Why Lauri?

How many teen experts do you know that have actually lived with the teens?

Lauri has walked in your shoes … Lauri has been taking in troubled teens and parenting them for the past 22 years. She was twenty six years old when the first troubled teen was left in her care. At the time, she was already a parent to her own eight year old daughter, but this new child would introduce her to a whole new way of parenting. With a history of abuse and multiple behavior problems, Lauri credits her time with this child as the groundwork for what lie ahead.

Shortly after this child arrived, that Lauri realized it was her own childhood that prepared her for this journey. Lauri grew up in an abusive home and landed in the juvenile dependency system by the age of 14. She was suicidal, angry, had substance abuse problems and was a habitual runaway. Today she is an executive, an author, a foster mom, an inspirational speaker and a leader in the realm of parenting of troubled teens.

Now having lived both sides of this life (the kid and the parent) she is one of the most qualified consultants known. Lauri has lectured at over 200 venues in the past five years, sharing her life experience and her lessons learned. She conducts training classes for parents, social workers and treatment center workers in “the handling and care of teenagers.”
Lauri has helped a multitude of families with varying issues. In addition to the thirty one troubled teens she has raised in her home as a foster mom.
Some of Lauri’s methodologies in working with teens are:

Change the game:

We are all engaged in a “way of being” with our children. Almost as if volleying a ball back and forth, once the struggle begins, we find ourselves right back in the same place again. Lauri will help you redesign your interaction with your teen. In this new way of being, you and your child will experience a revitalized sense of freedom and ease within your communications.

Integrity & being your word:

Many of the issues with teens arise from a lack of power, control or choices. The result is disconnectedness, dishonesty and a lack of responsibility. Lauri’s TALK (Teach Accountability with Loving Communication) parenting contracts will enable you to get your needs met while offering your teen a key role in the game of life. The result will be a family working together on mutual goals with a shared interest.

Consequences and Rewards; signed and delivered:

Many troubled families have an ongoing power struggle within the home. This struggle is derived from the youth’s need to be right and to have things their way. The result is a longing to be free from responsibility completely. Through the Consequence & Reward contract, Lauri will shift the pressure from the parent to the contract and alleviate the intrinsic need for the youth to win.