Parent Discussion Group Program – Local Promotion

Here is what one community is doing to promote Please Stop the Rollercoaster! parent discussion groups. Great job, Needham!

If your community is beginning to plan for fall and you are looking for programming to support parents with teenagers, consider offering Please Stop the Rollercoaster! parent discussion groups. What makes this program unique is that we don’t tell you how to parent. Rather, we guide parents by providing evidence-based information in a context that respects their beliefs and values. We ask parents questions that get them thinking and talking together with their peers. This process helps parents gain an important sense of empowerment and confidence, while they develop a supportive network within their communities.  More than anything, parents learn that what they are feeling and experiencing doesn’t have to isolate them, when they share it with their peers they realize they are all experiencing similar things…. and it helps to share the journey.

The program is modeled after a book group except here the group meets after reading each chapter. Everything for the discussion group is contained in the book Please Stop the Rollercoaster! How Parents of  Teenagers Can Smooth Out the Ride. The 8 chapters in the book cover the range of issues typical families are likely to face; the content is appropriate for parents with children in grades 6 – 11. There are two ways Rollercoaster! groups can work: they can be self-facilitated, just like a book group, or they can have a facilitator who guides the group by using one of our Leader’s Guides. We offer Leader’s Guides that are secular, and ones that are customized for use the Christian and Jewish faith communities.

Parents across the country have enhanced their relationships with their teenagers through Please Stop the Rollercoaster parent discussion groups. Learn more, download excerpts and watch our short video.