator Adam Quandt hopes to help.
Starting this Thursday, Quandt will lead a series of workshops on St. Thomas called Connected Parenting, a four-part program designed to help parents reflect on their own parenting styles, build emotional awareness, and develop tools that strengthen relationships within the family.
The sessions focus on something many parents rarely have time to do: pause, look inward, and examine how their own experiences, expectations, and reactions shape the dynamics at home.
“Connected Parenting is really an opportunity for parents to look at themselves and how their parenting style shows up in the relationship with their child,” Quandt said. “It’s about increasing emotional intelligence, practicing empathy, and learning how to navigate those difficult moments in ways that keep families connected.”
Unlike traditional parenting classes built around lectures or theory, the workshops are designed to be interactive. Participants learn tools together and practice them in real time through guided exercises and conversation.
“It’s not a situation where you learn something and then go home and try it later,” Quandt explained. “You learn the tools and practice them right there in the group, which makes it easier to bring those skills into real life — whether that’s at home, at work, or even in those stressful moments in the car.”
The program also encourages parents to celebrate the positive aspects of family life, focusing on gratitude, mindfulness, and self-awareness alongside strategies for navigating conflict.
Quandt first offered the workshop two years ago and said the response from participants was deeply encouraging.
“Everyone who took part really connected with the process,” he said. “Some people uncovered patterns in their family dynamics that they hadn’t recognized before. It could be emotional at times, but it was also empowering, because people began to see ways they could shift those patterns.”
A central theme of the program is the idea that parents cannot control every outcome in their child’s life — and that trying to do so can sometimes create distance rather than connection.
“When we try to control outcomes for our kids — how they behave, what choices they make — it can sometimes create disconnection,” Quandt said. “But when we begin to recognize that each child is on their own journey, and our role is to guide them with love and support, that’s when the relationship really starts to deepen.”
The workshops also emphasize empathy — both for children and for parents themselves — recognizing that parenting is a learning process that evolves over time.
Ultimately, Quandt said the goal is simple: helping families spend more time in moments of connection and less time stuck in cycles of frustration.
“Every parent experiences those moments where everything feels aligned and connected,” he said. “The question is how we can create more of those moments and fewer of the ones where things feel tense or disconnected.”
The upcoming workshop series will be held over four consecutive Thursdays — March 19 and 26, and April 2 and 9 — from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Good Leaf Education Association on St. Thomas’ North Side, near Four Corners.
Parents interested in participating can register through Quandt’s website at
https://www.adamquandt.org/
Quandt said the sessions are open to anyone interested in strengthening their relationships with their children, regardless of their parenting stage or experience.
“Parenting is one of the most important relationships we’ll ever have,” he said. “These workshops are simply a chance to pause, reflect, and build the tools that help that relationship grow.”
