CITY BUZZ: City workshops on '˜positive parenting'

Whether they’re slamming their bedroom doors, rolling their eyes and giving mono-syllabic answers, sleeping all day, or disappearing behind their devices, communication definitely seems to dry up for a few years somewhere in the middle there.

Luckily, in most cases, it’s a phase that passes. Not that that seems to help much at the time, for poor parents struggling to translate grunts and maintain some semblance of authority.

Well now Sheffield City Council has launched a series of positive parenting workshops, to try and help local parents to navigate those difficult years.

A spokesman for Sheffield Parenting Team, that runs the sessions, said: “Parents and carers in Sheffield can access a range of different groups that offer practical advice and support on the subject of parenting. We deliver programmes that are evidence based, and tried and tested. This means that the content is written by professional psychologists who have years of research into what works to manage behaviours and difficulties that we can all face as parents.

“These programmes are delivered all across the world and have over 30 years of research behind them.

“Everyone has busy lives and we are all different, so we’ve ensured that there are different types of groups available that everyone can access, depending on their needs and the time they have to spare.”

The series of 90-minute seminars and two-hour discussion groups cover ‘the baby years,’ children aged 0-12, as well as teenagers, and offer practical advice to parents on an array of topics, including coping with emotions, reducing family conflict, cooperation, dealing with disobedience, developing a good bedtime routeine, building survival skills, managing hassle-free outings, and managing aggression.

The next session will be held at Sheffield Town Hall this Thursday, from 10am to 12.15pm, and is entitled: ‘Getting Teenagers to Cooperate.’

The session will offer Sheffield parents the chance to share their own experiences and ideas about dealing with non-cooperation, discuss reasons why teenagers can be uncooperative, and discover for themselves positive parenting strategies, to help them develop a plan to motivate their teenager to be cooperative at home.

Booking is essential for this, and all other, workshops. Email [email protected] or call 0114 2057243 to book your place. Visit www.sheffield.gov.uk and search Positive Parenting to find out more about the variety of sessions offered.

When dealing with your children - whether they’re three or 18 - it’s important to remember a handful of things: stay cool under pressure, set clear boundaries, and keep the lines of communication open. It’s good to talk! And know when to stand back - you can’t educate someone in the midst of emotional turmoil. It will keep.