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02/02/12
Child – is a small and not independent person, and his or her future depends on parental skills
200 parents completed training course “Make Parenting a Pleasure” during the last year of “Growing together” project in Poltava and Bila Tserkva.
Parenting is important and difficult task, but it also can be joyful and rewarding. To make it happen specialists advice to answer following questions: “who am I?”, “what kind of father am I ?”, “what kind of mother am I?” “how does my child perceive me?”
For 200 Ukrainian families from Poltava and Bila Tserkva the first step to understanding of their parenting was the programme on parenting skills development “Make Parenting a Pleasure” - series of specialized trainings that help to calm down, learn more about feelings and emotions, teach to listen to children and communicate with the in a new way.
The specific content of the Programme was developed in areas parents identified as the most important to them including dealing with stress, anger, social isolation, understanding normal child development, gaining positive discipline skills, communication skills, and wanting to develop feelings of competence in parenting. The course doesn’t declare but teaches to see individuality in every child, to value it and to grow together with it, provide the best conditions for stable and harmonic development with family resources and community resources.
«We frequently pay our attention on whether the child is happy and joyful, we are ready to make a sacrifice of our own interests for children. But at the same time we forget that family consists not only of children, but also of parents, - says Olena Yesypenko, manager of Partnership for Every Child’s training activities.
«Parenting should bring joy, make parents happy and healthy. Only while being confident parents can make their child happy too. Make Parenting a Pleasure begins by recognizing the importance of parents as individuals. The curriculum focuses first on the need for self-care and personal empowerment, and moves from an adult/adult focus to a parent/child/family emphasis.” – she stresses.
To continue learning when one becomes an adult is hard. But everyone sees the main teacher of his or her child everyday in the mirror, therefore the main task for parents is to reduce negative habits. It is especially true for violence and punishment.
«The majority of parents doesn’t want to hurt their children. But sometimes unconsciously the store negative emotions and anger and one not careful action can spoil everything”, - Olena Yesypenko explains.
«It turns out the bad behavior of children has its reasons! Thanks to the course I learned how to see and overcome them, - shares her impressions Maria – mother of two children and care leaver of internat. After trainings I became more calm, learned how to control myself and overcome stress, now I am sure that anger is normal feeling, one have to timely direct this energy in the right way”.
“Making Parenting a Pleasure” is an additional instrument in complex of social services for families with children, a way to prevent child abuse and neglect in the families.
«We plan to teach150 more families at course “Make Parenting a Pleasure”, - Larysa Stryga, project manager of “Growing Together” says.
In order to achieve that we prepared around 20 trainers – specialists from social centres for children, family and youth, teachers from children educational institutions. Also during evening sessions we provide art-therapy for children from families that attend our courses. We plan to involve volunteers from pedagogical institutes to work with children in the future”.
About the Project:
Project “Growing Together” aims at strengthening parental capacity of vulnerable families with children in Poltava and Bila Tserkva of Kyiv Oblast. Project is implemented by International Charitable Organisation “Partnership for Every Child” and is financed by World Childhood Foundation, Sweden.