Latrobe Health Assembly and Ladder have united to bring a parenting program with a difference to the Latrobe Valley – encouraging parents to bring about positive change to the family and offering practical strategies to help strengthen and maintain a supportive relationship with their adolescents.
The first of its kind, the Surviving Adolescence program was developed in the Latrobe Valley following the ongoing success of Ladder’s Step Up program which builds independence and self-agency in young people and supports them to engage in education, employment and training. The Latrobe Health Assembly was engaged to support a feasibility study around creating a similar program tailored to parents. The study found that over 80% of parents felt that if they had been offered a program to get support and gain understanding around their young person’s behaviour and how to support them throughout the Step Up program, that this would have strengthened their relationship with their young person.
Recently celebrating the first graduating cohort, Surviving Adolescence is facilitated in a supportive environment for six-eight parents per program and runs for two hours once a week, for seven weeks. It is designed to support parents with young people in the Step Up program, to encourage strong relationships and enhance the outcomes for their family. 100% of graduating parents identified that their relationship with their child improved, that they feel more confident in opportunities to connect with their child, and that they felt the Surviving Adolescence program provided them with the relevant tools to build their relationship with their family.
Feedback from participating parents include: “This program shows that there is hope and help, no matter how hopeless it feels at times” and “It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one having to deal with these issues.”
Latrobe Health Assembly Chair, Tanya Rong, says “Parenting can be challenging, especially as a child reaches adolescence. This program offers a safe and supportive environment for parents to connect and support each other as well learn how to positively interact with their child through the Step Up program and beyond.”
“Our Surviving Adolescence Parenting Program is a complement to the Ladder Step Up Program. The program offers parents a safe space to share their experiences and concerns relating to their teen. Our Parent Development Coach offers relationship-focused approaches to parents and carers so that they can better connect and understand the development of their teen,” says Ladder Acting CEO, Giselle Pinto.
