Mums teach parenting excellence in Trafford

Two talented mums have made a real difference in Trafford by forming their own group to teach excellence in parenting to their peers.

Julia Rowland and Yvonne Hunter were inspired to organise their bespoke parenting course after taking part in a series of sessions organised by Trafford Housing Trust, featuring TV’s ‘Teen Tamer’ Lorrine Marer.

The five-year-old housing organisation was the first social housing provider to work with Lorrine, a challenging behaviour specialist, featured on Channel 5’s the Wright Stuff and GMTV.

Julia and Yvonne were so inspired by the techniques and skills they picked up that they decided to set up their own course, with the Teen Tamer’s tactics at its core. Their course, called FACTS (Families and Children Together Services), is open to tenants, leaseholders or owner occupiers on Trafford Housing Trust’s estates.

The two parents have run a series of three courses to date, one in Ashton-upon-Mersey and two in Old Trafford. At a celebration evening held on Saturday 24 April, 50 people who have benefited from their training courses over the last two years received certificates to acknowledge their achievement.

“It’s not just mums that have come to our courses, it’s dads too and grandparents. We have had foster carers and a primary school escort, teachers, mentors as well as a police officer,” said Julia.

“What we are doing is passing on the skills and techniques to help people get back in charge in their homes. Sometimes there are small changes that can make the biggest difference in a home,” added Yvonne.

The courses have run for six and 12 weeks at a time. Some sessions use creative exercises, developed by Julia and Yvonne, to illustrate techniques that can be used to challenge behaviour and build successful relationships within the family unit.

Other sessions involve original ‘Teen Tamer’ theory, such as the ‘I Statement’ which allows a parent to ‘own’ a statement, and engage in positive, firm and consistent dialogue. This theory helps reduce the number of arguments with children as it avoids the parent pointing the finger of blame.

Yvonne and Julia also offer telephone support and mentoring to people on the course and have helped parents and foster carers who often feel quite isolated and alone in their parenting role.

The difference they make is tangible. Added Yvonne: “We see such a range of emotions from people on the course. It can be scary at first for attendees but when they start to feel the benefits and see the difference the techniques have made at home, we see the reward for running the courses.”

Testimonials from course attendees:

“I would say it’s a must for anyone with children, whether they have problems or not. It is a life-changing course and helps parents and children and all of family life.”

“Go for it, I got a lot out of it. I feel communication between me and my child has improved and I have made lasting connections with people facing similar problems, which has helped me feel more supported.”

“Thank you for helping me to find support from other single fathers.”

“I learnt I had to be disciplined to discipline. The most important rules are the rules we make for ourselves.”

“I struggled with the concept that I had to change to change my children’s behaviour. What I gained was many techniques that are easy and simple to use.”

“I felt like a bit of a fraud at first because all my children are grown up. However, I did want to know how to manage challenging behaviour to help me as a teacher. My biggest learning came from descriptive praise, being positive, firm and consistent and watching the language I used.”

Matthew Gardiner, Trafford Housing Trust’s Chief Executive, said: “We were proud to be the first housing association to work with TV’s Teen Tamer to offer the original course on the psychology of parenting.

“We are incredibly pleased to support the work of Julia and Yvonne as they help promote parenting excellence in Trafford and we’re proud to support the achievement of some 50 course attendees at the celebration event.”

Teen Tamer, Lorrine Marer, added: “I was delighted to be given the opportunity to work with Trafford Housing Trust to support parents in learning new skills to better parent their children. The whole experience was amazing and not only that but I met two wonderful people in Julia and Yvonne, who are working very hard at carrying the message forward.”

FACTS is an independent not-for-profit organisation. It offers training, support, advice and networking with like minded people on all aspects of parenting and caring for children. FACTS can be contacted on 0161 291 1812 or 07983 427958