Jackie Tolland Managing Director Parent Network Scotland
What is Parent Network Scotland?
Parent Network Scotland (PNS) is a parenting organisation based in Glasgow but encompasses all of Scotland. Our aim is to support good relationships between parents and their children. We value parents – knowing they have a difficult role – and they in turn, value their children.
We are also a training organisation who believes that the way forward in parenting is to run courses by parents for parents. We feel this is an extremely powerful way of getting a message across without stigmatising the role of the parent.
Who can access parent groups and workshops?
Our courses are open to all parents in need of support. New parents through to parents with teenagers.
What is on offer at PNS?
We offer flexible parenting programmes to suit both the individual and groups. From full parenting programmes which run for approx 8 weeks to small taster and information courses taking a couple of hours. We also offer one to one coaching and support for parents.
For professionals we offer training and workshops. People can find more information about this on our website.
Recently we’ve been offering feedback to Scottish Government regarding developments around parenting.
What makes PNS different?
PNS is unique in the way it offers support to parents. The support comes from parents who have walked the walk. Parent’s who have brought up children, have worked through and continue to work through issues and who realise that these techniques actually work.
What should parents expect from a workshop?
Parents should expect to come into a flexible, nurturing, relaxed environment, where they are able to meet other parents who are going through similar to them. Parents can expect to learn new tools and techniques to build relationships with their children and in general. The core thread that runs through the courses is promoting good communication and listening skills, linking feelings, needs and behaviours and the importance of self-care for parents.
Who runs your parenting workshops?
Trained facilitators who are all parents who’ve been through a parenting workshop themselves.
Going on a parenting workshop can be intimidating and scary. How do you help parents with this?
We run taster sessions for parents beforehand which gives them an idea of the materials we use and also the opportunity to meet our staff and other parents. This also allows us to meet parents and see where they are at and how best to match their needs with our materials in a way that is meaningful.
What do you feel are the main issues for parents these days?
One of the main issues that parents are presenting with is feeling frustration and not knowing where to turn or what to do when times get tough. Parents can also feel like a failure and lack confidence in asking for help, thinking that they are alone in feeling the way they do.
Everywhere you turn people are telling you how to parent – Supernanny, Nanny 911 on T.V. and parenting courses everywhere you turn. What’s your take on this?
All parenting support has its place and in the right context can be helpful. However every family is different so we should never use a prescriptive programme with families as they all have different strengths and challenges.
If we treat everyone the same, they will start to feel even more isolated. We need to allow and support parents to find their own path through the maze of parenting information and expertise. At PNS we believe more in supporting parent’s build relationships rather than behaviour modification for their children.
We hear a lot about ‘Parental Capacity Building’. Most people haven’t heard of it. What is it and how does it benefit parents?
Parental Capacity Building is about building on the strengths that parents already have – their latent strengths that they themselves may not have identified but can be teased out and built upon. It’s about topping up and adding to the abilities that someone already has. Eg helping a parent to build on their communication skills will help them to improve their interactions with their children’s teachers, doctors etc. all the while increasing their own confidence as they improve their skills. By building on their own capacity, parents are also able to become better role models for their children.
How did you become involved with parenting and PNS?
I became involved in parenting groups when my children were young. I joined a parent support group which gave me confidence and then led to me going back to college. Then I got a part-time work at a volunteer centre and became really interested in community development work. What I loved about community development is that I was able to live and work in my local community, which suited me due to having young children. It was important to me to balance both and it was a struggle – but it was worth it.
These are the opportunities I would like to see open up for our parents. I’m passionate about this work and supporting parents to achieve their goals, whatever that is. However I recognise that there’s a gap in communities between parenting and working. Parents should be able to do both. It shouldn’t need to be one or the other.
What are the long term goals for PNS?
We want to build networks of parents so that more parents feel supported by one another in their community. There is a huge gap that needs to be filled and we want to help parents does that.
We want parents to be able to ask for help without feeling judged and to be supported by someone who has experiences to share. We want parents to be able to gain access to real opportunities within their own community whether gaining qualifications or learning new skills that are transferable.
