Cathy Pemmican, right, teaches Cathy Therriault of Aroland and other Tikinagan prevention coordinators about the Raising the Children program.
Susan Beardy, prevention coordinator for Muskrat Dam.
Ida Anishinabie: supports parents in Sandy Lake.
Raising the Children, a program for Aboriginal parents, will be offered by Tikinagan prevention co-ordinators in several First Nations starting in February.
Already delivered by Tikinagan staff in Sandy Lake and Kasabonika Lake, the program will expand to other communities after more prevention co-ordinators received training in December as Raising the Children facilitators.
The late Lorraine Kenny of Lac Seul developed and authored Raising the Children, along with others, as a culturally-relevant resource that "works with Aboriginal parents to ensure the happiness and well-being of their children," notes the program website.
A Raising the Children manual for facilitators consists of resource materials for five sessions: "Taking Care of the Parent focuses on our own experiences and what we have been through as parents. Passing On Values deals with what we want our children to be like and to experience in the future. Understanding the Child brings us to what our children are going through and introduces various stages of childhood development." The Skills and Practice session covers parenting skills such as: encouraging, listening, talking, problem solving, and decision making. "The Challenges session ... is where we combine everything we have learned to try to resolve situations in our own homes."
Tikinagan prevention co-ordinators Ida Anishinabie of Sandy Lake and Cathy Pemmican of Kasabonika, experienced at leading Raising the Children workshops in their communities, trained six of their peers as facilitators Dec. 6-8 in Sioux Lookout. Participating in the training were Mary Barkman (Sachigo Lake), Susan Beardy (Muskrat Dam), James Benson (Weagamow Lake), Kimberly Kakekaspan (Fort Severn), Jonathan Mamakeesick (Keewaywin), and Cathy Therriault (Aroland).
Beginning in February, "The goal is for them to offer the Raising the Children program in their own communities," says Nicole Burt, supervisor of Tikinagan's Mamow Oshki Pimagihowin (Working Together to Provide New Life Skills) prevention services.
In Kasabonika next month, Pemmican will train two more prevention co-ordinators to deliver the program - Derek Winnepetonga of Wapekeka and newly-hired Bellamie Bighead of Wunnumin Lake.
The prevention co-ordinator position in North Spirit Lake is currently vacant, so Anishinabie will facilitate a three-day Raising the Children workshop for parents there in February, adds Burt. "The chief and council requested we bring someone in."
Anishinabie led the first day of training in Sioux Lookout, asking participants parenting questions and using their responses to open discussion about various Raising the Children topics.
Pemmican's training presentation included handouts for parenting skills such as "modelling and praise" and "ways we talk to our children."
On the final day of training, prevention co-ordinators each presented for 15-20 minutes on a section of the Raising the Children manual, as practice for the sessions they'll lead in their communities.
To be fully prepared, the co-ordinators will also need to study the almost 400-page manual in greater detail, Burt says.
With instructors Ida Anishinabie and Cathy Pemmican, seated in front, newly certified trainers for Raising the Children: from back left, Tikinagan Mamow Oshki Pimagihowin supervisor Nicole Burt and prevention coordinators Susan Beardy, Mary Barkman, Cathy Therriault, James Benson, Kimberly Kakekaspan, and Jonathan Mamakeesick.
