The Nurturing Parents, Nurturing Families (NPNF) program provides a strength-based approach to parent education designed to enhance parent-child relationships by increasing parental knowledge and empathy in a safe and supportive environment.

NPNF is a free 16-week course, open to all community members, and meets the requirements of Welfare & Institutions Code, Section 16507.7.

See our events calendar for schedule of workshops.

Childcare is available for children of all ages for Monday evening workshops in San Andreas, only. Space is limited for infants and toddlers, and pre-registration for all childcare is required by noon the preceding Friday.

To RSVP for a workshop or childcare, get directions, or ask questions, call Denise Tillery, (209) 772-3980 x124. Locations, dates, times, and topics are subject to change. If no one RSVPs, workshops are subject to cancellation.

NPNF Goals:

• Realize that nurturing oneself is the first step toward nurturing others
• Recognize that parenting is a relationship, not just a set of skills
• Increase respect for self, others, and the environment
• Develop a love for life and learning
• Understand that recovery happens in families and relationships, as well as in the individual
• Have fun and laugh

Topic Descriptions:

• Week 1 – Strong Beginnings: Parent-Child Relationships
• In-depth discussion on developing and enhancing secure attachments in children. Discussion on attachment types in adults and children, including promoting resilience and ways to support the social-emotional development of children.
• Week 2 – Temperament and Personality: What’s up with My Child?
• Exploring temperaments of children and adults in 9 identified areas and why those traits sometimes cause conflict; development of empathy and goodness of fit to support children with different temperamental traits.
• Week 3 – Ages and Stages: Birth to Teens
• Discussion on the “average” child and developing age/stage-appropriate expectations. Includes information on brain development from birth through adolescence, as well as physical, intellectual, language, and social-emotional development in each stage and how parents/caregivers can support healthy development.
• Week 4 –The Terrific Twos: Tantruming, Potty Training, and More
• This session is for parents of children who are two, approaching two, or still experience behavior typically seen in two-year-olds. Discussion includes developmental issues, the challenges that many parents face when parenting two-year-olds, and ways parents can support healthy development of children who are two. Parents/caregivers whose children have made it beyond the two-year-old stage are welcome to attend and share their experiences.
• Week 5 – Nurturing Routings: Prevention of Problem Behaviors
• This workshop focuses on preventing and correcting problem behaviors by developing and adhering to nurturing family routines. Meal times, bath times, bed times, etc. can be powerful times to build positive nurturing relationships between you and your children, promoting feelings of family warmth and secure attachments. Tips to gaining cooperation during routines will be discussed.
• Week 6 – Guiding Behavior: Positive Discipline
• “What about spanking?” “I give time-out and it doesn’t work for my kid.” “I’ve taken away everything he enjoys.” “I’ve tried everything!” These topics, and more, will be discussed. The information presented in this workshop is geared toward setting limits while increasing positive discipline strategies to teach and guide children’s behavior.
• Week 7 – Developing Family Rules
• Understanding personal values can help in developing family rules that promote responsibility and cooperation among all family members. Morals, values, and problem-solving techniques will be discussed as starting points in developing rules that can help address current problem behaviors and create a more disciplined, nurturing home life.
• Week 8 – Anger, Aggression, & Tears… Oh, My!
• Biting, hitting, kicking, swearing, spitting, and other aggressive behaviors are common among children. Discussion will include common reasons for aggressive behaviors, development of the skills of reflective listening and empathy, and strategies caregivers can use to help children get their needs met in more appropriate ways.
• Week 9 – Dealing with Stress
• We all experience stress – from the youngest to the oldest among us. Stress is a common everyday experience that comes from both good and difficult situations and events. The focus of this workshop will be to help caregivers identify stressors in themselves and their children, understand the effects of stress, and develop/improve family coping skills.
• Week 10 – The Importance of Family Communication
• Good communication skills and habits do not happen by chance. Research has repeatedly shown that, on average, family members spend very few minutes a day talking to each other. Since lack of or poor communication is one of the major sources of family dissatisfaction, the goals of this workshop are to develop an understanding of common communication gaps and to explore techniques to improve family communication.
• Week 11 – Conflict Resolution and Problem-Solving
• Conflict happens day in and day out, and nowhere is this more evident than in families with children and adolescents. Discussion focuses on understanding the source of conflict and ways to begin to address family challenges and solve problems that promote positive family relationships, resilience, and cohesion, while teaching children important life skills for successfully interacting with others.
• Week 12 – Understanding and Expressing Anger and Other Feelings
• Uncomfortable feelings are… well… uncomfortable. Anger and other uncomfortable feelings can be difficult for adults to understand and accept in themselves and others, including their children. Workshop discussion revolves around understanding and expressing anger and other strong emotions in ways that help rather than hinder relationships.
• Week 13 – Building Self-Worth in Children
• Among many other benefits, children who have a strong sense of self-worth and personal power are more likely to be cooperative family members and less likely to engage in power struggles. Focus of this workshop is on understanding self-worth and personal power, and enhancing positive, respectful interactions among all family members.
• Week 14 – Keeping Kids Safe
• A wide range of topics will be explored as parents/caregivers think about safety and protecting children/adolescents. Focus is on children’s personal safety and promoting secure and stable home environments.
• Week 15 – Connecting through Family Fun and Floortime
• Kids just wanna have fu-un! Not only do they want to have fun, but fun is how kids learn. Discussion to be centered on thinking about ways to enhance parent-child relationships and family togetherness through fun activities. Floortime/hang-out time will be explored as an effective way to connect with children/adolescents.
• Week 16 – Open forum
• No topic is planned for this session. Bring parenting challenges and questions to discuss with other parents and the facilitator in a supportive setting.