Positive Parenting Program

Read my story>

A supportive home is so essential to positive youth outcomes  yet parents and care-givers of teens often need help to understand adolescent development, find appropriate services, gain confidence and learn different strategies to manage troubling behaviour.  YouthLink offers parenting groups throughout the year that will help you learn new skills and provide a positive home environment for your teen.

 

New groups starting in January - register now, no fees.

 

Triple P Positive Parenting Group
Tues Jan 17th    6 - 7:30pm at YouthLink Main Office,  747 Warden Ave., Scarborough
 

The Triple P Positive Parenting Program is an award-winning, clinically proven 8 week program offered to parents/caregivers of teens 12 -21 yrs. It will help you develop new skills to create a positive family setting for your adolescents, understand how your behaviour and beliefs affect your parenting style and develop ways to cope with outside influences including school, friends, media and technology.  Groups cover topics such as teen development, using behaviour contracts, and encouraging appropriate behaviour. We emphasize practical application of parenting skills through role play and other methods and encourage parents to share their experiences and learn from each other.  Parents often form bonds with each other and remain in touch after the sessions.  Light refreshments provided.  Call Joan at 416-967-1773 to register.
 
 
Strengthening Family Connections 
February 6 -April 9  5:30 - 8:30pm at L’Amoreaux Recreation Centre, 2000 McNicoll Avenue
 
The Strengthening Families Program is a nationally and internationally recognized parenting and family strengthening program for parents and youth 12-16 yrs. This evidence-based family skills training program has been shown to significantly reduce problem behaviors, delinquency, and alcohol and drug abuse in children and youth and to improve social competencies and school performance.   Parents and youth attend sessions separately for the first hour and then meet together for the second hour.  A light dinner is served at 5:30.    Call Troy or Roula at 416-502-9293 to register. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Pamela's story  "All of a sudden, I was not alone" 

A single mother on a tight budget, Pamela  was having difficulty with her 15 year-old daughter, her only child. Conflict between them had increased after her daughter entered high school. Her efforts to manage the situation were unsuccessful and reached a critical point when her daughter was taken into the care of the Catholic Children’s Aid Society, a situation that neither mother nor daughter wanted. Depressed and feeling there was no way out, Pamela decided to try the Triple P Positive Parenting group. The experience turned her life around.
 
 “All of a sudden, I was not alone. It was such a relief to meet other parents from all different backgrounds who were also dealing with kids not living at home. The group became like family and I learned so much – it definitely made me a better parent. The most important thing for me was to ‘step back and listen’ and speak more calmly. I also learned to set limits and establish consequences that work for my daughter, but at the same time give her more choices.” 
 
Pamela’s daughter has since returned home. Life is not perfect but Pamela feels confident that she can handle any future conflict. She has found the Walk-in Counselling service a big help: “Now if I’m getting stressed out, I know I can come here on a Wednesday.” With the future looking much brighter, Pamela and her daughter are making plans to spend time together cooking, an interest they both share. “She is a kind child, and I am now seeing that side of her.”