No one said parenting was easy.
Understanding the complexities the world brings in today’s society, several community-based agencies are coming together to offer Triple P Parenting classes as a way to help promote parenting tips and ideas for expecting parents or families with preteen children.
Sponsored by Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition (CCDP), the next installment of the class is set for Thursday, Oct. 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library.
Jilian Reece, executive director for CCDP, and Carolyn Shrader, with Red Legacy Recovery, will lead Thursday’s class, which is free and open to the public. Free dinner and children care will be provided, Reece said, but encouraged interested participants to rsvp online at the Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition Facebook page so an adequate amount of food and gifts can be available.
Thursday’s class is titled “The Power of Positive Parenting” and can be a benefit to families, according to Reece.
“Talking with children and going through issues in today’s society isn’t easy,” Reece said. “These classes aren’t meant to tell people they are bad parents. We want to offer these classes to give parents a way to talk with one another, go through different issues and use the resources provide by Triple P.”
Triple P, which stands for Positive Parenting Program, is an internationally-recognized parenting and family support system used to help prevent and treat behavioral and emotional problems with children and teenagers.
According to Reece, Triple P has seen its fair share of success across the state line. Angela Hagaman, with East Tennessee State University and associated with CCDP, recently stated the program had success in a North Carolina county, similar to Carter County, and that the resources could be of benefit to the community.
Agencies will offer one class a month. November and December dates were not announced prior to the Elizabethton Star’s press deadline but Reece stated she, along with Ashlee Williams, will lead the upcoming classes.
Attendees for Thursday’s event will also be treated to gift bags, according to Reece. Parents and their children will receive a gift to promote positivity at the conclusion of the class.
While excitement brews for Thursday, CCDP recently saw some hard work go up across the community.
The coalition and the Carter County Health Department saw the fruits of their “Starters Never Start” tobacco campaign come to fruition last week with billboards going live across the city featuring student athletes from Elizabethton and Carter County.
“We’ve received a great response so far from the billboards,” Reece said. “We had students sitting in the parking lot waiting to see the billboard.”
The billboards are part of a campaign to encourage the youth of Elizabethton and Carter County to steer clear from tobacco products. Along with the billboards, posters and other images will be placed throughout the community to help encourage children to “never start.”