COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (June 30, 2015) – The Pottawattamie County Center for Healthy Families® located at 300 W Broadway in Council Bluffs, Iowa will offer Nurturing Parenting Program® classes at no cost to families expecting a new child and those with children under five. Beginning Tuesday, August 11, 2015 from 5:30-8 p.m., classes will meet every Tuesday for a period of 16 weeks until November 24, 2015.
The course was designed to empower individuals and families with new knowledge, beliefs, strategies and skills to make safe and healthy lifestyle choices. Long term, the goal is to guide families toward self-sufficiency and teach positive parenting behaviors. Both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy use the program to teach parenting skills to first-time parents on bases worldwide.
Research shows that children who have strong bonds with their parents have better lifelong emotional health and have a lower risk of later problems, including alcoholism, depression, eating disorders, heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses.
Susan Pawloski, Center coordinator, has seen first-hand the transformation in parents who complete the class.
“It’s such a powerful tool that we are giving these moms and dads. No, you don’t have to lose your temper to gain your child’s attention. No, you don’t have to yell or lose your cool. In fact, those are behaviors that are probably just frightening your child and creating just the opposite of what you really want to happen,” says Pawloski.
“The class did not make me a perfect parent,” says one long-time client, “but it did help me to better understand my child and become a better parent.”
The course is offered at no cost thanks to funding from Promise Partners and United Way of the Midlands.
To access this program and other early childhood services, contact the Child and Family Resource Network at (712) 355-2615.
Volunteers interested in providing child care for families attending the class time may contact the Center at (712) 242-1040. All volunteers are subject to background checks.
Program name: Nurturing Parenting Program®
Start date: Tuesday, August 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Pottawattamie County Center for Healthy Families® 300 W. Broadway, Suite 7, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Duration: 16 consecutive weeks until November 24, 2015.
Participants: Pottawattamie County residents expecting children and with children under age five.
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