Jennifer's family successfully completed the Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14) at Family Services of NW PA in the Fall of 2023. Her husband, John, and daughter, Abby, accompanied her. At the time, Abby was in middle school, and Jennifer and John were having trouble setting boundaries. "Abby was going into seventh grade and middle school was not easy," said Jennifer. "It was imploding, and we were exploring options."
SFP 10-14 is an evidence-based parent training program that allows parents and youth to practice skills through learning games and family projects. "This class makes it a priority to set aside time for the family," said John. "It helped us to put ourselves in Abby's shoes a little bit. Kids now a day are dealing with a lot of different pressures than we were."
Jennifer quickly started to notice positive changes as a result of what she and her family were learning. "Before the program, if our daughter was getting very upset about something, we would argue and it would escalate," said Jennifer. "Now, we are able to address issues without it escalating and taking up days."
Abby also noticed that things were different. "My relationship with my parents has really improved," said Abby. "It was a really fun experience, and I would definitely recommend it."
Jennifer was excited to share proof that the program really worked for her family. "Our daughter was writing lists of all the things that she was unhappy about in our home, and that broke my heart," said Jennifer. "We went through the program and our family got on a much better track."
Abby was recently assigned a worksheet for school that asked her to share one thing she would change about her family. Her answer was "nothing". "When I saw that, I thought, this program was worth the time, it was worth the effort," said Jennifer. "I framed this [worksheet] because, if she had been given this worksheet last fall, she would have needed a whole notebook."
The Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14 is offered by Family Services of NW PA as part of the Opioid Misuse Prevention Project. Learn more at www.FSNWPA.org/SFP.
