The Familylab Hand in hand - Parent circle project

Please join our newest initiative: The Familylab Hand in hand - Parent circle

What is it all about?

A parent circle is a smaller group of parents that meet for a series of workshops to zoom in on parenting topics & challenges. It is a place to get new insights, to exchange ideas, ask questions and share experiences, allowing you to grow as a parent. 

As we get to know each other better, the circle develops as a safe and open environment where you can share the big & small challenges in raising children. A parent circle enriches and supports you in maybe the most important role in life: leading and guiding our children on their path to adulthood.

Approach

The workshops are based on the work of Jesper Juul, the famous Danish pedagoge that redefined the way we look at a child's behavior and developing relationships within families built on equal dignity.  Each workshop we approach one parenting theme, using ideas or concepts or a specific perspective on parenting as a frame for discussion. We then apply this to our everyday situations with practical suggestions.  We use the common language we have created together in our circle, to zoom in on your personal cases and questions.

One workshop at a time, we built a framework that offers us a new way of creating relationships with our children.  

Content

In the first workshop we set the scene, creating an overview of the process we will work with and together as a group look into the learning environment we want for our parent circle. As a first topic, we will zoom in on parental guidance or parental leadership based on personal authority (vs traditional hierarchical families). We discover the what & how of parental power and where we use it and sometimes, consciously or unconsciously, abuse it. We also see how personal authority goes hand in hand with personal language and see how we can apply this in everyday situations. 

In the second & third workshop we dive into the four values Jesper introduced:  Equal dignity;  Authenticity;  Integrity;  Personal Responsibility.

We explore together how these values can help us form a solid platform to build our families, to create true dialogue and build relationships in which everyone can thrive.  We see how the values can inspire us to develop our own personal parenting style, based on our own values and boundaries. As Jesper Juul wrote: "the love we feel for our children and partners does not in itself have any value. It has no value at all until it is converted into loving behaviour...." 

Exploring these four values, the why behind it and the concrete application in the day-to-day struggles & delights with our children during the workshops, can help us to create our own foundation for a meaningful family life. 

The parenting themes we will develop in the last 2 workshops are chosen in the parent circle, based on the group's interests or needs.

Examples of topics are  

• The art of saying no - boundaries
• The taboo of aggression
• Siblings rivalry
• ...

After the 5 workshops the parent circle can choose to continue the process of sharing & support in applying the insights in day to day parenting challenges. In that case the circle continues to meet on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, with or without facilitation. The group decides this together at the end of the first series” 

REGISTRATION FORM https://forms.gle/QnC8yWNze5Fin8Xe6