ABC's for Parents (Assuring Better Children)

A seven-session parenting program for parents and children entering kindergarten.

The ABC’s for Parents and Children is a seven session parenting program designed to improve the parenting and child rearing skills of parents of kindergarten-age children. Based on the principles of the Nurturing Parenting Program, the ABC’s Program was developed and validated in northern Michigan as a prevention program funded by the Michigan Department of Mental Health. The ABC’s Program is part of the “checkpoint” philosophy in Michigan of encouraging parents to attend parenting programs at crucial developmental stages or “checkpoints” in children’s lives. These checkpoints are when children enter kindergarten, middle school and high school. Checkpoint parenting is a positive effort to help parents improve their parenting skills and help promote a working relationship with the school community.

Program Format

• Parents and children entering Kindergarten meet in separate groups for two hours, once weekly, for seven consecutive weekss.
• Parents learn about nurturing parenting skills and ways to encourage their children’s success through good communication and life skills.
• Children learn comparable skills at age-appropriate levels through puppets, role-play, music, art activities and leader-led discussions.

Program Description

In seven sessions, families learn to:

• Establish discipline through family rules, rewards and alternatives to spanking and yelling.
• Praise themselves and their children.
• Express their anger and stress in healthy ways that do not hurt themselves and their children.
• Use their personal power to make healthy choices.
• Promote school success through relationships with teachers.
• Problem solve and negotiate.
• Recognize warning signs of drug use and how to create a drug-free home.

>> Order ABC's of Parenting (Assuring Better Children)