Parenting Courses - what times?

[nannyme]

Woud really appreciate some advice from mothers and fathers here.

I am going to be running my first parenting courses in a few weeks time and they HAVE to be successful or else I will be financially dead. I have lots of experience of doing them employed by somebody else but this will be the first time I go it alone.

I am writing and publishing my own material for the course too.

What I am unsure of is whether to run the courses during the day or at weekends. Reason being, many parents will have childcare to arrange.

I'm not in a position (yet) to offer childcare for the course although this may come in the future.

So, would weekdays or weekends be best and would summer holidays be a no-no- do you think?

I'm a parent too and would probably want my partner to attend so I would have a problem in the week if it were me.

I have been putting off getting these courses going simply due to indecision on stuff like this but now have a few venues lined up..

TIA

Think you'd have to look generally at only one parent per family attending as child care/work committments could come into play otherwise. What age group are you looking at (child wise)?

If I were to attend something like this, personally week day evenings would be best. I work PT so if in day it'd have to be on the right day and within school hours. We have other committments and things arranged for most weekends, which will get worse once DD starts school in September.

Hiya
How did you "study" to become a person who could do a parenting course? (Just being nosy!!!).
Could you do evening courses, pay for informal childcare (for example, Im doing a course, with free creche, but it is in a local playgroup set-up).
Weekends many gp will be able to have the dc, but i would think that if people want to do it, they generally would find someone to cm.
I know that probably doesnt really help!!

sgree with hulababy - weekday evenings would work best for us. Weekends get all booked up, and daytimes are just a nightmare if there's no childcare attached.

Summer hols might not be the best time as people would be going off and not be able to do the best course.

Good luck with it!

Ahhhh...

You could be onto something with the evenings idea Hula - thanks!

jofeb04 - you are right, if people want to do it enough they will probably find childcare.

I am already looking into a creche but was planning on doing full day workshops, or at least workshops lasting more than a couple of hours. This means, I think, that I would have to be Ofsted regulated.

Be glad of correcting if wrong there!

Good point about holidays interrupting during school vacation.

I did a DipHE in education, nannying here and there and then worked for a children's charity for several years running parenting courses and play workshops for families in rural areas.