Anyone done a parenting course?

[JuniperDewdrop]

I'm doing a parenting course with some members of our church (not church related as such) and just wondered if anyone else has done one? We start properly next week. It's a ParenTalk one and seems very good from what I've seen. I saw the first video as I'm helping to lead it. What first struck was how lighthearted it is

is this juniper68 i have been wondering for awhile now if you changed your name???

and I have not done a parenting course other than ante natal classes!

hi Paps, yes it's me How are you?

ahh haa! is this your fairy name I am well thanks... rain has returned today but only after over a week of fantastic weather. We are going to start the 8th insight very soon if your interested.

So what sort of things does the parenting course cover? and of course how are you?

I'm not too bad thanks. I have the CP next to me now believe it or not, just picked it up last night. I'd love to get involved again, can't believe you're up to 8th!!

The parenting course looks really good and covers all ages. I'm interested in teens as that's the age I dread. It's also very supportive i.e. re: MILs etc...and other people butting in. We all have children 5 and under and most have babies so it's a good crowd.

I changed my name as I thought using numbers a bit stuffy? and I feel like a dewdrop

i like your new name addition

all the best with the parenting course and come and chat about the 8th if you want - its all about conscious relationships and you might have some good perspectives from christian pov - i mean a a connection to jesus is a conscious relationship is it not?

I want to do one, as I could really do with help with Dd2 and Ds but there aren't any in my area, i have searched and searched.

i am soon - a "peeps" course put on by the surestart centre - i think a lot of it is to do with educating and stimulating little uns

thanks Papillon, I'll get reading again tonight

nutcracker, what a shame there isn't one nearby. Have you asked your HV? Or what about starting your own? The pack cost £50 but if there were a few of you together it'd cut costs. Plus you can re use it.

I just found this poem in the magazine that goes with the course and it rang a bit too true for comfort...

Mummy said, 'Later' and later never came.

Daddy said, 'Not now dear', he had a prior claim.

Granny said, 'I promise you', but I wait in vain.

Aunty said she always would and hasn't done again.

So I learn to say 'I didn't' even though I did.

It seems that they can lie to me, because I am a kid

I have done a special needs parenting course which was based on the "time out" course. It was lots of fun and I really enjoyed it.

JD - I've done this course, and really liked it. It wasn't too prescriptive, so we actually learned a lot from just discussing with each other.

One thing we found really helped was to have participators with differing aged children, rather than all toddler-parents. It gave different perspectives, and heartening that someone else had actually survived through toddler tantrums and lived to tell the tale

I did this course about 4 yrs ago, and I believe the videos may have been re-done .. I hope so. When we did it they used trendy 'wobbly camera' filming, and it made us all feel quite seasick to watch.

Enjoy it!

I just re-read your post and learned you 'all have U5s' ... have some got older ones as well? If not, I would strongly recommend looking around your church and seeing if there is someone with older children you can rope in, to be an 'elder stateman'-type figure.

I have just started a parenting course, my dd is 3 next week and has all her mother's stubborness and quirks so we can make a firy combination.

I am not sure if it is the same course as mentioned earlier in the thread, it is run by the Family Caring Trust.

To be honest ( and I have only been to one so my judgements will probably change not least because I am very fickle!) it hasn't told me anything I don't already know as the world is full of parenting experts from little angels on the tv to Toddler taming books. However going to a parenting class is good as a means of focussing attention on your parenting skills and experiences and discussing them with other parents.

What I do think is sad is that all too often we wait until things have gone wrong before getting help from something like a parenting class. I phoned social services to enquire about a class and was told I wasn't eligible as my daughter wasn't at risk!

I did one too (also the Family caring trust)... loved it - helped quite a lot actually and DH was commenting on just that today!

I done a parent network parenting course and I got a lot out of it

roisin, It would be good if a mum/dad of older kids could join in and we hope to branch out once we've run through it once. We run ours on a morning so we'd probably have to make it evenings as a lot of parents of older kids work during the day.
Was Kate Robbins in the videos for your course?

I thought something simialr JDD. I thought it would be a good idea if classes were run in the evening or weekends so both parents could go togther.

I have a relatively new partner who is fantastic with my dd but I know that he would find a parenting course very beneficial, if only to give him more confidence and the chance to talk to other parents.

I bet that'd be great for you both nikkim. There really needs to be much more emphasis put on this, starting with schools. Boys and girls need to do parenting courses from 11 upwards IMO. I had no clue about kids when I first got pregnant at 21 (I miscarried) That's old nowadays but I remember sitting with friends and one telling me the things she could pass on, sterilizer etc.. and I was baffled? I hadn't really bothered much with kids even though my siblings who are a lot older all had them. By the time I had DS1 at age 29 I was much more clued up thank goodness.