Promoting Positive Parent-Child Relationships Through Learning
2021 has been a year of challenges, transformations and innovations! Thanks to our supporters and donors, Childreach remained accessible to families for support and programming six days a week – by phone, email, zoom, and in person.
What hasn’t changed is that parenting remains a joyful, frustrating, exhilarating, and exhausting journey. There will always be times in all parents’ lives when the journey seems overwhelming. Sometimes we just don’t know what to do. Sometimes nothing we do seems right. And sometimes we are overcome by all of the other stresses in our lives – like living in a pandemic!
Most of us learn parenting on the job. Not everyone has an education in child development, so we rely on our instincts or our own childhood experiences. But many times our instincts are really just emotional reactions that aren’t well thought out. And sometimes our own childhood experiences were negative and not what we want for our own children.
This is where Childreach can help. Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting is a free 10-week parenting program that provides a foundation for parents that is non-violent and respectful of children as learners. It is an approach to parenting that helps children succeed, gives them information, and supports their growth. Positive discipline brings together what we know about children’s healthy development, research on effective parenting, and the rights of the child.
In 2021, 40 parents graduated from this program with new skills and increased confidence in their parenting strategies. They became better prepared for challenges and new stages that come as children grow older. Families have told us they needed this program. Now, graduates are sharing it within their parent circles. There is increasing need, and our waitlist is growing. In 2022, we want to offer six of these 10-week sessions to meet the need and create more positives outcomes for families.
“It was a relief knowing that I am not the only parent who is struggling. Kids need warmth and structure, and it is okay for parents to ask for help. I only wish I knew about this program when I had my first child. Things would have been easier. “– J. M.
One dad shared this perspective mid-program,
“I am learning that every child deserves a champion - an adult who will never give up on them. We are our children’s champion. We are not only their role models, but we are who they trust, are attached to, and can communicate with. It’s very important to be there for our children and for them to see what we can do for them.” E.R.
Your donation will help parents build on their strengths to form warm and loving relationships with their children. Research shows that $1 invested in the early years of a child’s life can save up to $9 in future spending in healthcare. As well, it will ensure children grow up to be happy, healthy and caring adults.
To offer Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting in 2022, we must raise $20,000. Your donation will go directly to helping struggling families in our community thrive and succeed. Please be as generous as you can.
With gratitude,
Shobhita Sharma
Board Vice President & Fundraising Committee Chair