The 2020 Lent session was canceled due to Coronavirus!
The Strengthening Families program is not suitable for online or virtual format. So, Calvary will offer this program again when it is safe to meet in person.
2020 Strengthening Families Brochure
The Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14) is delivered in seven parent, youth, and family sessions using narrated videos portraying typical youth and parent situations with diverse families.
This scientifically tested curriculum:
- helps parents/caregivers learn nurturing skills that support their children,
- teaches parents/caregivers how to effectively discipline and guide their youth,
- gives youth a healthy future orientation and an increased appreciation of their parents/caregivers, and
- teaches youth skills for dealing with stress and peer pressure.
The program addresses youth risk and protective factors:
Risk Factors:
- Aggressive or withdrawn behavior
- Negative peer influence
- Poor school performance
- Lack of pro-social goals
- Poor relationship with parents
Protective Factors:
- Positive future orientation
- Peer pressure resistance skills
- Pro-social peer relationships
- Positive management of emotions
- Empathy with parents
Parents and youth meet in separate groups for the first hour and together as families during the second hour to practice skills, play games, and do family projects. Sessions are highly interactive and include role-playing, discussions, learning games, and family projects.
Sessions
- Parent sessions consists of presentations, role-plays, group discussions, and other skill-building activities.
- Youth sessions engage each youth in small and large group discussions, group skill practice, and social bonding activities.
- Family sessions use specially designed games and projects to increase family bonding, build positive communication skills, and facilitate learning to solve problems together.
7 Session Topics:
Parent
- Using Love and Limits
- Making House Rules
- Encouraging Good Behavior
- Using Consequences
- Building Bridges
- Protecting Against Substance Abuse
- Using Community Resources
Youth
- Having Goals and Dreams
- Appreciating Parents
- Dealing with Stress
- Following Rules
- Handling Peer Pressure I
- Handling Peer Pressure II
- Reaching Out To Others
Family
- Supporting Goals and Dreams
- Appreciating Family Members
- Using Family Meetings
- Understanding Family Values
- Building Family Communication
- Reaching Our Goals
- Putting It All Together and Graduation
Youth attending the program had significantly lower rates of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use compared to control youth.
Strengthening Families Program 10-14 – Research Results
- The differences between program and control youth actually increased over time, indicating that skills learned and strong parent-child relationships continue to have greater and greater influence.
- Youth attending the program had significantly fewer conduct problems in school than youth in the control group.
- Parents showed gains in specific parenting skills including setting appropriate limits and building a positive relationship with their youth.
- Parents showed an increase in positive feelings towards their child.
- Parents show gains on general child management including setting rules and following through with consequences.
- Parents increase skills in general child management such as effectively monitoring youth and having appropriate and consistent discipline.
Research conducted with families that completed SFP 10-14 and a group of control families.
The above information and more is available at ~ www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp10-14/