Parent Articles.
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Michelle's Story |
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I had been facilitating the same group for around a year. The group is in an addiction recovery shelter for women and children. Our Parents Helping Parents group is only a one hour session in the middle of a very busy, structured week, full of many different group sessions for the women. Group numbers can vary from three to twelve mothers. I want to tell you about one session that evolved into a role play scenario that had a powerful and lasting effect on a parent. The group was gathering in the lounge area and all was calm until a parent (I’ll call her Alice), who had been attending for some time, came slamming through the door. She announced to everyone how she felt about a worker in the program; that she had a meeting with her immediately after this session and she was going to (put it politely) punch her out. |
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Ann Marie's Story |
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My name is Ann Marie. I'm 27 years old and am the mother of two children. I have custody of my 2-year-old son, Kaedyn, and my daughter, now 7, was adopted at birth.
I want to share how Parents Helping Parents helped change my life not just as a mother but also a friend, sister, and daughter.
I grew up in Norton, MA, a wealthy, quiet town and went to school there until 8th grade. My parents were active addicts and a big part of my story. My dad was an alcoholic and workaholic who I rarely saw or remember his presence much. My mother was a full blown crackhead who lied to her children and husband, stole and cheated not only herself but her four children from a childhood. DSS and the child welfare system have been involved in my life for as long as I can remember. |
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A Call From Rosa |
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Last week Rosa called the Parental Stress Line. She was crying, and said she was feeling stretched in too many directions, exhausted, and at her wits end. A single mother of a 3 month old infant boy, born prematurely who cries day and night, she is worried. Worried about his adjusting to home. Worried about being a good mother. Worried about her disabled sister who shares the one bedroom in their tiny apartment. When the baby cries at night it wakes her sister. Rosa has tried feeding him and rocking him, walking around with him in her arms. She wants to take the baby to the other room, but it’s cold at night and the bedroom is warmer. She feels alone, isolated and anxious. |
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Parental Resilience: A Protective Factor |
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At Parents Helping Parents we get asked the following question all the time: How do you prevent child abuse? This question is often followed by another even harder question: How does PHP measure success?
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My Time on the Lines |
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Written by: Theresa Kelliher Date: October 2008 When I enrolled in the Family Violence Seminar at Boston University, I was anticipating what most psychology majors have come to expect from a liberal arts course given at a school with more than 18,000 undergrads--a crowded auditorium, full of droopy eyed students trying their best to stay awake during a PowerPoint lecture. That all changed, however, when I learned that in order to pass the course we would have to find an internship relevant to the field. That is when I learned of the opportunity to volunteer on the Parental Stress Line with Parents Helping Parents.
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Mommy Needs a Time Out Too |
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Reflections from a parent currently attending a Parents Helping Parents support group. She wishes to remain anonymous for now. Date: October 2008 When I ask my teenage daughter to do something – and she doesn’t do it – that’s when I lose my temper. What makes me feel so angry is not knowing whether I should fight it out or just do it for her. If we fight, that’s just one more moment of conflict. If I do it for her, I feel she’s taking me for granted. I don’t know which is worse. |
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Immigrant Father Struggles to Remain in his Daughter’s Life |
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Written by: Amy Brinn
Date: 2008-07-03
Francisco (not his real name) is a young man from El Salvador. He grew up in a large, religious family where his parents were uneducated and had to struggle through a difficult civil war. Francisco came to the United States when he was 14 to join his older brother. Francisco had been a strong college-bound student in El Salvador, but when he came here he knew no English and had no money. |
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Getting Triggered By Your Kids. |
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 Written by: Claudia Euler
Date: 2008-07-02
A Parental Stress Line caller says “I told him for the second time not to pull on the shades. My son just glared back at me and said ‘No!’ All I could feel was anger. How dare he defy me!” |
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Determined Mother Breaks the Cycle of Abuse |
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Written by: Andrea Edwards
Date: 2008-07-04
From an outsider’s perspective, Annette’s* childhood seemed ideal. She was a good student living in a beautiful home in an upper-class suburban neighborhood. Behind the illusion, Annette was burdened with a dark secret for five long years. |
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Mother of an Autistic Child Finds Relief on the Parental Stress Line |
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Written by: Randall Block, Executive Director
Date: 2008-07-03
*Names and details have been changed to preserve anonymity and confidentiality. We all pick up the phone here at Parents Helping Parents, so I know that any time I answer a call it could be from a parent crying for help. |
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Raising a Child with ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder |
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 Written by: Sharon Brecher, Mother and Parental Stress Line Volunteer
Date: 2008-07-03
I love to hear the QUIETNESS in you. You who are usually in motion. You who are accustom to creating a commotion. I love to hear the QUIETNESS in you. You, my soul son, I love to hear the QUIETNESS in you. Mom |
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Resources for Parents 
