The Rentchlers weren’t first-time parents. But son Tyler, 9, was an easy baby who his mom still calls “the perfect child.”

“Tyler never cried or fussed. He was just a joy from the very beginning. I had a lot of confidence as a parent because of that,” says Jennifer.

Haiden was a very different baby, however. “She had colic and other health problems. By the time she was a year old, we were under a lot of stress as a couple because she couldn’t verbalize what was wrong, she could only cry and act out.”

Jennifer recalls that both she and Jason were frustrated and angry – “not with each other or with her – just with the situation. She was a very demanding child and it was emotionally draining from day to day.”

Life in the Rentchler household grew even more challenging with the birth of their third child, daughter Peyton Isabella. As they adjusted to their growing family, “Haiden continued to be such a difficult little girl for us to manage. I realized I truly had no idea how to parent this child.”

Jennifer looked around the Jackson community for a parenting class and found two alternatives, but one wasn’t available because of eligibility requirements. The one that was open to the couple was Parenting Wisely, a program provided by Catholic Charities of Jackson.

An interactive, computer-based teaching tool, Parenting Wisely uses evidence-based techniques to instruct parents on how to handle various behaviors in their children. Scenarios are presented through videos and parents choose alternative responses, learning the likely outcomes of each one.

“We realized through the Parenting Wisely program that the problem wasn’t Haiden – it was us. We needed help in learning how to handle her. Within a very short time, our relationship with our daughter improved tremendously. We were able to set up a routine for her, get her on a solid schedule, get her toilet trained, and all of these things boosted our confidence in parenting our daughter.”

In the process, the atmosphere in the Rentschler home improved for everyone. “Our house runs more smoothly,” Jennifer says. “This program was really the answer to my prayers. God gave us the help we needed and I feel really blessed that it was available to us.”