LACASA: Nurturing Parenting
Learning to be a more confident parent
What does it take to be a good mom? That’s what Kassie Green, mother of a two-year-old toddler, wanted to know.
Her son was at the age that isn’t called the “terrible twos” for nothing. “I consider myself a pretty great mom, but I sometimes felt like a failure. If I mess up today, then years from now, what will my son turn out to be? I always have questions, so I figured it would help to learn more,” she says.
Kassie’s not alone. There’s no instruction manual for raising children, and every parent wonders if they’re doing the best job possible.
Dr. Thomas Kellogg, who built a successful dental practice in Howell, had similar doubts. So he sought out help from the Fathers Only program at LACASA, nonprofit serving families in Livingston County. The course teaches fathers, stepfathers, and male caregivers how to be positive role models in their sons’ and daughters’ lives.
His instructor was Jan Lobur, a parenting educator at LACASA for over 20 years. Her practical, real-world approach was just what Dr. Kellogg was looking for.
“I wouldn’t be the parent I am today without it,” he says. ”The course was taught in a loving fashion. Dads talked about their own lives, and learning from each other was the most powerful thing.“
His experience was so positive that, since 2009, the Kellogg Family Foundation has partnered with LACASA to sponsor courses in parenting skills. The 8-week, research-based courses draw on the expertise of leading psychologists, therapists, and child specialists.
Lobur starts by asking parents to write a vision statement about what kind of parent they want to be. “Good parenting is passed down through the generations, and kids learn nurturing at their parent’s knees.”
Kassie says the Nurturing Parenting course helped her deal with the frustrations every parent has. “There’s no sense yelling at my two-year-old. My job is to keep calm for the two of us.”
Ongoing support of parenting education
The Kellogg Family Foundation, the sole sponsor of LACASA’s Nurturing Parenting, Fathers Only, and Parenting 2.0: Surviving the Teen Years, has kept these courses up and running for 13 years and counting.
Bobette Schrandt, LACASA’s president, and CEO says that without the foundation’s ongoing support, her agency couldn’t provide education programs like this to families in Livingston County.
Jan Lobur couldn’t agree more. “Because the foundation believes in parenting education, more than 1,000 moms and dads have learned how to be better parents. What an important legacy the Kellogg Family Foundation will leave for children and families.”
Dr. Kellogg says the impact is far beyond what he expected. “We continue to hear of the amazing ways people’s lives have been changed for the better.”
LACASA’s parenting programs are offered throughout the year. For the latest schedule and registration information, call Jan Lobur at 517-548-1350 or email parenting@lacasacenter.org.
