About Us
We are Building a World Where
Programs & Services
We’ve curated several program offerings to ensure caregivers can receive support and training at a time, in a place, and in a way that meets their evolving needs through the parenting lifecycle and ever-changing busy schedules.
Online resources, free support calls and articles
3 to 8-week experiential courses led by a Certified Instructor who will guide and support you as you practice and tailor these tools for your unique setting
An online community rich with resources and personalized support. Daily coaching, live calls, weekly learning opportunities and so much more
60-minute session with an instructor to find solutions for parenting challenges.
Year-long advanced Certification program to be able to teach Hand in Hand and be a part of our growing Instructor community
Founder's Story
I’m Patty Wipfler, and in 1989, I founded the nonprofit Hand in Hand Parenting. My parents were buffeted by a cascade of crises that devastated two of my five siblings’ lives. I witnessed the damage parental stress can do. I grew up determined to change the world.
After my sons were born, stress mounted. I learned to listen and use a listener to escape the impulse to mistreat my children. I saw that parents doing listening exchanges became less reactive. I dove in to try to figure out how parents could listen to children, so they too could recover from hurt and harm. I have since spent tens of thousands of hours developing our approach and learning to articulate it while working with parents and children around the world. It has been hard work and the delight of my life.
Over time, I developed five “Listening Tools” which are in alignment with emerging research from many disciplines. The adult-child connection is the focus, as human connection is the foundation for emotional and cognitive functioning. We hold that people’s intelligence expands in the context of relationships that allow for play, emotional expression, attuned listening, and loving limits.
Our Values
Listening
Our foundation is one of respect for all with a commitment to listen fully and learn from diverse viewpoints. We are committed to a new definition of respect for children through attentive listening, and strive to model this in all our relationships.
People First
We place personal compassion, warmth, trust, and collaboration at the heart of our work. We believe children and parents are innately good and have the capacity to solve problems and thrive. We value work-life balance and rest.
Big Goals
We set ambitious goals to foster lasting change in the lives of individual families and communities to transform our society. We continually identify important questions, experiment and listen to find answers, and evaluate and documents what we learn.
Growth Mindset
Honesty, openness, acceptance, and willingness to confront core issues are central to our daily work. We create safe spaces for introspection, vulnerability, questioning, and lasting learning.Appreciation
We honor the rewarding and challenging work of parents, and the professional work of our colleagues and partners. Together, we will transform society.Timeline
- 1989: Patty Wipfler founds the Parent Leadership Institute.
- 2005: The Parent Leadership Institute becomes Hand in Hand Parenting.
- 2006: A year-long Instructor Certification program launches to provide advanced training to those wanting to teach Hand in Hand tools in their communities.
- 2010: A Professional Intensive training course launches for healthcare providers.
- 2016: Patty’s first book “Listen: Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges” is published!
- 2019: Hand in Hand’s research team accepted as a Portfolio Project by Frontiers of Innovation (FOI) at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
- 2020:Instructor Program has over 250 Certified Instructors across the globe sharing and teaching in their communities!
- 2021: Research team and Program team launch an 8-week course for Early Childhood Educators.
- 2022: Hand in Hand is designated as an Evidence-Based Practice by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP).
- 2023: Research team completes the early pilot study on the new Foundations Course for Early Childhood Educators across 50+ different early childhood programs with technical assistance from Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation.