• Each group consists of 8 sessions held once a week.
• They are open to parents of children aged between 10-17 years
• A session lasts two hours and is led by two experienced group workers
• The sessions explore the following issues:
  
  
  • How can we improve communication between us and our children?
  • What can we do to understand our children better?
  • What does Positive Parenting mean?
  • Do we really know how to listen to our children?
  • Are other parents going through the same as us?  (YES!!)
  • Discipline and punishment - what works?
  
  
• What you say is kept confidential

What Is A Parenting Programme?
The aim of the Parenting Programme (Managing Difficult Behaviour Course) is to give parents greater confidence in their ability to handle the behaviour of teenage children. It offers an opportunity to share experiences and common concerns with other parents and learn new ways of coping with teenage behaviour. Parents whose children are in trouble with the law may be required to attend the course by the courts.

How Does the Managing Difficult Behaviour Course Work?
The Course brings together parents who are worried about the behaviour of their teenage children. Concerns may include: school attendance, drugs, mixing with the wrong crowd, offending or health issues.

The course recognises that bringing up teenage children can be a difficult task. But it is important not to forget that it can be fun too. Parents on the course are encouraged to look back on their own teenage years and think about what's the same and what's different for teenagers today.

Working together, parents will also learn about communicating with young people as well as how to reward good behaviour and deal with conflict.

How Will It Help?
By providing support for parents it can help to improve parents' confidence and their children's behaviour. The course allows parents to share ideas on how to deal with their children's behaviour and offers a chance to look at ways parents could make things easier for themselves.

What Will It Involve?
The course consists of eight sessions of approximately 2 hours per week.

Joining a group of strangers and talking to them about difficulties you are experiencing with your children can be awkward and intimidating. To make things easier the facilitators from the group will be available should you need to discuss any issues or difficulties you may have in relation to attending the course.

Who Can Attend?
Young people live in a wide variety of families so the course is open to all parents. This includes carers, step parents and guardians who are caring for the young person. It also includes parents who don't live with their children.