Celebrating incredible parents

Wednesday 30th November was all about celebrating the fabulous whanau that took part in the 2016 Incredible Years parenting course. Run three times each year by Family Start Manukau, the 14-week programme offers tips on engaging with your tamariki and a toolbox for dealing with tricky behaviour that can be tailored to kids with additional needs. It is open to all mātua and is completely voluntary.

In addition to offering the course and all materials, Family Start Manukau will also help you with travel arrangements, provide a babysitter for your tamariki at the venue, and put on kai each week, at no cost to attendees.

We spoke to two of the 2016 graduates about their experience with Incredible Years.

Eva Cork

“I’ve got two children, Maison, six and Natalya, nine months. The course taught me how to be a kid again. A lot of our lives, the things we remember, are the happy thing. Playing and interacting with your children builds those happy memories. I learned praise is powerful, and that just a smile can lead to good things. I have a chart now, and if Maison does all his jobs he’s allowed to buy his own lunch on a Friday. He loves it.”

Stephen Gillanders

“I’ll be honest, I was bullied into doing the course by my ex. But the more I did the course the more I realised how useful it was. My son is autistic and ADHD, and he has all these quirks that go with both conditions. Learning strategies around dealing with those has helped – I now know how to calm him down. I can get him to do things without actually telling him, using compliments and rewards. His sister is five and she feeds off his special needs. Being able to talk to them at their level has had a positive impact.”