What parents are saying about working with Megan:
Megan is a lifeline --she provides support, understanding, confidence, and strength to parents, especially during challenging times. She really helped me learn how to be the gentle leader of my household and work with my children's strong personalities to invite cooperation. I have grown so much as a parent through working with Megan. She designed a highly personalized program that took into account my own personality to help me develop new parenting tools... Megan is an incredible resource--I feel honored to be able to work and connect with her. I highly recommend her programs and individual support!!!
~ A mom of two
Megan is a gem. From her online classes to one-on-one, every time I work with her, I learn a new “parenting tool” that works, is easy to implement, and has helped our family. Helping us navigate big life changes like moves to the difficulty of everyday struggles like bed time; she manages to do it all in a way that validates the struggle and assures me that I can have a calmer home.
~ Tara, mom of one
TRANSFORMATION! That is the word I would use to describe what has happened in our family... Wow. Megan has so many positive and effective skills she gently yet professionally uses to help us sift through old and programmed patterns of parenting to uncover a peaceful path that can be taken with her illuminating each step at a time. Her compassionate approach makes it easy to break through any guilt or frustrations and embrace the parents we want to be. Our lives our so much better now that we have some solid, concrete skills in place that hold the space peacefully while we guide our kiddo through the childhood years. Beyond grateful!
~ Saoirse Ray, mom of two
I absolutely loved Megan's class. I learned how to grow as a parent but also be more compassionate with myself. Megan has such a delightful personality and she is really encouraging and thoughtful in her style of teaching. I highly recommend her classes and one on one coaching she offers.
~ Jennifer Astorga, mom of two at J Jean Portraits
One of the most life changing things in my life has been attending Megan’s class almost 3 years ago.
I have learned so much, made life long friendships and have the positive parenting peeps at my back for support.
Even if you are on your second or 6th child, the knowledge Megan can give you is priceless.
~ Lindsay, mom of five
I highly recommend Megan's wonderful classes! Prior to participating in Megan's classes, I had read many parenting books in my efforts to make parenting go more smoothly. I found a few things here and there along the way that helped, but I found a lot of the theories hard to put into practice. Megan's classes are different. The way she teaches offers a chance to put the various tools into practice and this really helped me be able to apply the tools I was given in daily life. Her knowledge of Positive Discipline, brain science as well as other modalities is presented in a way that really makes sense. I have been able to develop some great tools that really reflect my beliefs about parenting while showing respect for myself and my children. I feel like what I learned from Megan is really going to inspire my children to be capable, empowered and strong girls. This class has helped me immensely as a parent to become a more joyful and inspiring parent. I have referred many of my friends to Megan's work and they have all been so grateful as well.
~ Angie, mom of two
Megan is the person who means about lot when I learnt how to become a positive mother.
During our coaching time, Megan's words always inspire me and I can practices those useful tools and tips my daily parenting life. Megan is our sunshine on the parenting journey.
Now I have two kids. I really enjoy being a mother!
~ Teresa, mom of two
Megan is such a compassionate and caring teacher and mother. I truly appreciated all that she shared in her class. Her insight and ability to help others with their parent/child relationships is golden.
~ Tina Debrin, Explore the Moment Photography
From the beginning to the end of Megan’s class, I was taking notes and absorbing the great content she had to share with the group. I left feeling like I was well on my way to changing negative habits. I also discovered that the weekly classes were like going to the gym- it kept me in “shape” as a parent. At each class I learned new content and techniques. At the end of the course, I felt incredibly happy and much more capable of implementing positive parenting techniques...The extra bonus of this course was the change I’ve seen in my children- it’s easy to forget that they pick up so much from you... This course is life changing for parents and their children. I highly recommend it!
~Cathy, mother of three children and former Senior Market Research Analyst at Nike
It is a pleasure to work with Megan. I could not be more pleased with the results I have seen in my household. It has been a true transformation. I feel more connected with my children and I gained new confidence in myself as a parent. Thank you, Megan and I can't wait for more opportunities to get my family on the right track and strengthen our relationships.
~ Anna, mother of three children and lactation consultant
I would be lost as a parent without the tools that I have been given through Megan's positive parenting group and classes!
~Kimberly, mom of five children
I'd have to say that my entire outlook on how I approach situations has changed after attending (Megan's) classes. Before I knew that I wanted respectful, independent, ambitious children; but getting there seemed like nothing but arguing, stress, and challenges on a daily basis. Now I can see how to have control of a situation by letting my child have his voice heard and him using his independence by making the right choices; not because he's told, but because it's what he wants. Our stress level in the house has lowered significantly and we have very seldom amounts of frustrating days compared to before.
~Tiffany, mom of 2 children
My husband and I have really benefited from Megan's personalized coaching sessions, helping us with tools for positive ways to interact with our wild child toddler. Most recently, she helped us develop a positive, gentle but effective plan to approach solutions for our ongoing major nap strike [after teething/sickness developed some bad habits in my 21 month old]. Thank you Megan!
~ Rachel, mom of two children and photographer at rachelhadiashar.com
I had the pleasure of taking classes with Megan years ago. I think it saved my sanity. Being able to talk to her and meet other like-minded parents was exactly what I needed. I had read about Positive Discipline and knew it felt right for parenting my daughter. Megan helped us navigate and implement solutions to specific issues that we were having, while the rest of the group supported and reassured each other and helped with brainstorming. The whole experience left me more confident as a parent.
~ Amy, mom of one child
What community partners say about working with Megan:
"Megan has been a great partner for our Library! Her Positive PlayTime program has been a huge success, with great feedback from participating parents. The Positive PlayTime program offers wonderful tools and tips for fostering and developing skills. Parents learn how they can have patient and gentle resolutions of potential conflicts with their children. Megan is a wonderful person to work with, and partnering with her allows our Library to offer a high quality, much appreciated program for our library families."
~ Dan White, Director, Scappoose Public Library
Megan has been an absolute delight to work with! Her creativity, dedication, and passion were evident from our very first meeting. She took the time to learn about our organization and how she could best serve participants, then developed workshops that piqued participants' interests. She was enthusiastic in all of her preparations, sharing new ideas with me to ensure she was continuing to meet participants' needs. In her workshops, Megan instantly connected with attendees and provided a positive learning experience and environment. In the words of her participants:
"Very enthusiastic, fun to listen, positive...great class!"
"One of the liveliest speakers I have ever seen. She is peppy, keeps attention, lots of small groups, and action oriented."
"Energetic and well organized. Very good speaker."
~Kimberly Peterson, Program Coordinator, Parent Child Preschools Organization
Megan Barella’s Positive Play Time program for parents offers wonderful tools and tips for fostering and developing skills that turn potentially combative situations into opportunities for patient and gentle, mutually beneficial resolutions. Megan’s insightful methods provide parents with the tools they need to be the adult and not engage in this battle but to turn it into an opportunity for growth for all parties involved. Megan is a friendly, warm and positive person willing to assist and listen to her parent participants and provide them with the tools they need to turn potential or actual conflict into positive moments for all. Most importantly, the bonds she creates during these programs are continued afterward so the participants are confident that they have someone in their corner willing to continue providing insightful information. I highly recommend giving Megan’s program a try in your setting. I think your patrons will appreciate the opportunity to experience this positive way of handling those tough moments of parenting.
~ Sharon Trodler, Children's/Youth Services Librarian at Dunham Public Library, Whitesboro, NY
I can’t say enough wonderful things about Megan Barella! The minute you meet her you can tell that you are going to have a wonderful experience with her. She exudes warmth and positivity!
I have been a parent at the Portland Circle of Friends and Family Preschool for two years and have been on the school board both years. I attended a seminar with Megan Barella at the PCPO‘s annual workshop last March and I was so impressed that I immediately enlisted her to speak at our next parent meeting. All of the parents and our teacher loved the experience with Megan so much that we booked her again for two more speaking engagements this year.
Megan is such a joy to work with! And she even got me in contact with some other amazing speakers for future parent meetings. I simply cannot say enough great things about the experience that I have had working with her!
~ Jenni Walden, Portland Circle of Friends and Family Preschool Board Member
Parents and caregivers enjoyed learning new ways to implement positive parenting techniques, songs, and activities with their young children. Thank you, Megan!”
~ MacKenzie Ross, Youth Services Librarian, Beaverton City Library
Megan Barella has been a wonderful resource for our preschool community. We've had the pleasure of a few speaking engagements with Megan the last few years and both have been incredibly valuable to our school culture.
One experience that comes to mind was during a dialogue with our parents where we covered strategies for behavior. There was a segment of the interactive presentation where we had the benefit of discussing Adverse Childhood Experiences, Toxic Stress and Trauma Informed Care as it related to being aware of our own childhood experiences and how that has impacted our own parenting experiences. I found this to be an incredibly valuable dialogue, as many parents do not have first hand knowledge of ACE's and their impact on our own coping skills. I felt this truly resonated with our community as a reinforcement to practice self care and what that looks like as a parent. I deeply appreciated Megan's excitement to engage in this topic, normalize these experiences and share compassion and personal reflection while facilitating that presentation.
~ Rebecca Binford, Portland Circle of Friends and Family Preschool Board President