Voices of Parents Forum Newsletter

When I chose the theme for this issue — contributions from parenting educators — I had no idea how relevant it would be in light of the events of January 6th in Washington DC. The behavior of all involved in that travesty of civic participation has to relate, if very remotely, to parental failure. Yes, I confess to seeing just about every social ill as a sign of the crying need for better...

To counter the terrible, awful, non-stop pandemic news, we asked you to share some happy stories. The first to come in was from one of our advisors. She wrote… “Despite the challenges in 2020, there have been important global milestones for parenting support. In 2020, the World Health Organization, introduced strong global recommendations to Health Ministries to integrate parenting services in...

Pediatricians and others — family medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and others working in primary care settings — have an incredibly valuable opportunity to assist, support, and educate parents on many different issues facing them. Often, that help is offered during regular checkups, as you may well remember.

We asked several young people about their experiences during the pandemic... In these six months of quarantine, we have all experienced both big and small changes in our daily lives. For those of us living with our parents, COVID-19 may have shifted family dynamics. Despite spending more time than usual with my family, I have gained a stronger sense of independence.

Writing as the father of a 16-year-old daughter, and as director of Parents Forum, I want to consider how COVID-19 has affected me as a dad. It may seem strange, but the virus has brought me closer to my daughter, giving me time with her that she would normally spend with friends, truly a gift!

This newsletter will be a platform where we can explain our program and you can speak with each other. What questions do you have for us? What issues would you like to raise? Are you familiar with these characteristics that have been shown to make positive outcomes more likely for families…