Parenting Teenagers Course

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' The opening sentence of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities could be the catchphrase of many parents to describe life with teenagers in the home! These years can be some of the happiest and some of the hardest of a family's life. Most parents feel that they move into completely new territory when their children hit the teenage years.

Paul and Christine Perkin, based at St Mark's Church Battersea Rise in London put together the Parenting Teenagers course which has been published, along with the Parenting Children course, under the Family Time banner.

The material has also been produced as a book for parents to read for themselves, but as Paul and Christine say,

'Through these teenage years parents easily become isolated from each other when there is no more standing together at the school gate or collecting children from each other's homes. For this reason alone we feel there is something very significant about parents attending a course together - it's a wonderful opportunity for parents to connect with other parents facing similar issues and for ongoing friendship and support.'

Family Time courses present churches with opportunities to build bridges into local communities and meet parents at their time of need. They're ideal for use in your local church but they could go equally well in a school, community centre or in a home - anywhere a group of parents can gather.

The aim is to empower parents to move from simply surviving family life to being proactive in leading families that are strong and healthy - families that seek to make a difference in the communities where they live. Family Time is based on Christian principles and aims to equip and envision every parent, whether Christian or not, to deal with the many issues they come up against in family life.

Course materials

The course is designed to last for six sessions. Familiarise yourself with the material by reading the Parenting Teenagers book.

Each guest will need a copy of the course handbook. It contains notes for each session, worksheets, discussion group scenarios and questions, and suggestions for 'taking it further' at home with their families.

There is a set of DVDs which cover the six sessions that you can use to help prepare the material to present yourself or to play to the group.

There are publicity posters and invites which are available to buy via www.family-time.co.uk.

Course format

The course has six sessions:

1. A Galaxy Far, Far Away: the teenage universe

2. On the Radar Screen: teenage communications

3. Built to Last: teenage character

4. Boundaries and Battlefields: teenage tensions

5. Security, Sex and Substances: teenage issues

6. Consumerism, Cash and Cyberspace: teenage pressures

Each session stands alone so they can be run consecutively or you may choose to use one or two.

Each session has a certain amount of material presented from the front, a variety of exercises for people to do individually or in pairs, a discussion time and a crucial, social time when people can get to know one another and share stories.

On-going support

Encourage parents to link up and support one another - this often happens naturally as people make new frinds on the course. Groups may organise informal evenings together after the course finishes, but you might consider arranging a course reunion about three months after you finish.

You may become aware of specific support that the church can offer some families. It is also good to be know of local organisations that can provide professional advice for particular issues that families may face.

What parents have said...

'It gave us fresh hope and motivation to reconnect with our teenager.'

'It was so encouraging to realise that we shared similar experiences with other parents of teenagers - we weren't the only ones!'

'The course allowed us to be "real" about our struggles.'