Courses for Parents
| Published: 5th September 2007 23:05 |
In Billericay we are fortunate enough to a fantastic resource for parents, the Billericay Parents Forum. The BPF runs many courses throughout the year and it is there to help all parents learn some new skills, whether you are dealing with toddler tantrums or teenage strops.
Having had three children, I had read all the books and watched the programmes and quite frankly wondered what there was else to learn. In theory I was great, just a bit shaky in practise!
I can't quite remember what prompted me to do a course in the first place - my toddler throwing a hissy fit in Waitrose probably. But after the first one, aimed at pre-schoolers, I was hooked.
My children you understand are not absolute monsters and going along to the courses did make me appreciate that, but I needed a few extra weapons. They were beginning to see through my threats of no TV or computers, that to be honest punished me as much as them, especially around the ‘Witching Hour' of teatime!
Each course has two facilitators and the content is geared towards the areas of parenting that everyone present finds problematic. At the first session a ‘dumping ground' of problems is created and week-by-week the group work towards resolving them by way of videos, group discussions & exercises and shared experiences.
Now the thing about these courses is that they work best when all parties are ‘singing from the same song sheet'. If one parent is trying the positive parenting bit - ignoring the bad behaviour and praising the good - and the other is shouting and using global criticism - ‘You always leave everything untidy' - it's will always be a recipe for disaster.
When Rosie Novis mentioned that the BPF were going to start a course aimed at Dads, I knew I would have to tread carefully if I had any chance of persuading my husband to go along. With a course name like ‘How to be a better dad' there wasn't a chance that he was ever going to be anything other that deeply offended!
Even I was amazed when he did finally agree to give it a try; albeit on the grounds that if he hated it, he never had to go back again. The fact that he attended all four and has put some of the ideas into practise has left me astounded, but it says a lot about the quality of the courses.
The thing is that, in general, dads get very little chance to discuss parenting issues with anyone other than their partners. It is never going to be a subject that rears it's head in the bar at the gym or on the way home from work on the train and my husband found it very useful to get other male perspectives on whole parenting thing.
Of course he won't actually admit that he enjoyed the course, but I think that he was surprised at what he gained from the experience. I don't supposed it will work when I suggest the next thing I've got in mind for him, ‘Teach your children French' but you never know!
