The Parents Forever: Education for Families in Transition curriculum provides everything you need to facilitate a Parents Forever course. Use this curriculum to help parents and caregivers of children:
Describe the family transition journey and how each family member will be affected.
Recognize the role of self-care, parent-child relationships, and coparenting in child well-being.
Identify internal and external resources. Also plan how to leverage these resources to promote resilience for all involved.
Please note this curriculum includes a 4-hour course and an 8-hour course.
Learn more about the Parents Forever theory of change that informed the curriculum.
What is covered by the curriculum?
The Parents Forever is organized into five main sessions. These five sessions comprise a continuum. They are intended to be taught in order described below.
The Parents Forever: Education for Families in Transition curriculum provides everything you need to facilitate a Parents Forever course. Use this curriculum to help parents and caregivers of children:
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Describe the family transition journey and how each family member will be affected.
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Recognize the role of self-care, parent-child relationships, and coparenting in child well-being.
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Identify internal and external resources. Also plan how to leverage these resources to promote resilience for all involved.
The second Parents Forever session is about self-care. It uses the analogy of a plane trip throughout the curriculum. Parents learn that “you need to put on your own oxygen mask first before helping your children or others put on theirs’.”
After participating in this session, parents will be able to:
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Describe thoughts and feelings associated with the family transition process.
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Examine the links between self-care and life skills needed during and after the family transition.
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Analyze how personal needs and wants affect goals and create an action plan to improve self-care for the future.
The third Parents Forever session is about parent-child relationships. It helps parents realize that they and their children need each other. They can both help each other through the family transition journey.
After participating in this session, parents will be able to:
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Recognize how stages of child development influence children’s journey through the family transition.
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Identify characteristics of parent-child relationships that improve child wellbeing.
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Apply knowledge and identify skills that will lead to improved parent-child relationships.
The fourth Parents Forever session reaffirms that children’s parents are “parents forever,” even if they are not living in the same household.
After participating in this session, parents will:
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Reflect on the nature of their co-parenting relationships.
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Apply the communication and conflict management skills needed to have an effective co-parenting relationship.
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Recognize that a parenting plan is an effective tool to help prepare for positive co-parenting.
The fifth, and last, Parents Forever session helps parents understand that the family transition will take time. They will eventually reach a satisfactory “destination.” After participating in this session, parents will be able to describe how everything works together to improve family well-being.
What is included with the curriculum?
The Parents Forever curriculum is web-based. Purchasing the curriculum gives you access to the Parents Forever facilitator website. This website is the “one stop shop” and contains all of the resources you need to teach the program. This includes the following resources.
Parents Forever Facilitator Guide
Parents Forever Presentation — full and abridged versions
Links to preview and buy the Parents Forever Parent Handbook
Links to download all six Parents Forever videos, including the Four parenting styles video
Link to download the Ages and stages game
Print-friendly versions of all participant handouts
Covers to create your own facilitator and presentation binders
Purchasing curriculum access
The Parents Forever curriculum is only available through the Parents Forever facilitator website.
Organizations or independent facilitators can buy access to this website for a onetime fee. Pricing structure varies on the number of individuals to be trained. Please contact us for more details.
These fees are a one-time cost.
All facilitators who teach one hour or more of a Parents Forever need to buy access to the Parents Forever facilitator website.
In order buy access to the facilitator website, you must complete the training prerequisites. See more about the Parents Forever Facilitator Training.
Still have questions? Watch the free Parents Forever Introductory Webinar. It reviews the 2014 curriculum revision, changes that have occurred in the Parents Forever program, and more. Note, this same webinar is also incorporated into the facilitator training.
If you have more specific questions, please contact us.
Reviewed in 2022