Action Tips: Lead a Child Care Workshop

Parenting is full of responsibility, but the job doesn't come with a manual. With the help of child care experts, lead a workshop to teach current parents (and those to-be) the importance of proper child care.

Find your expertise.

There are tons of skilled professionals in the child care field. Look in the following areas to find your virtuosos of parenting and see if they’d be willing to volunteer their time:

• Find a social worker in your area that specifically deals with healthy parenting.
• Check with your school psychologist if they have dealt with students dealing with child abuse.
• Bring in workers from your local YMCA or Red Cross to teach parents on how to make good decisions with children.

Figure out your program.

What exactly are you trying to teach with your workshop? Develop an effective child abuse seminar. Try to include:

• Warning signs to look out for when a child is being abused
• Effective problem/resolution exercises to deal with parent-child issues
• Personal anecdotes of survivors of child abuse
• Resources to get help

If possible, try to expand the workshop into a multi-week course.

Set up base at your location.

You want to make sure that your workshop is located in a comfortable environment (talking about a somber issue wouldn’t be best in a cold setting). Host it in a church or library in your town, or perhaps even your home.

Get the word out.

Make sure that local parents hear about your workshop and lure them in with effective advertising. Flyer up at your local community center, day care centers, children’s stores, and hospitals to spread the event.