Boys Town of South Florida is celebrating 100 years of providing life-changing care to families and children! If you’re looking for ways to enhance parenting skills, the organization offers two programs in Broward County.
"One is the in-home family services program. With that program, we go to the home, parents tell us some of the issues that they are dealing with, and we help them come up with solutions to their problems, and we do it all in the comfort of their home where it is convenient for them. The next program is parenting classes. With that program we partner with different agencies, churches, schools, anyone that really wants to host our programs. That program is also no cost to the family because we are sponsored by the Children's Services Council, and it is also no cost to any agency that would like to host our class," said Claudia Varela, an In-Home Family Services Consultant for Boys Town of South Florida.
In both programs, trained and experienced consultants help parents develop a positive parenting approach that really helps to improve their children’s behavior, and make their jobs as parents easier.
"Parents can really benefit because they can learn how to solve issues like: What do I do if my child misbehaves? How can I get my child to behave better at school when I'm not there? How can my partner and I work together to properly discipline our children? The programs are a lot of fun and very interactive, it really helps families improve their children's behaviors," said Valera.
In-home family services consultant, Claudia Varela, emphasizes the importance of getting parenting advice from a professional, and she shares two tips for parents.
"Number one is focus on the positives. If you find one negative that your child is doing try and find at least five positives. It can be hard you may have to look hard for them, but I can assure you there are more positives than negatives. Number two, when your child makes a mistake don't get upset, get excited that you have an opportunity to teach," said Valera.
To speak with Claudia or to get more information on the program, head to boystown.org.