Parents offered a 'university' education in child discipline

  • Published
  • By Nick Stubbs
  • Thunderbolt editor
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  It may not be a degree program, but MacDill is offering free university enrollment for parents of preschoolers.

Parenting presents enough challenges all by itself, but add the unique pressures of military life and those challenges multiply quickly. The answer is a good education, according to the pros at the Child Development Center, which offers a free Parenting Skills University to parents of CDC children. The next session is Jan. 29, 4 p.m., at the CDC 2 training room. Call 828-0196 for more information.

The idea of the upcoming class is to help parents develop and implement effective discipline techniques and to better understand developmental stages, said Gail Mouse, director of CDC 3. While courses, including conflict resolution, bullying and others have been held from time to time, discipline and understanding the stages of early child development have proven the most popular, she said.

"What's appropriate for what ages, brain development and applying discipline techniques are the most requested," said Mouse, who said the classes are led by professional counselors and social workers from the Military Family Life Consultants program, a DoD sponsored group that operates on many military bases, including MacDill.

Feedback from parents dictates many of the course topics, but the CDC in conjunction with the consultants pick topics appropriate for the times, as well. Coping with parent and family stress was the university topic prior to the Christmas holidays, said Mouse.

Participation in the free courses "is not what we'd like it to be," said Mouse, who added that the course schedule is always being tinkered with to try and "draw in more parents."

"It (the course) really is good information," Mouse said, adding that it is hoped more parents take advantage of the expert training.

New topics, as well as ways to get more parent involvement are brainstormed at parent advisory board meetings held every other month on base, said Mouse. Ideas and direction for improving the training are always on the agenda, she said.