Psychologist to lead group on effective parenting

            Improving parent-child relationships is the focus of a series of discussion sessions beginning Monday, March 30 at 6 p.m. at Franklin County Consolidated School.

This free program is sponsored by Franklin County Schools, and coordinated by school psychologist Al London and guidance counselor Wanda Teat. There will be a small fee if you would like to purchase the textbook.

The discussions will be based upon the principles from Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP), one of the oldest and most widely used parenting education programs in the country.

More than three million people throughout the U.S., Canada, and other countries have participated in STEP discussion groups and used the accompanying parent's handbook since American Guidance Service (AGS) of Circle Pines, MN introduced the program more than 20 years ago.

STEP encourages mutual respect between parent and child, increased cooperation, more effective communication, and a more responsible, self-reliant attitude among children. London has been using the program with good results ever since its inception and considers it a well-organized approach to helping families develop effective relationships. "The program is built on firm psychological principles yet stops short of family counseling," he said. "Its positive focus is more on management and understanding of behavior."

Coupled with guidance counselor Wanda Teat, the two will offer a series of seven Monday night sessions covering such topics as drug prevention, managing anger, single-parent families, stepfamilies, responsibility, lying, and using humor as a parenting tool.  Please attend all sessions and commit yourself to an effective way of developing relationships within your family. 

The purpose of the STEP group is to consider new ideas and see ways to apply them to various family situations.

Space is limited, so please contact either Teat or London at the Franklin County Consolidated School at 670-2800 to reserve a spot.