So worth it! Military spouse organizes bestselling author, speaker and parenting guru Barbara Coloroso to visit

The City of Pembroke proudly hosted this week the internationally bestselling author, speaker and parenting guru Barbara Coloroso.

Coloroso spoke to captivated audiences and dished out her sage parenting and teaching expertise, all in time for International Women’s Day (IWD).

The brainchild behind bringing this international parenting figure to this small Ontario town, Lynn Deschambault, had been working diligently for several months, with the help of community partners, to bring Coloroso to Pembroke.

“We’re very excited to have her because she’s just so worth it. She knows what she’s talking about. She reminds us of what is important and a lot it is whit, humour and common sense,” said Deschambault, Program Leader for the City of Pembroke’s Seniors that Sizzle Speaking Series and military spouse.

Events kicked off on the evening of March 7 when Coloroso addressed audiences for two hours on her parenting techniques, including getting children to think for themselves. She also touched on bullying.

“She held that audience in the palm of her hands for two hours,” noted Deschambault.

Coloroso became a literary figure with the publication of her book: “Kids Are Worth It: Raising Resilient, Responsible, Compassionate Kids.” The book details how good parenting begins with treating children with dignity and respect. She throws out some of the traditional methods and guides parents on giving children the tools to succeed in their lives.

“Kids Are Worth It should be required reading. They should hand it out at the hospitals when people are going home with their baby,” added Deschambault.

The 200 copies of the book available for purchase after Coloroso’s address were all sold out.

Events with Coloroso continued on March 8, starting with a lunch and learn: How to Spoil the Grandkids Without Rotting Them to the Core.

Afterwards, she led a workshop for educators and caregivers on preventing issues from becoming a crisis in schoolchildren.

The day rounded off with her appearance at the city’s International Women’s Day event, where she did book signings.

According to Deschambault, many of Pembroke’s community members have used and admired Coloroso’s techniques.

“Anybody who is a certain age and raised their kids in the 80s and 90s, especially, or is an educator knows about Barbara Coloroso,” said Deschambault.

Because so much of Coloraso’s philosophy is centred around raising children who are respectful, Deschambault believes she made an excellent guest in light of IWD.

“If we raised our kids with her methods we wouldn’t need an International Women’s Day to remind people to respect women,” noted Deschambault.