Family Communications:

Coping With Family Life and Teens

What is Family Communications About?

The development of this course came about from a perceived need to develop skills-based parenting programmes aligned with an approach that is ‘preventative, empowering, building on family strengths, enhancing self-esteem and a sense of being able to influence events in one’s life.

The programme explores the many changes and challenges that occur for teens as they move through puberty and how you as a parent can support your teen at this vulnerable time. Parents will have an opportunity to reflect on the many behavioural challenges that teens can present with such as power struggles with parents and sibling rivalry. As a parent, the programme helps you to learn when to step in and when to step back.

 Module 1: Welcome!

  • How the course works

Module 2: Family Life

  • Understand what assertive communication is and the Non-Violent Communication process
  • Assertive parenting
  • Family strengths
  • Routines and consistency.

Module 3: Teens

  •  Understand how can you support your teenager and the importance of empathy
  • Understand the importance of encouraging responsibility
  • Understand teenager behaviour
  • Importance of family meetings and problem-solving together

Module 4: The Child Who Feels Stressed

  • Understand the parent role in sibling rivalry.
  • Keeping Conflict Healthy
  • The benefits of Clear & Direct Communication.

Module 5: Parenting & Stress

  • How to talk to your teen about sexuality.
  • Understanding risky behaviours.
  • Motivating your teen
  • The importance of self-care for all family members

Module 6: Review & Reflection

  • Content review and reflection.
  • Acknowledge that the journey continues.

  • Start to understand the changes and challenges teenagers go through.
  • Explore the behavioural changes that teens make.
  • Explore a day in the life of a teenager and develop ways in which you can understand your teen and form a positive relationship.
  • Resolve conflict within family relationships and support your teen to negotiate change.
  • Explore boundaries and implement fair rules within the home to meet the needs of each member.
  • Develop listening skills and find a way to value what each family member voices; hearing needs and supporting them to be met.
Family Communications: Coping With Family Life and Teens
Family Communications Parenting Teens is a course aimed at supporting parents to move into the space of a teenager and to understand the many changes that are happening in this stage of development. By doing this, parents are encouraged to parent assertively, offering their teen a voice in the home, while maintaining boundaries; encouraging teens to make good choices while helping them overcome the bad ones; helping teens to manage the changes both physically and emotionally that are taking place for them while allowing them the freedom to explore and express and discover the person they are becoming.    This course asks parents to recognise the shift from childhood to teenager and how this is an emotionally challenging time for parents as much as it is for teens. Managing your fear as a parent will allow your relationship to get stronger with your teen and ensure you are there with them as they move into this new stage of life.
Module 1 Welcome!

How the course works.

Unit 1 Unit 1: Getting Started  
Unit 2 Unit 2: Your Learning Tools  
Unit 3 Unit 3: What I Want to Give/Get  
Unit 4 Unit 4: What is Journaling  
Unit 5 Unit 5: Self-Reflective Practice  
Module 2 Family Life

Understand what assertive communication is and the Non-Violent Communication process. How to be an assertive parent; build on family strengths and the importance of routines and consistency.

Unit 1 Unit 1: Strong Families  
Unit 2 Unit 2: Good Communication in Strong Families  
Unit 3 Unit 3: Assertive Parenting  
Unit 4 Unit 4: Routines Consistency and Creating Boundaries  
Module 3 Teens

Understand your teenager behaviour; how can you support your teenager and understand the importance of empathy.

Unit 1 Unit 1: A Day in a Life of a Teenager  
Unit 2 Unit 2: Listening to Our Teens  
Unit 3 Unit 3: Your Child is Growing Into a Teenager: What Puberty Means  
Unit 4 Unit 4: How to Empower Your Teen to be More Responsible  
Unit 5 Unit 5: The Power of Family Meetings as a Problem-Solving Tool When Parenting Teens  
Module 4 The Child Who Feels Stressed

Understand the parent role in sibling rivalry; how to keep conflict healthy and the benefits of Clear & Direct Communication.

Unit 1 Unit 1: Sibling Relationships  
Unit 2 Unit 2: Keeping Conflict Healthy - Understanding Levels of Fighting  
Unit 3 Unit 3: Power struggles: When Parents Question Who's in Charge - Me or My Teen?  
Unit 4 Unit 4: Flip the Lid  
Module 5 Parenting & Stress

How to talk to your teen about sexuality; understand risky behaviours and the importance of self-care for all family members.

Unit 1 Unit 1: Sexual Development and Developing Relationships: Talking to Your Teen  
Unit 2 Unit 2: Teens and Risky Behaviours  
Unit 3 Unit 3: Ways to Support a Teen Who Lacks Motivation Around School  
Unit 4 Unit 4: Family's Mental Health and Wellbeing  
Module 6 Review & Reflection

Content review and reflection.

Unit 1 Unit 1: Will This Ever Be Over?  
Unit 2 Unit 2: So Far What Have I Learnt  
Unit 3 Unit 3: Techniques for Life  
Unit 4 Unit 4: And the Journey Continues