“More positive in your days.” That’s the motto of the “Triple P” Positive Parenting Program, a nationally acclaimed parenting program that is now locally available through the Family Resource Center and partnering agencies, thanks to funding from the Wisconsin Board for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect through 2022. 

Partnering agencies – including the YMCA of the Greater Chippewa Valley, UW-Eau Claire Nature Academy, Create-A-World Preschool, Eau Claire Area School District, and several local medical groups – offer three different types of programs geared toward parents: groups, one-on-one sessions, and seminars. Programs address more than 40 various normal challenges a child faces during development, such as whining, separation anxiety, defiance, temper tantrums, and more. The intention is to offer parents skills and tools they can use to alter problematic behaviors at home in positive ways.

“It’s really empowering the parents,” said Jennifer Eddy, director of the Family Resource Center in Eau Claire.

“It’s really empowering the parents,” said Jennifer Eddy, director of the Family Resource Center in Eau Claire.

Though the program focuses on positive outcomes for children, it makes parents feel more confident in their skills, Eddy said, and creates a better home environment for families. One study found that parents who attended a single two-hour discussion group on disobedience saw a 40% improvement in their child’s behavior that lasted nine months.

The program, which was launched locally in September, offers three seminars: “Power of Positive Parenting,” “Raising Confident, Competent Children,” and “Raising Resilient Children.”

“If (parents) use those tools,” said Caroline Wee of the YMCA of the Chippewa Valley, “it makes their family life easier, healthier, and overall happier.”

The timing, according to Wee, couldn’t be better. “Especially through COVID, we’ve seen an increase in domestic dispute and mental illness and child abuse and neglect,” she said. Communities with the Triple P program have better rates of mental health (for parents and kiddos) and lower rates of child abuse and neglect.

"You're not going to be told what to do. You're absolutely not going to be judged. This is definitely not a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all (solution). This is a conversation,” said parent Christine McCorkle.

But it is intended as a program to benefit all families.

“You’re not going to be told what to do,” said Christine McCorkle, a member of the Family Resource Center board. “You’re absolutely not going to be judged. This is definitely not a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all (solution). This is a conversation.”

Local Triple P workshops, seminars, and discussion groups are planned throughout February, March, and beyond. Learn more at www.frcec.org/triple-p or at www.triplep-parenting.com/us/triple-p.