Class helps parents in effort of Guiding Good Choices

Are you concerned that when your child goes to middle school, he or she will be overwhelmed and not make wise decisions? If so, the Guiding Good Choices® workshop is for you.

Guiding Good Choices® is an interactive five-week program for all parents of children in grades 4 through 8. In a lively and open atmosphere, parents will learn specific strategies to help their children avoid adolescent problem behaviors and develop into healthy adults. Parents will learn to set clear family guidelines, as well as practice skills to strengthen family bonds, help their children develop healthy behaviors and promote children’s responsibilities in the family.

The program is being offered by the Wood County Educational Service Center, through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative.

Research demonstrates that children who have strong relationships with their parents develop better social and emotional competencies. These skills, in turn, help them succeed in school and make healthier life choices.

The program points out that one of the key elements to building a strong, supportive family unit is to establish firm boundaries and expectations for children. Guiding Good Choices® encourages parents to set clear guidelines for their children in order to develop healthy beliefs and standards. This foundation will, in turn, provide children with the ability to refuse and resist when confronted with potential problem behaviors. You might say it provides the “hand rails for life’s slippery slopes.”

Three different sessions will begin in January:

• Every Thursday beginning Jan. 13, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Indian Hills Elementary School in Rossford.
• Every Tuesday beginning Jan. 18, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at North Baltimore Public Library.
• Every Monday beginning Jan. 24, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Lake Elementary School.

The workshops are free for attending parents. Light refreshments, child care, and door prizes will be provided each week.

For more information, contact Greg Bonnell at (419) 354-9010, ext. 228.

Parent Project starts January 11

Parenting is a difficult job, and there is no instruction manual. The Parent Project was designed to connect the love and care parents have for their teens with the skills and support necessary to navigate the job of parenting.

As a participant in the 8-week Parent Project® class offered by the Wood County Educational Service Center, you can expect to learn effective communication strategies and other helpful parenting skills. Additionally this series will include important information regarding adolescent depression, alcohol and other drug use and the influence of music and media on today’s youth.

Many parents attending Parent Project® have had difficulty identifying appropriate limits and enforcing consequences consistently. Parents who attend the Parent Project® are more likely to see their child’s attendance at school improve, and to require less school-based disciplinary resources as parents find powerful interventions at home with which to bring about change in their children. The motto of the Parent Project® is “Parents are the answer … when they have the tools they need.”

Presented in an educational format, parents are trained for a low fee of $20, which covers the cost of the accompanying 180-page workbook. If the entire course is completed and the parent has attended all of the required sessions, the $20 fee will be refunded. A class for teens also is offered at no additional charge.

The next session will be held Tuesday evenings from January 11 through March 1, at Rossford High School. The first class will begin at 5:30 p.m. The remainder of the classes begin at 6 p.m.

For more information or to register, contact Lorrie Lewandowski, Wood County Educational Service Center, 1867 N. Research Dr., Bowling Green, OH, 43402. Phone: 419-354-9010, ext. 113. E-mail: llewandowski@wcesc.org.

You also can find more information and register by visiting www.parentproject.com and click on “find a class in your area” in the top right-hand corner.

The local Parent Project program was featured in a radio news segment that was broadcast Jan. 27, 2010 on the Morning Show hosted by Dave Horger on WBGU 88.1 FM. Listen to the segment on BG Gizmo by clicking here.

Registration will be limited to the first 30 people responding.