Positive Parenting for Non-Violence is offered to help parents develop a positive, open relationship with their children. The program, developed by Patti Levenberg, NOVA Educator, and Eleanor Wilhelm, NOVA Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator, gives parents a forum to talk with a facilitator about the issues they face so they can more clearly define their own values as parents. Strategies include developing positive communication, noticing the good things children are doing, knowing children's friends and providing a place for those friends to gather, providing supervision, limiting television and computers to minimize the isolation that is possible, and keeping children active. Rather that taking the role of authoritative dictator, they can model conflict resolution and a problem-solving approach. The groups receive help and guidance from other parents.
Child care is provided and the meetings are open to all interested parents at no cost.
He recommends that families pledge to eat together at least twice a week, that parents should review the video games, television shows and movies children are watching, and that parents get to know their children's friends. These steps are part of effective parenting all year long, and in the summer they can help to make our families and our neighborhoods stronger.