Parenting classes conducted via Zoom will commence Feb. 1, with applications closing Jan. 28. The program, run in partnership by Cordova Community Medical Center and Cordova Family Resource Center, will teach techniques for more intentional, and more effective, parenting.
“It’s a curriculum that focuses on… being clear about what your responsibilities and role as a parent are, and then providing parents with effective tools to utilize,” said Barb Jewell, behavioral health program manager for CCMC’s Sound Alternatives clinic. “Rather than be reactive, which is what we do when we don’t have a strategy in place, we can be responsive to get the behavior that we want, and to teach the kids the things that they are going to need to be happy and successful as adults.”
Three different courses will be conducted, with a five-week course focusing on educating children ages 0-4, an approximately seven-week course on ages 5-12, and an approximately five-week course on ages 13-18. The course with the most applicants will be held first, followed by the course with the second-most applicants. Classes will be instructed by Jewell and by CFRC client advocate Yaritza Mejias. Both parents of two-parent family groups are encouraged to attend, Jewell said.
One simple “active parenting” technique that will be covered in the classes is the “‘when/then’ statement,” used to prompt younger children to undertake a new behavior: for instance, “When you eat your peas, then you can have your dessert.” Framing the new behavior this way gives the child a clear reason to carry it out, Jewell said.
CCMC and CFRC have alternated funding the active parenting program during its approximately six years of operation. This year, CFRC funded the program with part of a $9,656 grant from the Alaska Children’s Trust. Reports indicate that conducting active parenting classes via Zoom is as effective as conducting them in person, Jewell said.
Planning is underway for a series of other family-focused classes to be held later this year. Curricula will cover Christian parenting; home-schooling techniques; art and cooking activities; exercise, yoga and stress management techniques, among other material. These classes are also expected to be held via Zoom, said Nicole Songer, executive director of CFRC.
“We have to adapt a little bit, of course, like everybody else, and find new ways to be creative,” Songer said.
