So Much More Than Just a Pack of Diapers
After spending nearly 25 years serving teen mothers ... not pregnant teens, but teenage mothers: teenage girls who gave birth to their children and chose to parent those precious lives ... I'm always interested in finding out what others are doing to "serve" teen mothers.
What I have found is that many Pregnancy Care Centers or Pregnancy Resource Centers provide some sort of "parenting curriculum" for those pregnant teens who will eventually choose to parent their children. How the parenting curriculum is provided is what I find sad.
The parenting curriculum process usually goes something like this: A teen mother is told to watch a video. After listening to someone on the video talk about parenting issues (nutrition, diaper rash, and the importance of playing with your child, etc.) the teen mother fills out a worksheet that is supposed to show how much she has learned from watching the video. After handing her worksheet to the center's Director, the teen mother is allowed to take a box of wipes, some baby formula or a pack of diapers as a "reward" for what she has learned.
What makes this process of providing valuable information to teen mothers so sad is ... we could do so much more with just a little more effort!
Teen mothers are just that; mothers who happen to be teenagers. This means that most of them learn and retain information much better if it is presented to them in an interactive way. For example, instead of sitting teen mothers in front of a DVD player where they simply watch and listen, wouldn't it be more productive to have a live person (who is an expert in whatever topic is being discussed) sharing information in a way which allows the teen mothers to ask questions or make comments?
This is how the TMCInternational-model provides information to teen mothers. TMCInternational refers to this program component as: Lifeskills Workshops. Lifeskills Workshops are so much more than a "parenting curriculum." Lifeskills Workshops cover topics in all of The Five Life Roles of a Teen Mother; teenager, mother, student, employee and seeker. Each of the weekly Lifeskills Workshops are taught be a volunteer who is an expert in that particular field.
For example, if a Lifeskills Workshop is on "Good Study Habits", a current or retired high school teacher would be a perfect speaker for this workshop. The speaker can share information and stories about his/her experience as a teacher and the teen mothers can share their own specific study habit concerns with the speaker.
Providing teen mothers with information that they will remember and actually use needs to be presented to them in such a way that they want to receive it. Valuable information that teen mothers desperately need is worth so much more than just a pack of diapers!
If you are interested in learning more about TMCInternational's Lifeskills Workshops, check out http://www.tmcint.org/index.cfm/get-equipped/preview-tmci-training-resources/individual-components-of-the-directors-guide/lifeskills-workshops-tm/ for more information!
