Longmont’s Children, Youth and Families Division will be kicking off its first of two parenting classes cohorts for 2021 in the next few weeks.
For the past seven years, the city has been coordinating free classes following the Nurturing Parenting curriculum, a “family centered and trauma-informed approach” that seeks to stop the intergenerational cycle of child abuse by teaching positive parenting behaviors, said Christina Sims, Children, Youth and Families manager.
“We know that Nurturing Parenting (yields) outcomes that are really positive. We have taken a look at that content and shaped the 10 weeks based on the curriculum,” she said, adding in essence the preventative program aims to keep families from progressing into the child welfare system.
The program has five mainfocuses: expectations of children, parental empathy, alternatives to corporal punishment, parent-child family roles, and children's power and independence.
Close to 600 parents have gone through the program, 85% of which have been Spanish speakers and 15% English speakers, according to data from 2018.
“The program is funded through Boulder County Housing and Human Services and Boulder County Healthy Youth Alliance ... to promote healthy and active parenting,” Sims said, adding grant money comes from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, reserve funds.
Three part-time youth program specialists connected to the community lead recruitment and facilitation efforts, ensuring families across the city can access the workshop, she said.
“The recruitment and success rate for parents finishing the classes is amazing,” Sims said. “They do this because of the passion they have for serving their community and they really have just built a really great team together.”
Claudia Orona, program coordinator and recruiter, said the classes are geared toward the needs and interests of parents.
“We don’t just tell the parents what we will talk about, we ask what it is they are having difficulty with and what are topics they would like for us to talk about. After talking to the parents, we set up the 10 weeks,” she said. “We are looking to create connections between parents and the children.”
For Kerri Tobar, Longmont resident and mother of four, connecting with her children was the main reason she joined the classes.
“I signed up for the class because I really struggle with my son, we are both really strong-headed and I find myself getting caught in a battle with him rather than parenting,” Tobar said about her 9-year-old nephew whom she adopted as a 6-month-old.
“Raul (the facilitator) has really brought out a lot of emotions and memories from my childhood that obviously are the reason that I parent the way I have been parenting,” she said. “It really brings awareness to yourself and the actions you are taking that are causing issues between you and your children.”
The classes, which she has been taking since October, have helped in dealing with frustration and better managing the chaos that comes with being a family of six, Tobar said.
“The class has helped me remember that kids are people, they are human, they carry the same emotions we do but it's our job to help guide them through those emotions,” she said. “There are issues that come up and our job is to help them through those.”
Orona said the classes are usually facilitated in person and taught in weekly two-hour sessions, during which dinner and child care is provided. This year, however, the classes will be held virtually, which has created an opportunity to support families with technological issues as well, according to Sims.
“We are looking at how we can help parents get access to technology in order to have tablets to log into the classes,” she said. “One thing the pandemic has taught us is that maybe there is a different way to do business.”
Orona, also a bilingual and bicultural facilitator, said the 10-week Spanish-language course will start Jan. 12 and the English version on March 30. Interested parents, as well as parents-to-be and grandparents who care for grandchildren are welcome to register, she said.
“Sometimes we find parents that think 10 weeks is a long commitment. I just tell them to try it out and if (they) don't like it, (they) can just let me know,” she said. “Once they go to the first and second class, they keep going every week and stay. Even after 10 weeks and graduation, they want to continue (coming back).”
For questions or enrollment information, email Orona at [email protected]. For more information about the program, click here.
