Let's face itchoosing the right topics for a parent workshop can successfully motivate parents to attend your events. If you are a counselor, educator, father or mother interested in facilitating a parent workshop that provides the tools for raising responsible, happy and compassionate children, then this article will help steer you in the right direction. Having been in the parenting education field for over a decade, I'm happy to share with you what has worked best for the participants in my parenting workshops. I also share some tips from moms across North America who have used my book When Youre About To Go Off The Deep End, Dont Take Your Kids With You as a guide for their own study groups and workshops. Today's Hot Parent Workshop Topics Here are the top 10 topics for workshops that parents want and need: 1. Self-care and balancing work and home 2. Developing self-esteem and confidence in children 3. Choosing an approach to discipline that works 4. Homework and music lesson challenges 5. Chores and developing responsibility 6. How to have a good marriage (or in some cases, a good divorce) 7. Bullying and how to foster compassion in children 8. Sibling rivalry and favoritism 9. Allowances and money 10. Temper tantrums, communication and conflict If you are looking for dynamic, useful, fun topics for a series of parenting workshops or parent study groups, I suggest checking out the following books: - STEP (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) by Dr. Dinkmeyer and Dr. McKay - Positive Discipline by Dr. Jane Nelsen - My When Youre About To Go Off The Deep End, Dont Take Your Kids With You (a favorite with moms). Ideas for a Parent Workshop Series Below is an example of a fifteen-week course based on my book and successfully used by many mothers' study groups. Each week of the course focuses on one chapter of When You're About to Go Off the Deep End, Don't Take Your Kids with You and covers the main topics listed below. Each chapter of the book ends with a summary and suggested homework activities to make your role as facilitator even easier. Week 1: Could Your Approach To Motherhood Be Giving Your Grief? How to choose the best discipline approach for you, why youll want to discipline without spanking, and how to receive the respect you deserve. Week 2: How A Mom, Like You, Can Find Guilt-Free TLC Why you dont want to be a mom who does it all, how to bust stress with simple techniques easily, and how to manage your time so there's time left over for you. Week 3: Get A Life! For The Sake Of Your Kids How to reignite your own dreams, practical ways to have greater joy in your life, and getting back into the drivers seat of creating your best life. Week 4: How To Utilize Your Community to Raise Your Child Well How to attract great friends, get the support you need, and the essential life trips youll want to take your kids on. Week 5: Give Everyone In Your Home What They Want, Including You How to establish trust in your home, how to run a family meeting no one will want to miss, and simple family rituals that can connect the whole family. Week 6: What Every Mom Ought To Know About Solving Sibling Rivalry How kids from the same family can be so different, favoritism and what to do about it, and the best way to stop sibling fights from driving you crazy. Week 7: How To Get Your Kids To Do Their Chores Smiling How to get the chores done without nagging, what are age-appropriate chores, and a discussion about paying children for doing their chores. Week 8: How To Boost Your Childs Self-Esteem 10-Fold! How you can make or break your childs self-esteem, what are encouraging phrases that you can immediately use to boost confidence, and the top 10 ways to encourage your child. Week 9: How To Keep Your Sanity In Times of conflict What to do when you or your kids mess up, how to choose your fights wisely so the entire family doesnt lose, and how to learn a special time-out that works every time for children of any age. Week 10: How To Give Your Child Choices That Wont Haunt You Later How to use choices that inspire your children to want to be well behaved, how to set effective boundaries, and how to say Yes to your children while still getting what you want. Week 11: Consequences That Save A Mom Time and Frustration The two types of consequences that work to get the best from your children, how to remind without nagging, and how to use teachable moments to provide your child with wholesome values. Week 12: How To Master The Tough Stuff From Tantrums To Sex What to do when your child lies, how to get easily your kids up in the morning, and how to motivate your kids to do their homeworkand much more! Week 13: Daring To Deal With Dads How to forgive for the sake of your kids, how to support and motivate a dad who is involved with his kids, and how to deal with a dad who just isnt there. Week 14: Your Kids Allowance Its Just "Common Cents How to give allowances that teach life skills, how to stop being your childs personal ATM machine, and how to delegate new money tasks to your kids that naturally teach budgeting and appreciation for what they have. Week 15: Is Your G-Spot A Big Part Of Your Life How to bring spirit into your family, how to shrink your problems to a manageable size, and how to rekindle your faith during the tough times. Please note that you can easily make this 15-week course into a shorter workshop series by combining chapters or by choosing to focus on topics that particularly stand out for you and the group. Whatever topics for a parent workshop you choose; make certain the event is enjoyable (neither a therapy session nor a lecture). Get input from your group, have fun and, together, enjoy learning the tools that can unleash the best within your parent participantsso they can unleash the best within their kids. |
