Parent Project starts Jan. 10

Most  of us in the field, working with high-risk youth know that parent involvement is the key to behavior change with adolescents. Yet, effectively educating parents in basic behavioral strategies is time consuming and repetitive. The Parent Project® is a parent training program designed for parents of strong-willed adolescents.  Since 2003, nearly 250 parents and their adolescents have attended Parent Project in Wood County and they report that there is important information in Parent Project classes for parents of all teens.    

Topics include reducing family conflict and arguing, improving school performance and attendance, identifying and intervening with alcohol and other drug abuse, interceding with negative peer associations (including inappropriate dating relationships) and helping parents to set clear, consistent rules with enforceable consequences. 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 for the accompanying 180-page workbook. Youth ages 12-18 are also invited to attend a separate class at no additional cost.  If the entire course is completed and the parent has attended all of the required sessions, the $20 fee will be refunded. Parents attend 18 hours of instruction for a cost of less than one session of private counseling.

Here are some comments from a family that completed Parent Project in the fall of 2011:

The information we learned from the sessions is priceless!   Each session was full of information and techniques designed to help deal with a variety of issues and situations that we are faced with on a daily basis.  This class has empowered us to make positive changes in our family dynamics.  After the first session we were so excited to learn more.  We began to implement the techniques immediately and saw results right away. We continued to learn and use the tools given to us.  By the end of the last session we were feeling more confident that we were definitely on our way to becoming better parents, and raising respectful well adjusted teenagers!   Following the guidelines we were given has definitely resulted in a more positive and happy environment at our house.    Words could not express the appreciation we feel for the opportunity to have attended these classes.   We would highly recommend The Parent Project to all parents!  

The next session will be held Tuesday evenings from Jan. 10 through March 13 at the Rossford High School, 701 Superior St., Rossford. The first two classes will run from 6 to 9 p.m. The remainder of the classes run from at 6 to 8 p.m.

For more information or to register, contact Lorrie Lewandowski at 419-354-9010, ext. 113 or by e-mail at 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.