In parenting, connection is key. Connection with your Child and with your Self

Welcome! I am glad you are here.
You are a good parent, and your child is a good child (despite his/her acting out). Because parenting is emotional work, you need a good support system that you can build within our community. The five listening tools from Hand in Hand Parenting and my ABC of Conscious Parenting will help you repair a broken connection with your child.

Testimonials For

Mihaela Plugarasu

“When I initially connected with Mihaela, I was not sure what to expect. I was trying to heal from a difficult divorce from a narcissist, dealing with the aftermath of broken pieces, all while trying to keep it together for my 5 year old daughter. I didn’t know how to handle the extreme aggressive outbursts, excessive tantrums, and what seemed like disrespectful disobedience coming from my baby. I felt defeated and not equipped enough to handle it.
Working with Mihaela made me realize that those episodes were my daughter’s cries for help. She is feeling the effects of the divorce as well because she is so young that she doesn’t know how to handle it. Mihaela has been amazing. She has challenged me to see things from a different perspective. She has helped me to realize a lot of the frustration or anger I was experiencing from others is just a mirror of what work I need to do, but most importantly she has helped me create a stronger bond with my daughter. I have learned better ways to deal with my emotions which in turn helps me to help my daughter with hers.
Mihaela is intelligent, challenging, thought provoking, caring, passionate, and supportive.
I highly recommend Mihaela and her Conscious Parenting program. Thank you, Mihaela for your continued support and guidance! Words cannot express enough the value you have provided to me and my daughter!”

(daughter is 5 y.o.)

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart Mihaela Plugarasu because I have learned to be present, give 1:1 undivided time, compassion and above all, listen, listen, listen. Something very special and that I consider a gift for life is the fact that I can see my triggers and they are vanishing as I understand them – it’s such a blessing not to feel like I did before. This program is so powerful that I can say that for me there will always be a before Mihaela and after Mihaela in my relationship with my daughter, in my relationship with myself and with everyone I love. In just the first 3 weeks I started experiencing results that were beyond my imagination and now I am sure that I have a road ahead, hard work and of course ups and downs but I have the tools and the priceless coaching calls to refresh and address specific situations. This is an investment that will pay off better than any other thing I have invested in so far. I just want to share how grateful I am for this opportunity for me and my family”

(daughter is 12 y.o.)

“Hi Mihaela! I just wanted to say how grateful I am for the listening time you offered a couple of weeks ago. I was in a very difficult position having to handle a super difficult situation and my therapist was away on holiday. I found a lot of comfort in what you said to me, and it made a huge difference because I couldn’t handle it on my own and I had to be at my best for the next couple of weeks. Please don’t tell my therapist I cheated on him; I want to tell him myself ”

(son is 12 y.o.)

“On a scale from 1-10, I rate this program 20. Although I had been in therapy, the introspection and tools I got from this course to keep growing as a person are going to be with me for years to come. The connection tools (parent-child) and the self-awareness tools were the most impactful. Also the advice for conflictive co-parenting. I am now practicing routinely 1:1 undivided time with my son; discovering my triggers and wounds and what to do about them; the map of consciousness and gratitude exercises… There’s something new every week. I can listen more to my child and be present, and I can connect with him a lot better, which is the whole purpose I think of this. As a result, he is listening to me more, and responding too!”

(son is 12 y.o.)

“After one and a half years practicing what I have been learning from the program, I can say I feel like a better person as a whole, a better mother, a better wife, a better woman and human being.I know I still have a lot to learn and heal but I feel so different in a good way. Thanks again and again Mihaela Plugarasu for having this vision and sharing your knowledge with us. ”

(daughter is 12.y.o.)

“Hi Mihaela Plugarasu! Last week I finally had a meeting with my son’s new teacher. She couldn’t understand why I insisted on meeting her until she read my son’s file. She told me that when she met him for the first time this year, he was a completely normal boy, connected in class, totally integrated with his classmates, a fast writer, playing with everyone during the breaks, and even showing emotion if he was not included in some game. That’s the exact opposite of what I would get from school for at least the past 4 years. She said if she hadn’t read the file, she would have never imagined my son used to have all those symptoms and even medication. I explained what a difference it made to now have evidence that this was the result of narcissistic abuse and not ADHD or learning disabilities. I cannot thank you enough for showing me how to support my son all this time in our journey from hell into normal life.”

(son is 12 y.o.)

“I want to say thank you, Mihaela, the program you put together and the constant support you give us in our different situations and struggles with our kids are an invaluable treasure. My wish for a better humanity is that every parent has access to this wonderful resource… from the bottom of my heart, thank you again and again.”

(daughter is 12 y.o.)

My favorite topics to teach parents are:



  • how children’s emotions work and the neuroscience behind it;

  • why tantrums and other off-track behaviors are good “messengers” and need to be welcomed in every family;

  • how to handle anger and aggression in children;

  • the difficulties of toxic co-parenting and how to make it easier for everyone involved, especially the child;

  • why self –care is the foundation for a connected child-parent relationship.


Wisdom from Hand in Hand Parenting:

When a child feels safe, loved and connected to the adults around him, his intelligence and openness to collaboration are in full gear.
Children learn best through play. In particular, free play without competition or pre-set rules are a great builder of children’s intellect, imagination and confidence.
Connection is as vital as food, water and shelter.
An aggressive child is a scared child. She feels isolated, frightened and alone. Handling children’s anger is one of the most difficult and universal job in parenting.
Feelings from unresolved incidents remain in a child’s emotional memory. When a situation resembles a moment of hurt from the past, these deeply stored feelings come to surface.

I am a supporter of and donate regularly to:

https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_Change_Parenting.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_everymothercounts.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_MW_Miami.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_wevolution.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_DFS_Miami-web.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_greater_good_magazine.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Florida_International_University_logo.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_DFS_Miami-web.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/logo_greater_good_magazine.jpg
https://mihaelaplugarasu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Florida_International_University_logo.jpg

I am an educator with more than 15 years of leadership, self- development and teaching experience. I am also a mom, a co-parent and a college professor with teaching experience in the United States, Europe and Latin America. My two core values are growth and education.

I am the 1-st certified parent educator for parenting-by-connection in Florida, by Hand in Hand Parenting. In this role, I facilitate parent support groups, workshops, classes and individual work with families. I use my ABC of Conscious Parenting to help parents get started on this journey: self-Awareness, Be-ing Present and Connection. I teach parents to use listening tools and compassionate self – inquiry to connect with themselves and their children, especially when parenting feels hard.

I founded Parenting Made Conscious, a community of conscious parents who come together to learn, evolve and create a connection-based relationship with their children. My first book, Conscious Parenting of Your Toddler: Strategies to Turn Discipline into Growth and Connection ( 2020), is now available on Amazon.