Pittsboro, NC – Starting in June and continuing through the summer, Chatham County Public Libraries will offer a three-part virtual parenting workshop presented by Kris Hawkins, Parent Educator with Teen Health Connection. Designed for parents of preteens and teens, these sessions will address the basics of parenting teens, plus some in-depth discussion of today’s hot topics.
Each workshop will take place on the fourth Tuesday in June, July, and August at 6 p.m. Parents may attend one part only, but participation in all three sessions is recommended.
June 28: Active Parenting: Control Versus Influence – Control means having 100% power over the outcome. Influence means having between 1% and 99% power over the outcome. Since the only person who can control a teen’s behavior is the teen, parenting from the position of influence will be explored, what behaviors support this method, and the benefits of putting this parenting approach into action.
July 26: Active Parenting: Choice Within Limits – Choice is Power! When parents give their teens choices, they give them legitimate power. When parents give orders, they will have to rebel to gain power. The idea of collaborative parenting will be explored and how giving simple choices can head off power struggles and prepare teens to be good decision makers.
August 23: Active Parenting: Winning Cooperation – When parents engage, consciously or unconsciously, in power struggles with their teens, they become an adversary in a “fight” for control and power. Adversaries oppose each other, and a “fight” implies there is a winner and a loser. Parents will learn why sharing power with their teens is necessary, how it teaches them the very important lesson of working cooperatively with others and plays a vital role in developing and maintaining strong, positive parent-teen relationships where everyone wins.
This virtual event is free and open to the public and will be presented via Zoom. Participants should register online to receive the meeting link . Residents may visit the libraries’ website, chathamlibraries.org, or contact Youth Services at (919) 545-8085 or youth.services@chathamlibraries.org for more information.