As a mother of three sons, I used my training and education to help guide my husband and me in our parenting. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radford University with majors in English and Speech & Drama and a minor in Sociology. My Masters of Education from the University of South Florida is in Administration and Supervision with a focus on Reading, and my Doctorate of Education is from the University of Sarasota with a major in Curriculum and Instruction with focuses on Gifted and Learning Disabilities. However, my strongest training was as the Coordinator of the Parent Resource Program, a joint effort by Manatee Community College (now the State College of Florida) and the Manatee County School Board.
I added this acquired knowledge and experience to my "tool belt" as a teacher when I taught parent education to teenage mothers with their babies at an alternative school, teenage fathers or fathers-to-be at a commitment program, to divorced parents with children as a stipulation in our district's divorce procedures, and as the Parent Ed Specialist for the Early Intervention Program. It aided me as a teacher, drama coach, reading coach, and gifted coordinator, and most importantly as a mother! But let me set the stage.
At the culmination of my maternity leave after having our first son, I resigned from my job. Our family of three moved to my husband's new job location and I became a stay-at-home mom. Then came sons two and three. To provide them an opportunity to play with others and me an opportunity to be with them and with other adults, I began teaching preschool. That is where my exposure to the Parent Resource Program's parenting courses began. Everything seemed so appropriate for our situations as parents. When the 20-hour-a-week coordinator position became available after my sons were all in elementary school, I applied and got it. This afforded me the opportunity to train with some of the leading writers of parenting books, set up sessions for the parents in our community, write articles, research issues of concern, and speak about them at PTAs, church groups, civic clubs, and other interested parties. When funding for this program ended several years later, we had served over 800 parents that final year and had won two state awards for our outreach into the community. But what I learned was ingrained and became the guide in how my husband and I reared our sons. They are very well adjusted, successful, and happy adults - and none are living at home or depending on us for support! (This seems to a concern for some of our friends with economy as it is today.) We love being with them and are continuing to be a part of their lives - with their blessing! My hope in this blog is that I can offer to other parents some of the tools we found helpful in successfully ushering our children into adulthood. Not everything will work for everyone, but you will have so viable options to explore.
