Parenting Education and Support
Parents are the first and most important teachers in their children’s lives. When parents have the information, support and partnership from their community, children thrive.
Parenting education classes are a great way to improve your parenting game. These classes help parents learn useful discipline techniques, how to best empower their children, and how to thrive as a family. They remind parents to have fun and recognize the positive impact they have on their children’s lives. They help parents find ways to reach their parenting goals.
Parenting Education Series have 7-12 class sessions. Child care is often provided, and the courses are usually free. The parenting education series courses listed below are taught in Washington County. Ready to sign up? See the Parenting Together Washington County calendar.
ABCs of Parenting – A Nurturing Parenting Series.
For parents of children ages 5-8.
7 class sessions
Parents and caregivers will learn problem-solving strategies, discipline techniques, and setting age-appropriate expectations.
Strengthening Families 10-14
For parents and their children 10-14 years of age.
7 class sessions
Youth will learn ways to handle stress, anger and peer pressure.
Parents will learn what to expect from their teen and practice strategies for effectively parenting teens.
Incredible Years
For parents of children ages 3-8.
10 – 14 class sessions
Parents will learn how to strengthen their children’s social and emotional skills, ways to manage misbehavior, and strategies for setting clear routines, limits, and expectations. It also covers how to strengthen the parent-child bond through play.
Abriendo Puertas
For Latino parents and caregivers of children ages 2-7.
10 class sessions
This series is taught in Spanish and supports parents in promoting school readiness. Topics include child development, positive discipline, early literacy, health and exercise. The classes help Latino parents embrace their important role in their children’s education.
Circle of Security
For parents and caregivers of children 4-months – 6 years an eight-week parenting group that highlights how children communicate their emotional needs and how parents can best respond.
Parenting Together Sponsored Workshops
Parenting Workshops are single sessions on one specific topic. They may be for parents or parents and children learning together. See the Parenting Together Washington County calendar to sign up for a workshop near you.
Community Workshops and Courses
The links below send you to other websites to find courses that are useful to parents.
Childbirth and Parenting workshops from Tuality Healthcare are offered on topics such as Childbirth Preparation, Infant Care Basics, Breastfeeding Basics, and Food and Fitness for Families. There is also a free child car seat installation clinic.
Health and Wellness classes are available from Providence Health and Services.
CPR/First Aid training is available from Tuality Healthcare. Courses for groups of people can be scheduled through the Red Cross. An online CPR class is available from Course for CPR. Knowledge of CPR and First Aid is recommended for all parents.
FACT Oregon offers workshops for parents who have children with special needs. Topics include Transition to Kindergarten, Understanding IEPs and Special Education Rights.
Virginia Garcia Wellness Center in Cornelius offers events for all community members. These include parenting education and nutrition courses. Check the website regularly for updated offerings.
Oregon Food Bank offers:
- Cooking Matters 6-week course to teach healthy cooking and budgeting skills
- Seed to Supper 6-week course that teaches participants how to garden on a budget
Rentwell offers a 15-hour class throughout the Portland Metro area on how to be a successful renter. It is for people who may be having a hard time renting.
Adelante Mujeres offers education programs which empower low-income Latina women through learning in order to positively impact the entire family.
Family Resource Coordinators are in every school district and provide one-on-one parenting support for families with children prenatally through age six. Services include quality child care information, early literacy and parenting strategies. They also help with basic needs (food, clothing and hygiene products). Call Help Me Grow at 503-726-0879 to locate a Family Resource Coordinator near you.
La Leche League of Beaverton covers the practical, physical and psychological aspects of breastfeeding.
Providence Beginnings is a maternity support program for women who plan to deliver their babies at a Providence hospital.
Tuality Healthcare’s Baby Club support group is for parents of children less than 1 year.
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a free program for women and children from low- to moderate-income families who qualify. The program is for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women and caregivers with children up to age five. Support topics include prenatal care, breastfeeding, nutrition, buying healthy food, and referrals to health and social services.
Kids Turn Family Law Education is a child-oriented educational program for families who are being reorganized due to separation, divorce or custody. It is a four-week program provided by Youth Contact. Call 503-846-0665.
Marital, couples and co-parenting counseling is available through Washington County. Get up to four sessions for free. Call 503-846-3428.
Safe Families for Children is a free program that provides support to parents in crisis. It gives them time to get back on their feet while their children are cared for in a loving and safe place. Children from 0-18 years old can be cared for any length of time with no loss of parental rights. Parents dealing with homelessness, unemployment, incarceration, drug addiction, illness, hospital stays or other crisis may be eligible.
Centro Cultural in Cornelius offers adult education in topics such as citizenship, English as a Second Language (ESL), GED and computer literacy.
Help Me Grow provides free prenatal care referral services, parenting resources and tips to support your child’s healthy growth and development. Oregon Health Plan application support also available. Help Me Grow knows Washington County and we want to get you connected. Give us a call for your parenting related concerns and we’ll let you know what Washington County has to offer. Please contact Help Me Grow at [email protected] or call 503-726-0879.
Healthy Families of Oregon (HFO) Healthy Families is a free family support and home visiting program for all expectant and new parents. It provides parenting information and resources including healthy infant and child development, parent skill building and community resources.
Nurse Family Partnership is a home visiting program for first-time mothers and their babies. It is focused on promoting healthy pregnancies, births and children.
Children’s Relief Nursery at Lifeworks NW provides early childhood education programs, home visitation and parent education and support for children through age four.
Early Head Start Home Visiting Program is a year-round program that provides weekly home visits to families. The purpose of the home visits is to promote secure parent-child bonds. It helps parents provide high-quality early learning experiences in the home.
Family Support and Connections helps families increase resiliency and reduce risk factors that may contribute to child abuse and neglect.