When I founded Behave Your Best in 2011, I didn’t set out to build a company. I set out to share what I knew, because I realized I had something most parents didn’t: training in behavior analysis.
Before I became a mom, I worked in the field of applied behavior analysis, supporting families of children with disabilities. It was challenging yet rewarding work. Parents who were overwhelmed and stressed learned new strategies, and I watched as frustration transformed into connection and joy. Still, the work was intense. By the time I had my first child, I knew something had to shift.
Like so many moms, I was navigating how to balance career and family. At the park, in music classes, even in the aisles of a big-box store, I started noticing something: most parents didn’t have the same tools I did to prevent or de-escalate meltdowns. I could calmly guide my son through moments that might have turned into battles, and other parents noticed too. Friends would say, “Can you teach me how you do that?” Strangers would comment on my patience.
One day in a mommy-and-me music class, I watched a mother’s frustration with her son spiral into a full meltdown: screaming, throwing instruments, hitting. Another time, I saw a mom desperately try to discipline her child in the middle of a store, only to have him take every shirt off the rack and toss them on the floor. My heart ached for these moms. I wished I could show them there was an easier way to manage their child’s behavior.
That was the spark. Behave Your Best was born out of a deep desire to empower parents with tools that make life at home more peaceful and joyful. Because the truth is that even though children don’t come with a manual, parenting does not have to feel so hard. With the right tools, parents can truly enjoy their child’s behavior.
Since 2011, my team and I have supported more than a thousand families through challenges with eating, sleeping, potty training, tantrums, transitions, aggression, listening—you name it! I believe every family deserves to feel confident and supported, and to have the peaceful home they deserve. That’s why Behave Your Best exists.
