Odyssey helps with journey of parenting your teen

Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement
Odyssey helps with journey of parenting your teen

A programme offering support to parents of young people aged 11-18 which aims to improve communication within the home will get under way next month in Belfast and the North-West.

The successful Odyssey ‘Parenting Your Teen’ programme will run in Belfast from 5 May, and from 12 May in Derry/Londonderry. It is delivered by Parenting NI and funded by the Public Health Agency (PHA).

The eight-week parenting course covers issues such as setting boundaries, dealing with conflict, problem solving, self-confidence and teen development.

Maurice Meehan, Health and Social Wellbeing Improvement Manager at the PHA, said: “Being a parent of a teenager isn’t always easy and the Odyssey ‘Parenting Your Teen’ programme is designed to provide the techniques and methods to help deal with what can be difficult and tense circumstances.

“Not only does the programme benefit the parent in how to manage these scenarios, but it has both short and long-term positive benefits for the young person’s development and benefits the whole family.”

Pip Jaffa, Chief Executive of Parenting NI, said: “The Odyssey ‘Parenting Your Teen’ programme benefits many parents of adolescents who are eager to understand the changes that happen during the teenage years and how they can tackle the challenges effectively.

“Adolescence can throw even the most competent parent in to turmoil. Parents who attend the programme gain a lot of knowledge about adolescence, see an improvement in their relationship with their teenager and feel a greater sense of confidence in their parenting.”

The initiative has also been shown to reduce stress among participants.

Lana Jones, who attended the programme in Derry/Londonderry, said she was able to take what she had learned and put it in to practice: “I was having difficulties parenting my teenage daughter and when I heard about the Odyssey ‘Parenting Your Teen’ programme I knew I was willing to try anything to restore some harmony within our home.

“There were other parents on the course; our stories seemed to echo one another’s and I suddenly realised that although difficult, my daughter’s behaviours were no different from any other teenagers. It was then I realised that I had to be the one to change how I reacted.

“The programme really changed how I parented and things quickly began to settle a little as I put everything I was learning into practice. For the first time I realised that although it was difficult being a parent, it was equally difficult being a teen. I would thoroughly recommend the programme to other parents.”

For more information and to register for the Odyssey ‘Parenting Your Teen’ programme, call Parenting NI on 0808 8010 722.

ENDS

Notes to editors

  • Odyssey Parenting Your Teen is an evidence-based structured programme designed for parents of teenagers.
  • The programme covers a range of themes including teen development, self-esteem, rules and consequences, dealing with conflict and problem solving.
  • The programme promotes Authoritative Parenting, the style of parenting which has proven to be most effective.
  • This programme has been found to improve outcomes for parents, their teenage children and the family as a whole.
  • A three-year evaluation carried out by Queen’s University Belfast of the Odyssey Parenting Your Teen programme has reported reduced levels of stress among participants and improved communication in the home.
  • Parenting NI has four key services: a Parents Helpline, Face to Face Support/Counselling, Parenting Programmes and Parent Consultations.
  • The PHA has recently commissioned five Child Development Intervention Coordinators across Northern Ireland. Their focus is to ensure that families benefit from access to parenting programmes that meet their particular needs, such as the Odyssey ‘Parenting Your Teen’ programme.