One of the unique aspects of our classes is to teach parents to both self-nurture and appreciate themselves. Our classes are specifically designed to help parents identify the stresses in their lives and to understand their children's developmental stages. We encourage parents to distinguish between what they determine is acceptable and unacceptable behavior on the part of their children. They learn communication skills and how to set limits in ways that are respectful, yet firm.

Many parents feel that if they don't yell, scream and spank, the child won't listen or will be bad. We work diligently to dispel this myth and teach parents how to communicate in ways that they can be heard. From experience, we find most children are more cooperative when parents use an encouraging tone of voice and follow through on limits they set.

Often parents want to learn effective parenting skills but they don't know where to turn for help. Those who are mandated to attend our classes often exhibit initial resistance. But invariably, this resistance melts away as a level of trust develops between staff and participants. By the end of class, parents have learned so much (particularly from each other), that a very common statement is, "I listen to my child now and realize she has feelings too." This increased sense of connection with a child's emotions can actually lower a parent's stress level.

In addition to our normal 12-week series, we held three 6-week series of classes at the Family Emergency Shelter Coalition (FESCO) in Hayward, a 6-week series at Bay Care in Oakland, as well as classes for numerous other organizations and colleges throughout Alameda County. Childcare is available at all sites.