Parents Together! meets monthly from 7:30pm-9:00pm. Over dessert and coffee, child/family specialists who are licensed professional counselors provide an informative half-hour presentation on a range of topics. The facilitator then leads a lively, supportive, confidential group discussion designed to produce solutions for real parenting challenges. Each month participants leave with practical strategies to use at home!

Meeting & Theme Schedule:

Mondays in Ardmore; Tuesdays in Paoli

· 2/22, 2/23  Understanding Your Child’s Temperament

· 3/15, 3/14  Parenting the “Difficult Child”

· 4/19, 4/20 Increase Cooperation at Home

· 5/17, 5/18  Help Your Child Cope with Bullies

· 6/14, 6/15  Taming Sibling Conflict

Family Friendly Recession-Proof Cost

Session Fees: $25 per person; $40 per couple

Space is limited! Please call Michael Fogel, program director and lead facilitator, for additional information or to reserve a spot at our next meeting.

Call Michael: (610) 649-1080 x1

Email Michael: ChildFamArt@verizon.net

Please read the press release from the inception of Parents Together!:

New year’s resolution 2010: Be a better parent

“Parents Together!” Parent Education and Support Program to Begin in Ardmore

Ardmore, PA – December 29, 2009 — Parenting in the 21^st century is hard. Time magazine dubbed the first decade “The Decade from Hell” and published a cover story about “helicopter parents”. Parents have gotten a bad reputation. Hovering, coddling, pressuring, and indulging children are just some of the accusations Time made of today’s parents.

Loving parents want only for their children to grow up happy, healthy, and successful in relationships and in their career of choice. But how can parents help their children achieve those goals and not being accused of being a helicopter parent?

A new adult education program called “Parents Together!” strives to inform, entertain, nurture, and support parents through the many challenges of raising children in the 21^st century. Parents Together! meets monthly in Ardmore on Monday nights, and Paoli on Tuesday nights, from 7:30 pm-9:00 pm. Over dessert and coffee, licensed professional counselors provide a structured, informative half-hour presentation on a range of parenting topics, followed by supportive group discussion.

Michael Fogel, director of the Child and Family Art Therapy Center, is the lead presenter, and is joined each month by a rotating cast of area child and parenting experts. “A parent may drop in for a single session if they are interested in the parenting skill being presented that night. If they benefit from being a part of an ongoing supportive community as their children grow, they may attend regularly,” Fogel said.

The parenting skills that will be taught during the structured opening presentation of each session include: Understanding Your Child’s Temperament (2/22); Parenting the “Difficult Child” (3/15); Increasing Cooperation at Home (4/19), Helping Your Child Cope with Bullies (5/17); and Taming Sibling Conflict (6/14).

“Given the state of the economy, we made a conscious decision to make this education and support group affordable for anyone who would like to benefit from this class.” The fee per session is $25 ($40 per couple).

The Parents Together! education and support group is designed to reach any parent who wishes to feel more confident and competent in raising their children. Difficult parenting challenges are welcome. Fogel hopes his program can help parents land the helicopter, and navigate their child and family out of the “Decade from Hell”.