Event offers lessons for parents

Parent Leadership Corps offers ways

to improve communication with kids
By:Alec Moore
   The Parent Leadership Corps, a network of Hillsborough parents who meet to explore issues related to parenting and improving communications with their children, will be holding a series of day and evening workshops for parents who feel they may not be on the same wavelength as their children when it comes to communicating.
   The PLC will be sponsoring three series of workshops — two on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 7:30 to 9 and a daytime series that will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. The Wednesday night and daytime series will begin Feb. 13 while the Thursday evening program will start Feb. 21. Both evening series will be held in the Media Center of the Hillsborough Middle School while the daytime session will be held in the multipurpose room at the Hillsborough municipal building.
   "It’s a parent-to-parent method of providing education and support," said Anna Mahler, coordinator of the program, who noted that parents will explore means of enhancing and facilitating communications with their children to gain greater insight into their children’s concerns and feelings, thus strengthening their relationship. "People have said that they’ve been very enlightened by the program," she added. "It’s primarily about communicating and listening and people often bond through similar situations."
   In addition, the workshops will focus on strengthening a family’s total cohesion and help parents recognize warning signs of depression and drug and alcohol abuse.
   The PLC is part of a statewide network — sponsored by the state Department of Health and Senior Services — consisting of 25 school districts and five corporations in New Jersey, which are collectively known as New Jersey Peer to Peer.
   The PLC made its initial debut in Hillsborough last spring when eight parents shared their insights and, sometimes turbulent, experiences with those attending the workshops about their relationships with their own children.
   The PLC program is open to all Hillsborough parents, but is especially geared toward parents of children in grades five and up. Attending the workshops is free but registration is required and space is limited. In order to participate in the workshops parents are required to attend the first session of the series they have enrolled in. For more information or to register, contact Ms. Mahler at (908) 874-3420 ext. 6022 or e-mail her at [email protected].