Submitted by Wood County Educational Service Center
Is life with your teen full of conflict? Do you dread that moment when your teen returns home from school, or when you return home from work, trying to guess what today’s argument and battle of wills is going to be about? We know how to put a stop to that.
Most of us in the field, working with high-risk youth know that parent involvement is the key to behavior change with adolescents. Yet, effectively educating parents in basic behavioral strategies is time consuming and repetitive. The Parent Project® is a parent training program designed for parents of strong-willed adolescents. Since 2003, more than 250 parents and their adolescents have attended Parent Project in Wood County and they report that there is important information in Parent Project classes for parents of all teens.
Topics include reducing family conflict and arguing, improving school performance and attendance, identifying and intervening with alcohol and other drug abuse, interceding with negative peer associations (including inappropriate dating relationships) and helping parents to set clear, consistent rules with enforceable consequences. Parents who attend the Parent Project® are more likely to see positive behavior changes as parents understand and practice powerful Parent Project interventions at home. The motto of the Parent Project® is “Parents are the answer … when they have the tools they need.”
Presented in an educational format, parents are trained for a low fee of $20 for the accompanying 180-page workbook. Youth ages 12-18 are also invited to attend a separate class at no additional cost. If the entire course is completed and the parent has attended all of the required sessions, the $20 fee will be refunded. Parents attend 18 hours of instruction for a cost of less than one session of private counseling.
Here are some comments from a family that completed Parent Project in the fall of 2011:
“The information we learned from the sessions is priceless! Each session was full of information and techniques designed to help deal with a variety of issues and situations that we are faced with on a daily basis. This class has empowered us to make positive changes in our family dynamics. After the first session we were so excited to learn more. We began to implement the techniques immediately and saw results right away. We continued to learn and use the tools given to us. By the end of the last session we were feeling more confident that we were definitely on our way to becoming better parents, and raising respectful well adjusted teenagers! Following the guidelines we were given has definitely resulted in a more positive and happy environment at our house. Words could not express the appreciation we feel for the opportunity to have attended these classes. We would highly recommend The Parent Project to all parents!”
A concurrent teen component will also be offered, where teens will learn similar skills. Youth ages 12 and older may attend.
The next session will be held Monday evenings from March 7 through May 9 at Rossford United Methodist Church, 270 Dixie Hwy., Rossford, OH 43460. The first three classes will run from 6 to 9 p.m. The remainder of the classes run from at 6 to 8 p.m.
For more information or to register, contact Greg Van Vorhis at 419-354-9010, or gvanvorhis@wcesc.org.
