Ann Sherman, Nederland. Parenting is one of the hardest jobs many of us will ever do. It is exhausting, exhilarating, stress producing and rewarding – all rolled into one. We experience “good” days and “super difficult” days. Days when we feel so proud or loved, and quite honestly, days when we feel like throwing our hands up in the air and giving our kids away.  

When my children were younger, my dad often empathized with me by saying, “The years fly by, but the days can drag on.” He recognized that each stage of my child’s life brought new joys and challenges and sometimes it felt like we would never get through some of the harder stages and behaviors.  

I often felt trapped alone on a mountain, with few options, when I needed a break from my kids. I wondered if I was the only parent in the world who couldn’t figure out how to calmly deal with my child’s mouthiness, screen usage, temper tantrums, sibling rivalry, getting to school on time, etc.

It is difficult for any of us to handle the role of parent without receiving strong emotional, financial, and physical help from a wide array of family, friends, community organizations and service providers. With this in mind, TEENS, Inc has partnered with Nederland Elementary School, NMSHS, Mountain Forum for Peace, Colorado Office of Behavioral Health, and a dozen local counselors to bring the MOUNTAIN STRONG FAMILIES series to Nederland again this Fall. This 5-session Series provides practical tools and healthy insights for parents of toddlers to teenagers. Mountain Strong Families offers a free home-cooked meal at Nederland Elementary, followed by free childcare and a monthly presentation by local counselors. There is also a chance to hear how other dedicated parents are working to raise healthy, whole human beings.  It gives us all hope that we can rock this parenting role!

Please RSVP for the first presentation: Embracing the Stress of Parenting; Learning How to Nurture Ourselves While Raising Amazing Children, on Thursday, August 29, 2019, from 5:30 -7:30 p.m. Contact ann@teensinc.org or 720-561-4861 for a spot at the dinner table and quality childcare.  

You can attend just one of the presentations, if a particular topic interests you.  However, to get the most out of this Series and really crystalize your positive parenting experience, mark your calendar for all these events:   Thursday, August 29; Tuesday, September 10; Wednesday, Oct 9; Wednesday, November 6; Tuesday, December 3 – all hosted at Nederland Elementary School.  

The Series will utilize the No-Drama Discipline Workbook by Dr. Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. Please bring $18 to the presentation for your personal copy to use throughout the Series (free and reduced copies will also be available). We look forward to travelling this parenting journey together. Bring a friend, consider this a Parent’s Night Out opportunity, or come alone and just quietly listen while nurturing yourself and your child’s social emotional wellbeing. 

(Originally published in the August 29, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)