Children's Playroom Gears Up For Autumn
Vicki Dolan, executive director of Children's Playroom of Lancaster County, often tells moms and dads that parenting is the most important job they will ever have, and it is also the hardest. Dolan is passionate about setting parents up for success as they navigate that journey, which is why she founded Children's Playroom, a parenting support group that exists to let people know that there are others who are going through the same parenting difficulties and that they are not alone.
"Children's Playroom gives a safe haven for parents to come and open up with each other," shared Dolan. Parents and young children - from birth through age 6 - are welcome to register to attend Children's Playroom once a week at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 398 N. Locust St., Elizabethtown. Sessions are offered from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 17, and continuing through May. Space is limited. There is a fee to attend, but scholarships are available. To sign up, interested individuals may visit http://www.childrensplayroom.org.
For the first portion of the morning, parents and children play together before the parents head to another room to listen to guest speakers or have a discussion, covering topics like child development, bedtime routines, toilet training, stress management, and positive discipline. "Discipline means to teach, so we're talking about teaching our children," said Dolan. "We talk about being kind and firm and how we need both. We can be kind but still be firm."
Learning about positive discipline and practical strategies for how to implement that has been a game-changer for Cathi Martin, an Elizabethtown mother of four children ranging from ages 10 to 1, who will be attending Children's Playroom for her eighth year this fall. "(Children's Playroom) really has made me feel more confident in my purpose as a parent of my kids. It's given me direction," said Martin. "(Positive discipline) makes me feel better as a parent because it's just a more positive way of handling things." At first, her husband was apprehensive about the term "positive discipline," but once she explained and modeled tools she learned at Children's Playroom - such as asking versus telling - and he saw that they worked, he was on board.
Manheim resident and mother of three Lisa Moore said that since attending Children's Playroom, she has noticed that she yells a lot less - a result that also thrills Dolan, as one of her motivations in offering Children's Playroom is to help parents realize there are effective ways to discipline children without yelling.
Children's Playroom is something that Martin and Moore say their children all look forward to - or have great memories of - as well. "The guidance they get from Miss Vicki is phenomenal," Martin said. It also helps with easing children (and parents) into transitions, as parents are only a room away and the staff members provide updates as needed. Plus, the children have fun socializing with peers. "When I asked my son what he misses about Children's Playroom, he said, 'My friends,'" relayed Moore.
"The moms develop friendships too. You can share what your deepest failures are, and there's no judgment," said Martin.
"The support is huge," agreed Moore. "I didn't realize how much I would need that support as a stay-at-home parent."
In addition to morning sessions, Children's Playroom offers a single moms' parenting program every other Wednesday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Dinner is provided, and the group follows the same format of playtime together followed by a time where moms split off for discussion while the children have supervised activities in another room.
Readers who would like more information or to register for Children's Playroom may call 717-945-9348 or visit http://www.childrensplayroom.org.
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