NORWICH – Frustrated parents who deal with the everyday obstacles of raising a stong-willed teenager are being offered a helping hand as the Chenango County Youth Bureau sponsors the second installment of the Parent Project.
Free classes will be offered as part of the Chenango County Parent Project beginning Oct. 10. Classes will be held on a weekly basis for ten weeks, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the board room of the Norwich Family YMCA. All parents are welcome to attend this free-tuition course, but early registration is required by Wednesday, Oct. 3.
“This (class) is meant for anybody willing to deal with a strong-willed child and I think every child is strong-willed at times,” said Youth Bureau Director Kathy Clemens. “This program has been very successful in the past. It’s a support group between the parents who are participating in the program and it can help alleviate potential of ever getting into difficulties.”
Each class will center on issues concerning adolescent behavior and empowering parents who frequently struggle with discipline issues. Parents will be presented different resources to help them address matters that include preventing or intervening in alcohol and other drug use, arguing with strong-willed kids, improving school attendance and performance, and finding additional parental resources to help cope with it all.
Parent Project Facilitator Karen Osborn said the course is an excellent opportunity for parents to network with other parents who face similar challenges. “Kids are not getting easier to raise,” she said. “When parents are confronted with difficult kids, they need support not only from an agency or a person like myself, but also another parent who understands what they’re going through. I hope that parents will begin to realize that there is a resource for them during these trying times. With different tools, things can be better.”
Robert – who chose to withhold his last name – successfully completed the inaugural Chenango County Parent Project course offered in April. He has a 17-year-old stepson with a disability and noted that while new parenting techniques taught during the course were taxing at times, they have had a positive effect, particularly when it comes to school work.
“There’s been a significant change. Before, I didn’t really know how to deal with him and work with him, but it’s helped us tremendously,” he said, recalling that before the Chenango County Parent Project, similar programs had been available only in Oneonta. “We’ve been asking for years for something with a little more training for something like this.”
Osborn has conducted similar classes in Albany County for more than four years. She said that 74 percent of the parents who have completed the program noticed an overall improvement in their child’s behavior and required less intervention from local social services programs. She added that those who relapsed into the state’s Person In Need of Supervision program, 24 precent said they did not follow through with strategies explained during the Parent Project seminars.
For more information about the Chenango County Parent Project or to register, call 337-1656 or email kathyc@co.chenango.ny.us. Additional information can be found on the Parent Project website, www.parentproject.com.