Strengthening Families Program

By Carol Chandler
Contributing Writer
Union County Post

Carol Chandler

Are you tired of arguing with your school-ager? Would you like to improve your relationship with your children? If your answer to these questions is yes, consider attending the Strengthening Families Program for parents or caregivers and their children ages 6 - 11.
Strengthening Families classes will meet Wednesday evenings from 5:30 - 8 p.m. at the Amrine Room of the Harold Lewis School, 1280 Charles Lane, in Marysville. The classes will meet 14 times, but the weekly classes will be broken into 3 sessions with breaks between sessions. Session 1 is five Wednesdays from September 10 - October 8; Session 2 is four Wednesdays from October 29 - November 19; and Session 3 will meet five Wednesdays from January 7 - February 4.
Each week the class will begin with a meal provided at 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m. parents/caregivers and children will meet separately with group leaders for one hour. At 7 p.m. families will meet together for the last hour. The Strengthening Families Program is designed to improve family communication, decrease conflict, and increase parents' knowledge of parenting skills. Families who complete session 1, will receive incentives for returning and participating in sessions 2 and 3. Families who complete the entire program will also receive a gift as a reward for their achievement.
Childcare is provided for children under the age of 6. The fee for each session must be paid prior the first class of each session in order to reserve you materials.
Sign up for Session 1 NOW!

For more information or to register for Strengthening Families 6 - 11, contact Carol Chandler at the OSU Extension Office, 18000 State Route 4, Suite E, Marysville or call Carol at 937.644.8117 or 800.589.8584.

Raise great employees

It's getting harder to find good, responsible employees. While a problem for employers, this provides a great opportunity for parents! If we can teach the following skills and attitudes, we can practically guarantee that our youngsters will become financially secure adults: the ability to complete tasks without reminders; the desire to be proud of one's work; knowing how to cooperate and compromise; the self-discipline to complete boring, tedious tasks; being able to creatively solve new and unique problems; and the ability to learn from one's mistakes.

The single most important thing we can do to help our kids develop these skills is to expect them to complete chores without reminders and without pay. Some ways for making this happen include:

• Instead of saying, "Take out the trash, now!" try giving your child a deadline, "Just have the trash taken out by six o'clock."
• This deadline gives you plenty of time to think about what you will do if your child forgets or refuses to do the chore.
• Resist the urge to nag and remind.
• If your child forgets or refuses to do the chore, do it for them.
• With great empathy, provide a consequence. "This is so sad. I did your chores. How are you planning to pay me?"
• Your child can pay by doing extra chores, staying home instead of being driven somewhere they want to go, giving you a toy, etc.
Help your child gain skills that will make him the kind of employee that every employer wants to hire!