KiwiParent from Parents Center NZ Test Volume | Page 44

Each edition of Kiwiparent profiles one of Parents
Centres renowned parent education programmes.

This month: Spotlight

on

Conscious Parenting Programmes
How we approach parenting may very well
determine how our children ‘turn out’.

Facilitating with a purpose
getting it right for the children and grandchildren
A Parents Centre facilitator
working in prisons writes
about his experience in
working with offenders with
community-based sentences.*
I was expecting a better climate
further up north but the rain was
persistent. It didn’t dampen my
spirits though. I was looking forward
to facilitating the pilot programme of
Purposeful Parenting. It was Parents
Centre’s first opportunity to extend
the successful prison programme
beyond locked doors and out
to mums and dads completing
community service. First stop was
Whangarei Community Probation
Service where I caught up with nine
parents and then on to Kaikohe
Community Probation Service to
catch up with a further six.
Quite often parents I have worked
with feel they have been singled
out as being a “bad” parent, and for
these participants the thought was
no different. This can’t be further
from the truth and I was quick to
assure them it is all about sharing

knowledge, ideas and tools, most of
which I was going to elicit from them
anyway. It made me wonder how
many parents out there don’t access
parenting programmes because they
feel they might be told they are
doing it “wrong”.
This time I worked with a range of
parents from different walks of life
with different stories and different
ideas. Yet the groups gelled quickly
and got right into the discussions
and activities. It was great having a
young couple on one programme,
both looking forward to the arrival
of their first baby. What a great time
to do a parenting programme! But
hey, any time is a great time. Makes
me think of the dad in prison who
said “it’s time to get it right for the
grandchildren”.
This new programme is based on the
original Parents Centre’s Parenting
with Purpose. Outlined in three
modules, the programme covers
the needs of the parent, the needs
of the children, and strengthening
families. With one module delivered
per week, it allowed participants

42 kiwiparent – supporting kiwi parents through the early years

time to take in the day’s activities
and then put into action the ideas
they took away with them. It was
really rewarding for me to hear
the tales the following week of
what skill they had attempted and
their amazement that it actually
worked. In some parents I noticed
they were visibly more relaxed and
said their confidence around being
more assertive and using discipline
techniques had improved. What a
great outcome! There was lots of
laughter, some tears, and stories of
struggles as well as triumph.
The common threads throughout
the programmes were c onscious
parenting, improving relationships
and creating new opportunities
for their children. I’d like to thank
the participants for trusting me,
the Department of Corrections for
creating these opportunities and
the friendly support of Whangarei
and Kaikohe Community Probation
Services. I look forward to providing
further programmes in the future.

We all consider at times how we would like our children
to be as adults. It takes a bit of thinking and action on
our part. As parents we must give some conscious
thought to how we react in certain scenarios, how our
behaviour impacts on our little ones, and how we can
effectively communicate with our children in a way
which doesn’t result in negative behaviour.
Parents Centre runs two Conscious Parenting
Programmes – Parenting With Purpose and Magic
Moments. These parent education programmes are
designed to give Kiwi parents techniques and insights
on how to parent in a conscious way.

Magic Moments
A three week programme focusing on:
? Communication with children
? Engaging and co-operation with children
? Disciplinary techniques
? Routine and structure
? Understanding children’s expressions of feelings

Might you want to become a facilitator of Parents
Centre’s Conscious Parenting Programmes? Visit our
website to find out more about facilitation training and
opportunities through Parents Centre.
www.parentscentre.org.nz

Parenting With Purpose
A 12-hour programme designed to
give parents an understanding of some
of the following:
? Understanding the causes of stress in adults
and children and identifying useful strategies for
reducing these
? Strategies to engage children’s participation
? The differences between positive discipline and
punishment
? Early childhood education options
? Encouraging self esteem

“Parenting with Purpose has been
invaluable as it makes us think about
how and why we parent. There are
many new things to learn and new
ways to approach different situations.”
– Christchurch parent

“Group discussions and
sharing is such a valuable
part of this course.”
– Auckland parent

*To protect his identity we have not
used the writer’s name.

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