Parents
We always thought of ourselves as enlightened and progressive parents, so we were surprised, perplexed and even concerned when our 3 year old daughter became somewhat more "difficult" to handle. The arrival of a new baby sister, combined with a move to a new city, produced an unprecedented number of tantrums, outbursts and worst of all-run-in after run-in with us , her well meaning parents. What were we doing wrong?
We sought counseling with Ziva, and almost overnight we felt our peace and confidence return. With her extensive professional experience and compassionate touch, Ziva quickly established a rapport with our daughter, observed her interactions in day-care and at home, and effortlessly elicited and explained our own behaviors and responses to our daughter's outbursts. She helped us identify many of he new stressors and points of friction and offered insightful yet practical strategies to diffuse or circumvent these pitfalls.
With Ziva's guidance, the behaviors that we previously viewed as "problematic" were understood as logical and expected reactions to a changing environment.
As our own perceptions and approaches changed, we saw the stress and difficulties dissolve before our eyes. Quite rapidly - almost magically- we had our old wonderful daughter back.
Mr.& Mrs. G.
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I was extremely lucky to be put in touch with Ziva just before my husband's eight-month military deployment to Afghanistan. At the time, we had a fifteen-month-old daughter who loved spending time with her father. We wanted to ensure that she maintained a strong connection with him, without exacerbating the stress resulting from his absence. I was also pregnant with our second child, which added another potentially tricky element to our daughter's separation experience.
Because of my location on the East Coast, Ziva and I communicated primarily by phone, over a series of conversations. She first asked me about our daughter's personality, habits, and needs. Based on her analysis, Ziva then gave me suggestions about the types of communication with her father that would be most suitable, as well as suggestions about the frequency and length of this communication. On the home front, Ziva suggested several books for me to read to our daughter, and she told me how to talk with our daughter about her father. Ziva followed up several times to check on our daughter's progress, and on our progress as a family.
Over the course of the eight-month separation from her father, our daughter experienced very little anxiety -- and when he returned, it was as if he never left! This resulted 100% from the practical tips -- and confidence -- that Ziva gave us. Ziva's suggestions allowed us to grow as a family, even when we were thousands of miles apart. We cannot thank her enough for this wonderful gift!
Sara G.
Preschool Directors
I have consulted with Ziva on a number of occasions in the building of our preschool program and her sensitive approach to help us in our development has benefited our staff and the children in our care. In addition to supporting us with some great feedback and strategies to improve our circle time with children, she has also consulted with us around how to provide the best transitions for new children entering into our program. Ziva's consultations have helped us to provide the best experience possible for each child's transition, and this has been indispensable. We had a child who was 2.5 years old and spoke no English transition beautifully partly due to Ziva's suggestion to provide this child with her own book, helping the child understand that we hear her concerns and to understand that Mommy or Daddy will come back each day. This child was in tears at first, and didn't want her mom to go. After she spent some days getting familiar with the preschool, mom eventually left and we used her book to help her. This made a big difference for the child and in just a couple of weeks she is now kissing mom goodbye and engaging in preschool happily throughout the day.
Heather Malley, Program Director
Caterpillar Cottage Preschool
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A.B. ECE Director
Program Manager
I have used Ziva’s services as a trainer many times. She is an amazing trainer and attendees respond very positively to her trainings. She is highly professional and respectful in her work with clients. Ziva is passionate about her work with parents and young children and that comes across in her workshops. Her real world examples allow her to connect to her audience and provide them with skills and techniques they can immediately implement in their classroom or program.
Cyndi Trujillo, Program Manager
