Photo: Trainers Donn Reid (right front) and Ashley Hampton (third from right) sit with parent students at a recent Parenting Journey session, which always includes a hot meal.
Parenting styles are influenced by one's past, by one's whole family, and by the cultural, social, and economic circumstances in which families find themselves. Building on the idea that adults must learn to nurture themselves before they can nurture their children, the Parenting Journey course emphasizes the experience of the parent as a person instead of the parent in a disciplinary relationship with their children. By coming together and exploring what did or didn't work in their experience of being parented as children, parents can begin to make conscious choices about the way they want to successfully parent their own children.
The Parenting Journey is a 13-session course designed for parents who want to be supported in learning more about themselves as parents, about their relationships, their strengths, and the resources and skills they need to effectively parent their children. Over meals in a warm and nurturing environment, parents are supported and encouraged to care for themselves, and each other, while participating in a series of experiential exercises and activities.
Over the many years we've taught this course, the feedback is always the same: Our caregivers walk away feeling more prepared to deal with the many stressors that come with being a parent. We're excited to bring this course to our Domus Academy parents to help them help their children.