Being a parent is one of the greatest, but also one of the most difficult and complex jobs in life. In the old, traditional culture, a whole community supported the parent to do well, but nowadays many parents are truly alone or raise their children with the distressing feeling of being on their own and alone. At the same time, today's parents are under enormous emotional strain, with a range of negative influences, from the climate crisis to the war in their neighborhood, affecting their vision for the future. We believe that it is up to us as professionals to help today's parents with these distressing issues so that they can find their own answers to help them get through and survive their daily lives.
The main results of the project are two guides. Written directly for young parents, the Stay Yourself - Compass for Parenting helps readers work through some difficult issues. You will find topics such as balancing work and family, leaving negative family patterns, and non-violent communication. Each chapter is accompanied by a self-exercise or suggestions for discussion questions in the Compass.
The Guide for Trainers contains concrete exercises that professionals working with young parents can use in their work. The guide also includes brief descriptions of three methods - storytelling, drama, and symbol work - that trainers can use alongside the specific exercises described. It is recommended that practitioners also consult the Stay Yourself - Compass for Parenting, which includes exercises related to the Guide.
A resource list with links and book titles is included at the end of both publications.
Stay Yourself! - Compass for Parenting
Maradj önmagad! Iránytű szülőknek
An international training of trainers was held in Aegina, at the beginning of September, in 2024.
A set of exercises for parents and professionals was tested. Feedback was positive, but some details were changed from the draft. As a result, the main deliverable of the project, the Compass for Parenting and the Guide for Trainers, became final after the training.
In the training there was a fantastic group in a good atmosphere, played and thought about the big questions of parenting. It was particularly interesting to see two generations of young people who have not yet had children and their parents' peers. In fact, two mother-daughter pairs and a young couple also attended the training, which gave us a lot of extra to get even closer to the basic ideas of the project.
In a short video, Paul, one of our partners, talks about the international training. You can watch it here.
30 hours of workshops will be organised in Hungary, the same number in Greece and 20 hours in Austria, for parents and professionals separately. They will take place between 1 October 2024 and 31 January 2025 by professionals trained in the Becoming Parents project material. If you are interested, please find more information on the project's Facebook page during this period or contact us.
