“Parenting is the biggest challenge anyone can face in the world, and scream-free parenting requires much more from parents,” Jon Kaplan, VP for program services of the Atlanta-based ScreamFree Institute, told the Variety on Saturday evening.
He said the 20 representatives from eight schools in the CNMI who joined a workshop in the Taga Hall of the Saipan World Resort learned a lot.
“The workshop is all about teaching parents how to focus on themselves, grow up, and stay calm and connected with their children. The techniques that we recommend go beyond many of the child-centered techniques and approaches,” Kaplan said.
“Screaming comes in many forms, such as when you talk with sarcasm, or when you walk away from your children without talking to them to resolve issues,” he said.
The workshop, he added, gave the parents a chance to look at themselves and work on how to improve the way they inter-act with their children.
Kaplan said they conduct about 50 workshops all over the world each year, directly reaching over 10,000 people with the workshops and the 40,000 more who buy their books.
Workshop organizer Derwin Johnson, school counselor of Garapan Elementary School, said they invited all schools in the CNMI, but due to the late notice, only eight schools were able to join.
The representatives were parents and teachers from GES, William S. Reyes Elementary School, Kagman Elementary School, Kagman High School, Tinian Elementary School, Tinian Junior High School, and the Head Start program.
Johnson said the participants will be disseminating what they have learned to fellow teachers and parents in their respective schools.
Conducting the workshop was Hal Runkel, founder or the organization and author of “ScreamFree Parenting,” which is available at Amazon.com.
You can also order the ScreamFree Marriage Seminar CD, or the ScreamFree CPR (Complete Parental Revolution) online.
Visit www.ScreamFree.com or call toll free 1-800-860-0771 for more information.
