SESSION MATERIALS

Session Descriptions

Session One:
Getting Started
This session is an introduction to the course. It offers a chance for the parents in the class to meet and interact and talk about their families, their stresses, and their support systems. The facilitator will introduce the video, the session materials (including the Parenting Resource Books, magnets, and pen), and will explain how the information in each session builds on the previous one. The first session includes handouts with helpful parenting resources, such as resources for finding a pediatrician, child care, and job training.

Session Two:
Growing and Learning—Keeping Up with Your Child’s Development
Understanding child development helps parents have more realistic expectations for their children’s growth, development, and behavior. Having this understanding can ease parenting stress significantly. Session Two goes into details of child development, from first smiles and tantrums, to feeding and potty-training. The script allows the facilitator to walk the parents step-by-step through different child development stages while highlighting that there is a lot of variation and every child is different. There is plenty of time for asking questions, giving examples, and discussing what to do if parents think something might be wrong. The session ends with several role-play scenarios. Handouts include: Signs of Developmental Delays, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Activities that Promote Development, Baby-Proofing Tips, Choosing Appropriate Toys for Your Child, Tips for Potty-Training, and a chart of developmental milestones.

Session Three:
Positive Discipline Is Teaching
This session concentrates on ways to discipline children successfully in a positive way according to their age and level of development. The session goes into detail about different disciplining techniques and appropriate and inappropriate uses, including time outs, setting limits, spanking, handling temper tantrums, and improving communication with your child. Parents will have an opportunity to discuss different discipline scenarios and ways to react to each. They will go home with many tools for making discipline a less stressful and more positive experience.

Session 4:
I’ll Be There for You
Children who are in secure relationships with their parents benefit in many ways. They have an easier time exploring and learning, handling fear and stress, and establishing strong relationships with other people. This session discusses what parents can do to nurture this special relationship. The script guides the facilitator through stressors and barriers that may hinder forming a secure relationship, how to overcome these barriers, the difference between spoiling children and meeting their needs, and ways in which men and women may bond differently with children. Activities for parents include learning how to read your infant’s cues, (link to handout—Learning Your Infant’s Cues) understanding personality differences between parents and children, and specific activities that promote attachment.

Session 5:
Juggling Work or School with Family
The goal of this session is to give parents tools to help them alleviate stress from their busy lives. Getting organized, establishing routines, and finding support from other parents, friends, and family members can all help with the juggling act. of parenting, working, and/or going to school. Discussion and activities) in this session will allow parents to swap tips and learn from each other. Quick, nutritious recipes and advice for finding reliable child care are also included.

Session Six:
Taking Care of Yourself
Even though many parents feel guilty for taking personal time and attending to their own needs, parents who take care of themselves have more physical and emotional energy for their children. This session discusses the importance of mental and physical health and strategies for attaining both—even for people with hectic schedules. It includes activities to help parents assess their physical, emotional, and social needs; tips for decreasing stress and fostering good health; and signs and symptoms of stress.

Session Seven:
Graduation
The final session is a celebration for the parents and their families to acknowledge the hard work, energy, and accomplishments of participants in Parenting in the Real World: Kids Don’t Come with Instructions. It can be done in a variety of ways, from a potluck dinner, to an awards ceremony, to a catered party with door prizes. Each participant will be awarded a graduation certificate that comes with the kit.

What’s in the video?

Each Parenting in the Real World session begins with a short (8- to 10-minute) video clip that introduces that day’s topic. The video dives into difficult parenting issues, such as disciplining kids and how to deal with missing work when a child is sick. A wide variety of opinions are presented that are intended to trigger discussion and questions.
The Parenting in the Real World video is real. The parents in the video were filmed in their homes and at their jobs while going about their day-to-day routines, from waking up in the morning, to working, cooking, bathing kids, and getting sleep at night. These parents from Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles discuss their lives frankly as single parents or couples trying to balance the burdens of their everyday lives, including financial stress, difficulties with discipline, and finding quality child care.
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How do the classes work?

The kit comes with a Facilitator’s Guide that has both a script to follow and an outline of key points to discuss. These go through the material in a step-by-step manner. Because of that, the facilitator does not need to be an expert on child development. The facilitator will need to lead discussions and facilitate group activities, and topics and suggestions for these are also outlined in the Facilitator’s Guide. The Guide also includes:

• background resources
• overheads
• handouts
• discussion suggestions
• class activities

Each session begins with a short (8- to 10-minute) video segment to introduce the topic and to prompt discussion among the parents.

Parents receive resource manuals with handouts and take-home items such as a pen, magnets, key chain, and child development chart.

All necessary information and resources are within the kit itself, so the class can be put on by any interested organization, such as a child care center, church group, or community group.