Parenting Programs
Early Childhood
Early childhood can have a particular set of challenges for parents as they help nurture their child’s development. From an infant’s first cry to a young child’s first word, early childhood is fraught with developmental milestones and critical moments in which a child’s world needs sensitive and enriching experiences in order to make the most of this phase of development. The Early Childhood series focuses on critical areas of social and emotional development and gives strategies for parents to support their child’s needs in order to provide a foundation for future learning, strong relationships, and psychological and emotional health.
Session One
Know Your Child
When parents understand their child's personality characteristics and their present stage of development, they can set reasonable expectations, respond appropriately to the child's behavior, and provide opportunities for children to experience success. In this session, parents will learn the link and interaction between their children’s behavior, typical developmental milestones, and temperament.
Session Two
The Development of Self
The development of a concept of self is essential to the expression of healthy self-esteem, exhibition of self-control in later years, and the development of morals. Both healthy self-esteem and self-control have been linked to happiness, initiative, resilience, emotional and social intelligence, good academic performance, and other measures of success. In this session, parents will learn about the development of self-concept, self-control, and moral development in order to guide their children’s development. They will also have the opportunity to examine their own values and how to positively influence their children’s beliefs and values.
Session Three
Love & Limits
Parents of young children face the challenge of letting children develop a sense of independence while at the same time making sure children comply with rules. Understanding why children do what they do is important because it helps parents anticipate the child’s behavior and the choices they have in responding. In this session, parents will examine possible reasons for children’s behavior and have an opportunity to troubleshoot their children’s problematic behaviors and identify their own parenting and response styles.
Session Four
Communication and Language Development
Young children listen with their whole bodies as they naturally soak up emotions through tone of voice, facial expressions, touch, and gestures of those around them. Parents can set the stage for effective communication now and in the future by attuning to their children’s cues and needs as their ability to communicate grows. In this session, parents will review typical language development in children and learn strategies to support it.
Session Five
Playing with Their World: Play in Early Childhood
A parent has an important role in their child’s world of play. From setting up a variety of play experiences and clarifying their personal values about play, parents help provide enrichment and opportunities that have a lasting effect on their child’s physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. This session will allow parents to increase their knowledge about the benefits of play and how they can create space and influence their child’s world of play.
Session Six
Through the Eyes of a Child: Media Violence
Exposure to media violence can negatively impact brain development in young children and affect behavior in the short and long term. Parents play a crucial role in protecting children from and helping them understand the media they consume. In this session, parents will learn to assess and understand their children’s exposure to violence in the media, effects of that exposure, and how they can use their influence to minimize both exposure and impact.
