Connie Dawson
Therapist, author, television producer, and friend to parents
 Over
a long and varied career, Connie Dawson (B.S. ’55; M.A. ’72) has found
numerous ways to improve the lives of children and help people be better
parents. This college alumna taught elementary schoolchildren, developed
programs for kids who use drugs and alcohol, counseled families that
have adopted children, educated students at the college level, and wrote
two books.
And she’s not done yet. Dawson’s latest passion is developing a
nonprofit television network for parents, a project that she expects to
go on the air in the next year. She and a group of parents and educators
are working to create the Parent Television Network (PTVN). It will
start broadcasting initially in the Seattle area with plans to expand
across the country and internationally.
“Our philosophy is that parents would benefit from seeing parents from
around the world in their parenting practices, their concepts, their
struggles,” explains Dawson, who is a resident of Whidbey Island, Wash.,
outside of Seattle.
“Through engaging programming we hope that parents around the world will
be able to realize their similar goals. In that way, we build bridges
across national boundaries for parents who realize that whether you are
in Lithuania or Ethiopia or Mexico, you have the same desires for your
children.”
Dawson’s whole career has been about strengthening families through
improved parenting. She’s used her life experience and advanced
education to help parents who didn’t have such great parents themselves
and to guide families that adopt children. Dawson realized that mental
health professionals weren’t properly serving adoptees and adoptive
families, so she focused on conducting therapy with both adopted
children and families that have struggled after taking in older
children.
As a Ph.D. in counselor education, a mother of three, and grandmother of
eight, she knows what she’s talking about. Over the years, Dawson has
become an authority on parenting issues through her two books and
workshops for parents and mental health professionals. She wrote Growing
Up Again: Parenting Yourself, Parenting Your Children with co-author
Jean Illsley Clarke, another college alumna; recently the pair joined
David Bredehoft to write How Much Is Enough? about the long-term effects
of overindulging children.
In a unique take on the subject, the authors studied grown-ups who were
overindulged as children and evaluated how it influenced their adult
lives. “Both books are very matter-of-fact: ‘That’s how it is and if
it’s not working well, here’s something to try instead,’” Dawson notes.
“We don’t go into the ‘ain’t it awful’ mode.”
Dawson is not a fan of the self-esteem movement that encouraged parents
to always make their children feel good about themselves and to be
friends with their kids instead of authority figures. Instead, she tells
parents to take the long view with their children, to develop goals for
them, and not get stuck on day-to-day troubles.
“Be aware of the big picture about your children. Establish a goal and
see what you want for your children and how you can best get there,” she
says. “Adults who [take care of getting] their own needs meet and don’t
need their children to meet their needs for them are giving the greatest
gift that they can give their kids.”
With her zest for life and a constant craving to continue learning,
Dawson has no plans to slow down any time in the future. She continues
to conduct therapy and to put on workshops, sings in a community choir,
and pursues the creation of the Parent Television Network.
“Some people do one thing and stick with it for a lifetime,” Dawson
says. “I’ve always been attracted to learning new things, and there is a
lot more that interests me.”
—Suzy Frisch |
