Ann Sherman, Social Emotional Learning Coordinator, TEENS, Inc. Parenting has never been easy. With the pandemic, many parents have been pushed to the brink as we juggle work demands, distance learning, social isolation, household responsibilities and the raising of our precious children. It is time to consider how to do this parenting thing well. It is time to surround ourselves with support for the journey.  

Most of us received very little training for our role in raising whole human beings. We’re shooting from the hip; doing the best that we can. At times, we feel like most things are going well, that we and our children are doing fine. At other times, we are baffled by our child’s behavior. We feel depleted. We don’t know what else to try. We do not always feel up to the task in front of us.  

But we want to do right by our children. We want to raise healthy, whole human beings who know how to care for themselves and know how to create healthy relationships with others. We want the children we send out into the world to have strong social emotional skills; skills that will serve them well, skills that will serve our world.

We also want to have strong relationships with our children. We want our children to cooperate without us feeling the need to yell, threaten, bribe, or punish. We want our children to know that they are loved. We want to have a sense of fulfillment in our role as parents. We want to draw from the best that our parents taught us and blend it with the latest neuroscience about how whole human beings develop. We have a chance to do all this in the next five months. 

Beginning on January 21, 2020, Mountain Strong Families (an ongoing community initiative by TEENS, Inc) will offer a five-part virtual parenting workshop. The first session of the Series, Raising Whole Human Beings One Day at a Time, focuses on learning the basics behind a positive approach to parenting. Attendees will practice two foundational techniques for strengthening our relationship with our children and developing their social emotional intelligence.  

In February, attendees will take time to turn inward and experience an evening of self-awareness and self-care in the second session entitled Nurturing Ourselves on the Parenting Journey. Through self- reflection and self-regulation exercises, parents will develop the skills and confidence to show up as our best version for our kids.

By March, attendees will focus exclusively on Raising Emotionally Intelligent Children.  Parents will learn what is going on in their child’s brain when they display strong or uncomfortable emotions. We will practice how to help children effectively identify and express their feelings and needs. We will learn how to help our children utilize healthy emotion regulation strategies when they are facing challenges in their lives.  

In April, parents will embrace a style of discipline that utilizes structure, choices and guidance instead of threats and punishments. Attendees will consider how to Create a Happier Home with Routines, Rules, Limits and Choices.

The final presentation in May will provide tips for parents who want to help our children develop friendship, problem-solving and conflict resolution skills. Learning how to initiate, maintain, and restore relationships with friends and family members impacts a child’s academic success, mental health, and resilience. Giving our children the gift of relationship skills will help them throughout their entire lives.  

Each virtual session runs from 6 - 7:30 p.m. Prior to the presentation, a free take-out family dinner can be picked up at the Teens Center. To sign up for the free series and family dinners, contact ann@teensinc.org. 

Commit to Raising Whole Human Beings. Surround yourself with a network of parents who are looking for more tools and ideas to develop their child’s social emotional intelligence and strengthen their family relationships. Commit to attending the entire series; each session builds on the prior one. It is time to consider how to do this parenting thing well, as a community.

(Originally published in the January 7, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)