Program Hopes To Equip Families For Stronger, Positive Interaction

By John Voket

A local multiagency effort is underway to help local families build stronger ties and better communication skills before it is too late. The name says it all: Strengthening Families.

The Strengthening Families program is currently seeking about a half-dozen more participants for its upcoming session, which begins April 27 and continues for seven consecutive Wednesday evenings. Conducted in cooperation with the Newtown Department of Education, Newtown Youth Services, The Family Counseling Center of Newtown, and the Newtown Prevention Council, the Strengthening Families initiative engages local trained facilitators who will work with fifth and sixth graders and their parents both independently and together during the midweek sessions.

According to Cher Shannon, who administers the program through the Family Counseling Center, the idea behind Strengthening Families is to help develop or enhance interactive skills before the young participants get to the age where they have become impervious to establishing these practices.

“Studies show that by the time a child reaches the seventh grade, it becomes increasingly difficult to build a family environment where open communication is both fostered and offered,” Ms Shannon said.

Ms Shannon said that positive outcomes from the program may last well through the child’s scholastic years and often carry through to adulthood.

“Besides increasing the likelihood of having open and honest communication between parents and children, the program has been shown to significantly reduce the chances of problematic behavior, as well as contributing to significantly lower incidents of substance abuse,” she said. “But it also has been shown to enhance both the amount and quality of time families spend engaging in activities together.”

Strengthening Families is not targeted for troubled families, however.

“This program has been proved to help even families who believe they have excellent rapport between the parent or parents and children,” Ms Shannon said. “In almost every case, the program has proven to be excellent preparation for parents as their children transition into the teenage years.”

The sessions will include facilitated video viewing and discussion programs for parents, while the young people are off in a separate area engaging in learning activities, discussions, and skill building work. Then after a free, light meal that will be available every week, the parents and children join together to practice the skills they have worked on separately.

“There’s lots of role-playing, projects and interactive discussions everyone does together,” Ms Shannon said.

She said topics covered during the seven weeks will include dealing with stress in daily lives; identifying and building on individual strengths; identifying and building on family strengths; building and improving positive relationships; how to solve problems as a family; improving listening skills and improving communication; helping kids with peer pressure; and getting the chores done.

“This is a truly universal program,” Ms Shannon said. “It will help make strong families stronger and help families that may be developing concerns or communication issues to resolve them in a positive and productive way.”

The entire program is free to participants while spaces in the spring session remain available. A fall session is also planned. To register, contact Ms Shannon at 426-8103, extension 123, or email cher@familycounselingcenter.net.

The Strengthening Families sessions will be held at John Reed Intermediate School from 6 to 8:15 pm. Child care will be available for younger siblings, if needed.