Who supports the supporters?
We do. HabitAware's Peer Coaches Aneela (Co-Founder), Ellen (Director of Awareness), and Mari (Community Engagement Manager), offer their lived experience to parents through online conversation, weekly calls, and a boatload of resources.
HabitAware's Parent Circle, in the BFRB Change Collective, is a private & supportive space for parents and kids who want to be the best resource they can be for their child who has chronic hair pulling, skin picking, or nail biting.
Through our lived experience and helping tens of thousands take control of BFRBs, we'll teach parents how to trade the misunderstandings, fights and hopelessness with BFRB education, skills for compassionate conversations, and a "Team Family" approach so that YOU have the handbook to support your child's healing process.
BFRB Change Collective - Parent Circle: meet your hosts
Meet Your Peer Coaches
Ellen is a mental health activist committed to educating and reducing the stigma around mental health and BFRBs. Having trichotillomania for 30+ years and a child with BFRBs, she cares deeply about her work and the community she serves. When she is not helping others find positive change with Keen, Ellen enjoys Barre classes and really good coffee. 
Aneela struggled with trichotillomania for 20+ years before she realized that she could turn her pain into her purpose, and started the HabitAware company. She's using the same strategies she teaches you to help her own young son with lip picking. Aneela is excited to help others like her change their life with the power of the BFRB Collective, HabitAware’s behavior change methodology, and their award winning Keen/Keen2 bracelet. 
Mari is a graphic designer who aims to make positive change through her work. She struggled with dermatillomania for 10 years before starting work at HabitAware. She is happy to support the BFRB community, spread awareness, and lend her skills to create resources.
HabitAware's product offerings are not a substitute for medical advice.By continuing to engage with our content and offerings you are acknowledging and agreeing to our medical disclaimer.
Keen2 Tips for Parents
We believe it's best for your child to start with one trained area so they can get to know themselves and Keen2. As they get used to Keen2, they can add additional trained areas or potentially a second Keen2. In the beginning, their goal is to build their awareness muscles and to learn to make a new choice by replacing the behavior with something more positive. This could be taking three deep breaths, an arm stretch, or a fidget toy. Your child will have to experiment to find what works for them and these may change over time.
Please let your child know it's ok to do their habit a little bit, especially in the beginning. Our founder, Aneela, even still pulls a little bit, but the real win for her is that Trichotillomania doesn't have a hold on her anymore. She's taken control and that's what we hope for your child!
When Keen2 syncs back with the app you can look at the data together and start seeing what times of day impact your child the most. This will help you shift the conversation away from "did you do your behavior today?" to "let's look at your Keen2 stats and see if we can identify any triggers." By reframing it, your child won't feel blame or shame and that too will have a positive effect.
More resources:
Ask HabitAware: How do I get my child on board with the Keen bracelet?
Tips for Parents of Pickers & Pullers, ft. Natasha Daniels, Childhood Anxiety Expert
Guest Post: Parenting 101 - Back to School with BFRBs
We've also hosted a webinar where we've explored how to best be a supportive parent to a child with a BFRB