The WAYS Counselling Team conducted an Effective Parenting Course which commenced on the 24th of May 2021 and ran through to the 21st of June 2021 at the North Bondi WAYS head office.
This parent group is a free five-week skills and information program, which addresses a variety of issues relevant to parents with adolescent aged children. Our facilitators Dr Terri Said (Clinical Psychologists, CEO & WAYS Secondary Principal) and Psychologists Courtney Morris, Luke Cox were the presenters.
Topics included: adolescent development, parent roles and expectations, the impact of parenting styles on children, effective communication, setting effective limits and boundaries, managing conflict with adolescents, drug and alcohol and risky behaviours, how to foster greater internal regulation in adolescents, and social media, gaming and addictions.
As expected the course received enrolments within the first few weeks of advertising and was booked out 3 weeks before the course had started. As there is only a limited number of participants that are allowed, WAYS would like more sessions within the calendar year.
Parents were also asked to rate their knowledge and skills of effective parenting strategies before and after the course. All parents reported an increase in both knowledge and skills upon completion of the effective parenting course when compared to their knowledge and skill before the course.
The average participant’s knowledge of effective parenting before the course was 5 out of 10. The average rating of knowledge of effective parenting after the course was 9 out of 10.
These results indicate that parents have shown a 40% increase in their knowledge as a result of attending the course.
The average rating of skill in terms of effective parenting before the course was 5 out of 10. The average rating of skill of effective parenting after the course was 8 out of 10
These results indicate that parents have shown a 30% increase in their parenting skills as a result of attending the course.
Finally, parents were asked to comment on the below statements regarding how they felt about their parenting as a result of the course.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neither | Agree | Strongly Agree | |
| I learnt new things to help me with parenting | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10% | 90% |
| I feel more confident in parenting | 0 | 0 | 10% | 10% | 80% |
| I am satisfied with the service I have received. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10% | 90% |
| I am better able to deal with some of the issues that concern me | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10% | 90% |
“Terri was fantastic”.
“This course was very engaging, effective and knowledgeable”.
“Loved the practical advice”.
“Terri is an incredible source and we are so grateful for her passions”.
“Excellent, very amusing and realistic”.
“Feel so much more confident to tackle the tricky parts of parenting- so grateful for this course”.
“You can tell that the staff are passionate about what they do”.
The next course will be from the 8th of November 2021 to the 6th of December 2021. This course will book out, please email [email protected] to reserve your place.