Parenting Courses
For well over a decade the parenting courses produced by the Family Caring Trust have been the most popular parenting materials in Britain. Tried and tested by churches, voluntary agencies, and health and education services, they are designed to enable participants to improve their skills with children, and to develop honest and respectful relationships in their families. The courses are flexible and easy to run, with an optional Christian dimension, while the situations presented in the materials come from a variety of age ranges and from different social and ethnic backgrounds.
The kit for each course contains two leader’s guides with simple, clear instructions (including a script which facilitators may use if they wish); one copy of the participant’s handbook with case studies, skill-practice ideas and simple exercises; and a video presenting typical family situations.
Noughts to Sixes (7 or 8 sessions, £77.34)
Coping with the pressures of daily life while still meeting small children’s needs for affection. Coping with those who won’t eat or sleep or co-operate. Helping children grow in confidence and self-esteem.
Fives to Fifteens (8 sessions, £73.51)
Improving communication skills and creating a framework of discipline and respect in families.
Parenting Teenagers (6 to 8 sessions, £77.34)
Skills for parents in some of the more difficult situations met in the teen years.
Parent Assertiveness (7 sessions, £66.20)
Helping parents to deal with awkward situations, requests and demands, and to state their needs or challenge unfairness.
Parenting and Sex (5 sessions, £22.40 without a video)
Skills for talking about sex, dating, video viewing and peer pressures.
Young Adult Assertiveness (£55.52)
Helping young adults to learn the same respectful skills as their parents and to find less aggressive ways of dealing with conflict, and to say “no” to peer pressure.
Family Caring, 8 Ashtree Enterprise Park, Newry,
Co. Down BT34 1BY; Tel 028 3026 4174 office@familycaring.co.uk
Order form and further information from www.familycaring.co.uk 
In this diocese Mothers’ Union presently has forty trained and accredited facilitators who are available to lead the Family Caring Trust parenting courses in any parish. They will gladly come, wherever at least eight to ten participants wish to attend, during the daytime or evening. In one parish, for example, the local Health Visitors have attended a course and are now recommending it to mothers or parents, who in turn recommend it to their friends, so that a number of courses are held through the year. “It is all about enjoying our children more. Less stress in our homes, from more relaxed parenting, leads to happier marriages….and fewer breakdowns.”
Diocesan Co-ordinator: Deborah Carter Tel 01903 753653
Care for the Family 
The organisation promotes strong family life and offers support in family breakdown.
- The 21st Century Parent is a new resource for parents with children of any age, but particularly for parents of teenagers. It covers a range of topics and can be used as either 4 or 8 sessions. There is a DVD and workbook for £19.98 and a pack of 10 workbooks costs £39.99. www.careforthefamily.org.uk/resources/category.asp?catcode=4
- The Heritage Builders programme and library of resources have been especially designed to help equip parents to share their own faith and pass on a positive family heritage to their children. The ‘Heritage Builders' Resource Pack is ideal for use by parents, as part of a church's family ministry or within small groups. It gives parents the tools, skills and encouragement they need to teach their children about God in the best place possible, at home, through them. The pack contains all that's needed to run ‘Heritage Builders', including comprehensive course notes, Church Guide, Parent Notes that can be photocopied, CD-Rom with PowerPoint presentation and OHP masters. (£49)
- Seminars and events and support networks for:
singles parents (and training for those working with single parents)
those raising step-families
young widows and widowers
bereaved parents
- Books, videos and courses on parenting, single parenting, being a working parent, parenting all ages of children, including newborns, toddlers, and teens, children and the internet, including:
The Sixty Minute Father (£6.99)
The Sixty Minute Mother (£6.99)
The Sixty Minute Parent DVD (£14.99) (workbooks £4.99; DVD +workbook £17.98; pack of 10 workbooks £39.99)
From This Step Forward A course for step parent families, including CD and printable material (£19.99)
The Smart Step Family (£8.99)
Single Parents in Focus (£4.50)
http://www.care-for-the-family.org.uk/ Tel 029 2081 0800
Positive Parenting 
Positive Parenting is a national registered charity specialising in the support of parents and those who work with them. They offer a range of training opportunities. Over 4000 parents a year attend parenting workshops and courses where their resources are used. Their style is:
Resources include:
Positive Parenting Pack: A pack of age-related photocopiable worksheets (£39)
Time Out For Parents: Facilitator’s parenting course manual (£59) (with handbooks at £5.95 each)
A series of leaflets on parenting tips (15p)
http://www.parenting.org.uk/ Tel 023 9252 8787
The Family Matters Institute
A Centre of Excellence for Family Education, this is a charity motivated by the Christian faith to support families in the UK. They have a great concern for the effects of family breakdown, particularly on children, and the challenges faced by Britain’s families.
- They provide affordable quality training and resources for families, Christian and community organisations, individuals and theological colleges.
- They explore family principles and real issues which improve economic growth, social standing and health.
- They provide a base for innovative action research integral to improving family life.
- They have produced a number of publications, including:
Violence, Pornography and the Media
The Cost of Family Breakdown
Sex under Sixteen
Flat Pack Parent, a course for parents of pre-teens (£19.95)
http://www.familymatters.org.uk/
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