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MONDAY February 23, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 26, 2003 Class fosters communication with kids Community Works will offer an innovative class in parenting and communications skills for parents and children ages 10 to 14 years old from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays, beginning Jan. 26 at a location in Phoenix. Enrollment for the class is limited to 12 families and participants must register by Jan. 8. The class is organized so that during the first hour, parents and children are divided into two groups. Each group will meet with an instructor and have interactive activities and games where they will learn tools and skills to increase their ability to communicate with their children or parents. During the second hour, the two groups will come together and give the parents and children the chance to put the tools and skills they've learned into practice. "It's one thing to learn the skills, but it's another thing to have the chance to implement them and have reminders about them until they are comfortable using them," said instructor Jean Fyfe. She said that often parents will hear about a different way to approach a communication problem with their child, but then, when they try to put it into practice, they'll do it differently, so it won't work. By learning a skill in the smaller parent group, then getting together with their own child or children, the parent can have experience using the skill in a relaxed, supportive situation before trying it at home. One skill that is taught in the class is active listening. "It's really an opportunity for the parent to build their relationship with their child by learning how to address their concerns without coming into a situation with an agenda," she said. Other tools include family-building activities like creating a family shield, including pictures of things they value. Fyfe said that studies of classes using the researched-based curriculum have shown that when they went back to look at the eighteen-year olds in the families who participated in the program, those teens got in less trouble. The parenting class will only be offered one time during 2004, due to severe cuts in funding at Community Works. The community service organization has undergone cuts of 85 percent of its funding over the past three years. For information about Community Works and to register for the parenting class, call 779-2393. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams