Program Descriptions
Educational Workshops
Educational workshops are structured programs that provide parents with information on specific topics and skills of emotionally healthy parenting. Parents become familiar with the use of helpful tips and tools which are consistent with meeting their children's and family's needs as well as with the foundational information which underlies the effective use of these skills.
Each workshop includes formal presentation and interactive exercises and is led by two trained Certified Parenting Educators. There are opportunities for parents to share their stories and hear other parents' perspectives as well as to gain an understanding about the principles and skills related to the workshop topic.
Some of the workshop topics we offer include Tools for Effective Discipline, Hear and Be Heard: Skills for Healthy Communication, “You’re so Mean; I Hate Your” – Taming the Anger Monster in Children, Building Character, Confidence and Self-Esteem in Your Children, Understanding Your Teen and Limit Setting for Toddlers.
We would like to thank the following organizations for their financial support of our Educational Workshops:
The Louis N. Cassett Foundation
Target Stores
The Willow Grove Bank Foundation.
For our current workshop schedule, click here.
Discussion Groups
Play 'n Share
Play 'n Share provides a place for parents of infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers to come together in a supportive environment to discuss their parenting experiences and issues.
Children play in the room while parents share stories, concerns, questions and successes with other parents.
Play ‘n Share is more than a mom’s chat group. It is a program lead by experienced facilitators, trained in child development, listening skills, parenting approaches and principles of healthy family relationships.
The groups meet on a weekly basis. This continuity produces a sense of security, provides for learning and practice of skills, as well as the opportunity for parents to make meaningful connections with each other and with the facilitators.
We would like to thank State Representative Josh Shapiro for his help in obtaining a Department of Community and Economic Development Grant as partial funding for Play 'n Share.
For our current Play 'n Share schedule, click here.
New Mother/New Baby Group
Being a new mother can be joyful, exhilarating and exhausting. All mothers and their babies under one year are invited to join us for a morning of fun as we share experiences, discuss your new role as a mother, discover more about your baby’s development, and make friends.
The New Mother/New Baby group is held three times a year. Please check our schedule to find the next date this program will be held.
For our current New Mother/New Baby schedule, click here.
To view and print New Mother/New Baby Invitation and Coupon, click here.
Parent/Child Activities
Toddler Activity Time
Toddler Activity Time is designed for parents and toddlers age 24 months to 3½ years. Each weekly session includes circle time, crafts, snacks, music and movement. This class provides children with the experience of a pre-school-like atmosphere without the stress of having to separate from their parents. A parent or caregiver must attend each session with their children and is encouraged to participate in the activities.
Toddler Activity Time is lead by two Certified Parenting Educators who model healthy interactions with children and share information on child development and parenting tips and tools.
For our current Toddler Activity Time schedule, click here.
Personal Parenting Coaching
Personal parenting coaches respond to each family's unique needs with custom designed Parenting Education. A Certified Parenting Educator will meet with you on a one-to-one basis to provide the information, skills and principles of emotionally healthy parenting. Each coach will support and guide you as you learn about ways to parent and to communicate more effectively with your children. You will become more prepared and confident as a parent.
Personal parenting coaching is for parents of children from newborn through the teen years. You can benefit from personal coaching if you:
- want to better understand your child's behavior:
- sometimes feel out of control, or unsure of healthy ways to respond
- want to learn about setting reasonable expectations and effective limits
- are a parent of a child with a challenging temperament
- feel that you need help with your discipline of your children
- want to increase your confidence and your parenting skills
Please call The Center for Parenting Education to schedule your one hour session.
Specialty Programs
The Center for Parenting Education proudly sponsors various special programs for parents. The offerings are selected to meet our community’s wide and varied interests. Previous classes include:
- Mommy and Baby Yoga Series
- Discussion Groups for Fathers
- Discussion Groups for Grandparents
- Discussing Groups for Parents of Children with Special Needs
- Book Preview Discussion Groups
- Guest Speakers:
- Dr. Joel Schwartz on "Humor as a Parenting Tool"
- Diana Rosenstein, PhD on "Building Healthy Connections – Holding On and Letting Go", "Tweens and Mothers: The Bond between Preteen and Adolescent
Girls and their Mothers",, "Parents and Teens: Bridging the Divide"
- Lynn Benjamin, M.ED. on "Teens and Sexuality: What is Happening and What can Parents do about it?"
- Carolyn DuBois, Abington Township Library on "Raising a Reader from Birth through Age 5"
- Robert Hafetz, "What Your Adopted Child Would Want You to Know"
- Danie Greenwell from A Chance to Heal: Parent Talk: Raising Kids in a Body-Conscious World
For our current schedule, click here.
Guest Speaking and
Off Site Educational Workshops
The Center for Parenting Education is available to conduct workshops at your place of business, parent- teacher association or school. These programs are interactive and combine group participation with formal presentation. The Center for Parenting Education can tailor any of the workshop topics to fit your group’s needs. Contact us for information.
Following is a partial list of workshop topics from which you can choose:
- Building Character, Confidence and Self-Esteem in Your Children
- Hear and Be Heard: Skills for Healthy Communication
- Tools for Effective Discipline
- Turning Down the Heat in Your Home - How to Keep from Boiling Over
with Anger
- "You're So Mean - I Hate You!" - Taming the Anger Monster in Children
- How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You? - Promoting Responsibility in
Your Children
- Coping with Sibling Rivalry
- Parenting the Temperamentally Challenging Child
- Partners in Parenting - Working Together as a Team
- Running on Empty - It's Okay to Get Your Needs Met
- Turning Conflict into Cooperation - The Skill of Problem Exploration
- From "Gimmee" to Grateful - Shifting our Children from Greed to
Appreciation
- Truths about Consequences
- The Myth of the Perfect Parent
- Raising Strong, Confident Daughters
- "But I Don't Want to go to School" - Issues in School Refusal
- Teasing and Bullying Survival Tips
- Limit Setting- Skills for Dealing with Young Children
- Tackling Temper Tantrums in Young Children
- Helping Your Child Succeed in School
- One Size Doesn't Fit All - What Makes a Child Tick?
- Help for Parents Whose Teens Want to Fire Them - Understanding
Your Adolescent
Some of our previous speaking engagements include:
Business Lunch and Learns:
- Abington Memorial Hospital
- Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Glaxo – SmithKline
- Music Choice
- WorldGate Communications
- Vanguard Group
- EMCCC Women’s Networking Luncheon
Community Organizations:
- Abington Free Library
- Abington Police Department’s – DARE parent program
- Abington YMCA
- Bryn Athyn's Focus on Marriage Conference
- Cradle of Hope
- Hatboro- Horsham YMCA
- Penn State Abington
- Safe Harbor Grief Center
- Willow Grove Park’s Morning Club
Pre-schools/ Nursery Schools/Daycare Centers:
- Abington Friends School
- Abington Presbyterian Church
- Beth Shalom Preschool
- Gloria Dei Preschool
- Goddard School
- Jenkintown Day Nursery
- Step by Step Preschool
Parent- Teacher Organizations:
- Abington School District elementary schools
- Abington Junior High School
- Ancillae Assumpta Academy
- Bishop McDevitt High School
- Cheltenham High School
- St. David’s School
- St. Philip of the Field
- Wordsworth Academy
- Mothers of Preschoolers
Please contact The Center for Parenting Education for more details about having us speak at your next meeting.
Preschool and Daycare Teacher Training Workshops
The Center for Parenting Education conducts Teacher Training at preschools and daycare centers. Our Parenting Educators are PQAS certified, through the PA Pathways program.
In these workshops, you can learn how to create a warm atmosphere in your classroom that is conducive to learning. You will also become more aware of how to meet the individual needs of each child and to encourage each child to reach his/her potential.
Our Teacher Training programs include formal presentations as well as interactive activities and allow ample time for questions. Our goal is to not only teach the material, but for teachers to be able to implement the ideas presented.
Some of our previous Teacher Trainings have been conducted at:
- Gloria Dei Preschool
- Honeyland Nursery School
- Jenkintown Day Nursery
- New Life Nursery School
- Play ‘n Learn
- School House Learning Center
- Terri Lynne Lokoff Early Learning Center
- Kneseth Israel Preschool
Our TeacherTraining topics include:
- One Size Doesn't Fit All – What Makes Children Tick?
- Building Character, Confidence and Self-Esteem in Children:
- Communicating in the Classroom - The Impact of What We Say & How We Say It
- Communicating in the Classroom - Turning Conflict Into Cooperation
- Coping with Anger in the Classroom
- How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You: Promoting Responsibility in the Classroom
- Listening Beyond the Words
- Managing Teasing in the Classroom
- Teacher - Parent Communication: Developing a Teacher – Parent Partnership
- Teaching the Temperamentally Challenging Child
- The Nature of Families
- Tools for Effective Discipline in the Classroom
Please contact The Center for Parenting Education for more details about having us speak at your next in-service.
