Shelly Mahon
BIO: Shelly D. Mahon has a Master of Science in
Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS), with an emphasis in
adolescent development, experiential education, and program development
and evaluation. Currently, she is working on her Ph.D. in HDFS, with a
minor in Prevention Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Her main area of research is integrating her interests in adolescents
and parent-child relationships after divorce with online, web-based
intervention programs. Shelly has been in a university setting since
the year 2000, teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in
content areas such as Child and Adolescent Development, Program
Development, Research, and Evaluation, and Motivational Theories in
Counseling Practice. In addition, she is actively involved in her
community through organizations such as Parent Engagement Network (PEN)
and has over 15 years of experience working in human service positions
in the experiential education and criminal justice fields. Shelly took
her first Human Development and Family Studies course as an
undergraduate at 18 years old. That first course was just the beginning
of a lifetime love and commitment to this field.
STORY: I am the mother of a 12 year old girl who is
entering middle school this year, as well a 16 year old boy who will be
a sophomore in high school next year. Wow! It has been an interesting
journey! Parenting takes a lot of energy, but it is well worth the
effort. To me, parenting brings to life an ever-changing spectrum of
human emotion. It is filled with moments of love, excitement,
anticipation, expectations, fears, hopes, and dreams. It has made me
laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time! Just when I think I have
everything figured out, my children change. In these moments I realize
that I too must change. As they grow, I find myself looking for the
balance between teaching them my values, beliefs, and interests and
helping them discover and develop into their own unique individual
characters.
Now that they are moving into and through the teen years, I am reminded of the figure of speech, the days are long, but the years are short. I try to step back and remember that it is really such a short period of time that I get the opportunity to experience life with them, as they grow into themselves. I have learned to give myself a break because it is not about being a perfect parent. I have also learned to be real with them because it is the prerequisite for them to be real with me. I have noticed that parenting has helped me to be giving, patient, humble, and persistent in a way that no other experience could.
I am motivated to share the information in this toolkit with you because I believe that it is through quality readings, the knowledge and experiences of others, support from friends and loved ones, and trust in oneself that we can make the parenting journey smoother and more fulfilling.
