Parents Matter!
Parents have a crucial role to play in preventing dating violence
Parents Matter focuses on encouraging positive, strong parent-child communication and helping parents engage in open conversations with their teens on tough topics. The programs also educate parents on teen dating violence and ways they can help protect their children. They are designed to improve parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to teen dating violence and healthy relationships and provide them with the skills to address these tough issues with their preteens and teens.
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*This class is designed to run in conjunction with Relationships Matter. The youth have 5-8 sessions, and the parents have sessions of their own during that time.
Who this program is for
Parents and caregivers of middle and high school students
Format
Employs a mixture of information sharing, review, discussion, video, role-plays, and group exercises. This is a multi-session program.
Duration
Six (6) sessions, each 90 minutes, are run concurrently with the Relationships Matters Program.
Cost
Free to individuals, fee structure for organizatons and businesses
Course Description
* In conjunction with their children attending Relationships Matter, parents may attend Parents Matter! It is designed to increase parents’ ability to be an effective resource for their adolescents regarding healthy relationships and to provide opportunities for parents to build positive parenting skills. Parents are empowered to increase their awareness of the issues children face, improve their ability to communicate with their children about healthy relationships and sexuality, and develop parenting practices that decrease the likelihood of their children being exposed to unhealthy relationships. Parents Matter includes both group and in-home sessions. The in-home sessions are designed to give parents an opportunity to practice the skills learned in the group setting. This program was developed by the CDC.
Contact us to learn more about future Parents Matter training sessions
What participants say about Parents Matter!
“It isn’t enough to tell young people not to engage in violent behaviors. We have to teach young people what healthy relationship behaviors are and give them the skills to use them if we want to help them engage in respectful, safe relationships. As parents, educators, and community members, it’s up to us to model respectful relationships and to give adolescents the skills and guidance needed to build respectful, violence-free relationships throughout their lives."
– Phyllis Holditch Niolon, PhD