Isaiah 43 teaches parents constructive discipline

   
One of Archbishop Gregory Aymond’s specific responses to the epidemic of violence in the Archdiocese of New Orleans was to establish the Isaiah 43 program to offer parenting classes and mentoring programs that would help strengthen family life.
    
The parenting workshops consist of five, two-hour sessions for parents of 5- to 12-year-olds who want to find better ways to encourage and discipline their children. The workshops are based on an established program called “Active Parenting,” and that model has been modified to include Catholic components such as Scripture, faith and prayer, said Kristina Gibson, director of Isaiah 43.
    
“It all starts in the home,” Gibson said. “What we see in the community is the direct result of the disintegration of the family unit and the morals and the values that are not being instilled. The home is the domestic church.”
    
The workshops are designed to teach parents how to enhance respect among family members and self-esteem among children and create a relationship based on “active listening, honest communication and problem solving.”

Conflict resolution
The workshops cover topics such as parenting styles, the power of encouragement, building cooperation, fostering empathy, praying creatively, resolving conflicts, using effective discipline without corporal punishment and cultivating a spirit of forgiveness.
    
Dinner and free childcare are offered during the sessions, which are held at several parishes across the archdiocese. About 40 workshops have been offered in the last two years. Daughter of Charity Sister Salvatrice Murphy, who just moved into the archdiocese, is now serving as program coordinator of Isaiah 43.
    
“Many parents are frustrated because they are trying to do the best they can, and they are frustrated because maybe they are not seeing the results they would like to see,” Gibson said. “We tend to do what we know how to do, and sometimes we see parents continuing to use the methods they grew up with or the things that came from their family. We talk a lot about not using corporal punishment. We’re trying to support parents with using some of the new methods of discipline.”
    
“Nonviolent discipline can be effective,” Sister Salvatrice added. “It also helps with buy-in when parents have the understanding that when we say ‘nonviolent discipline,’ we’re not saying we want kids to get away with bad behavior. Once parents understand that they’re not going to be doormats for their kids, they buy in.”
    
For more information on the Isaiah 43 parenting classes, call 310-8772 or go to www.isaiah43.org.