Let’s face it, parenting can be tough. Temper tantrums, boo-boos and late night homework can be exhausting and complicate a parent’s best efforts to raise a child.
To the rescue is an eight-week parenting course at Wesley United Methodist Church, Iola, with student family therapist Kari Miller. The class, Boundaries With Kids, begins Sept. 23 at the church, 301 W. Madison Ave.
“We wanted to offer this as a service by helping families with communication skills to make them a stronger unit,” the Rev. Trudy Kenyon-Anderson said.
Kenyon-Anderson met Miller at a Circles meeting. Circles is a program that helps people in poverty.
“I was quite taken with her,” Kenyon-Anderson said. “The match God was making worked nicely with our needs and Kari’s abilities.”
Miller is a student therapist with a master of science degree in family therapy from Friends University. When she was a stay-at-home mom she dreamed of getting back into school. When her daughter started kindergarten at McKinley Elementary she began at Friends.
The program is part of Miller’s internship.
“I have a passion for those who are hurting and helping them,” Miller said. “Family therapy is unique. It helps us make hard decisions and helps us make better decisions.”
Kenyon-Anderson said the classes would be beneficial to families in the community.
The classes will “help enforce the great skills parents already have,” she added. “They will also help parents interact with other parents and get advice from them.”
The church’s youth group will participate in the program by preparing and serving a meal to the participating families as well as providing child care.
Wesley’s youth group traveled to New Orleans on a mission trip this past summer. They see this as a way to bring that sense of mission to Iola.
There is a one-time $10 fee for the eight-week course. This also includes the meal, which starts at 5:15 p.m.
So far eight families are signed up for the class. Miller said this class is targeted for Pre-kindergarten through elementary-age children.
“If people would like to sign up they can leave a message on the church answering machine and we’ll get back to them as soon as possible,” Kenyon-Anderson said.
The church’s number is 365-2285.
Parenting 101: Wesley to host class
