Southern Christian Services for Children and Youth, Inc. Parent Strong Prevention Program is delivering 7 sessions (1-hour per session) classes for participants needing free parenting classes. The 7 sessions will include curriculum by Adults & Children Together (ACT) Raising Safe Kids Program that is a universal parenting program designed to promote positive parenting and prevent child maltreatment by fostering knowledge and skills that change or improve parenting practices. PARTICIPANTS WILL NEED TO FILL OUT THE PROGRAM EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A PARENTING CERTIFICATE UPON COMPLETION OF ALL 7 SESSIONS.

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• Session 1: Understanding Children’s Behaviors: This component focuses on helping parents understand what to expect from children at various development stages and how to use skills to guide children’s behavior based on their developmental level so that parents do not have unrealistic expectations of their children and do not resort to violence when dealing with misbehaviors.

• Session 2: Young Children’s Exposure to Violence: The purpose of this session is to help parents understand (1) how children can be exposed to violence and its consequences; (2) that children learn by observation and imitation; and (3) that their behavior, actions and the environment they provide teach children lessons for life.

• Session 3: Anger Management for Parents: This session is designed to help parents learn skills to understand, control, and manage their own feelings of anger.

• Session 4: Understanding and Helping Angry Children: This session helps parents understand children’s angry feelings and how to teach them positive ways to express and control anger. The session also covers helping families teach social problem-solving skills in a home environment based on an understanding of the developmental stages through which children learn social skills.

• Session 5: Children and Electronic Media: This part of the program emphasizes the relationship between time spent on screen and unhealthy behaviors, and between exposure to violent messages and images and aggressive behaviors so that adults can reduce the impact on their children.

• Session 6: Discipline and Parenting Style: This session helps parents understand that their parenting styles have an impact on children’s behaviors. Distinctions are also made between punishment and discipline so that parents can respond effectively.

• Session 7: Discipline for Positive Behaviors: This session teaches parents how to prevent challenging behaviors and how to use positive methods to discipline their children.