QUOTES FROM PARENTING CLASS GRADUATES

Thank you for getting through to me because I came close-minded because I didn’t want to be here. I actually learned something from every class. (mandatory participant)

My experience was extremely rewarding. In addition to learning about the daily activities of an Executive Director, I have learned what is means to be truly and whole-heartedly passionate about a cause and how to strive for something you believe in. I want to thank you for the time you spent with me discussing the grant proposals…this was very helpful to me and provided much useful knowledge for my future career. I thoroughly enjoyed working with such a wonderful group of people.

— Elizabeth Johnston, Intern

I really was given much insight about how to be an effective parent.

The instructor (Connie) is very warm and inviting to ALL participants, no matter their background. (intern)

I honestly have enjoyed them. I think they have helped to make me a better person. They are a good thing for all kinds of people and all kinds of problems.

I learned to pay attention to what they (children) are doing right and not always focus on what is wrong.

These classes are a great benefit to the community and I feel like it could change the way people discipline their children. There are other ways besides whipping your children. (young mother)

This class is the next best thing to an instruction book for children. I have had some issues come up that I believe I handled well because of the techniques the classes taught me. These classes are an asset to this community and I hope they are offered for many years to come. (non-custodial father)

I moved to Mobile from the New York City area during July of 2002, when I was 5 months pregnant with my first child (at 37). My husband and I knew no one outside of the very small department at the university where he had accepted a teaching position, and all of our family live in the Northeast.

After our son arrived in November and the dust had settled, my husband returned to his very demanding schedule at school and I settled onto the couch with my precious new bundle… Yikes!

No friends/relatives to call for advice (who weren’t in another time zone), no mother or even mother-in-law to come over and hold him when I needed a break, and my pediatrician was worried about flu season so I was instructed to take my son NOWHERE before his first two rounds of immunizations –meaning 2 months ! (A little extreme, I know now, but what did I know then??) Stuck inside, stuck in a strange city, alone all day with my baby…

I searched in vain for a place to go for support and comfort and above all reassurance that all was going well! Well meaning people said: “Join a church” and “Join an online chat room” and “you really have no relatives in town?” But no one had any real ideas of where I could go for help.

Eventually, I called DHR and they gave me the number of the Exchange Club Family Center. I called and spoke to the woman who would become my Parent Aide, Carol George. She explained the program to me and arranged a meeting that same week. What an amazing program it is! I had one day each week when I knew that someone was coming to talk and listen. Someone was there; to help me discover what a good parent I could and would be, but more importantly what a good parent I was already.

Carol and I identified goals that I wanted to achieve and charted my progress each week towards them. She also helped me deal with the post partum depression I was diagnosed with when my son was 2 months old. It was scary and hard and something I never envisioned happening when I dreamed of how motherhood would be. Her visits were what kept me going some weeks. She was there with me to point out the good things and remind me of how much I was growing as a Mom. She always listened without criticizing and never judged. She also brought things for me to read: about my son’s development and what I could do to help it, ideas for soothing, nursing support and anything else I could think of to ask about!

Carol and the Family Center became my family here when I had none. Everyone there made me feel welcome and part of something. My husband benefited as well, because it reduced his stress and allowed him to focus the energy he needed for his new job. Of course, my son was the ultimate beneficiary, because he had a Mom who was supported and encouraged by the staff of the Exchange Club Family Center!