We’re really chuffed about this day, because several of our White Eagle staff had just been on a training course called Counselling Skills for Youth Workers – they were brimming with enthusiasm to share the material that has been so practically useful in our Children’s Home.
Leading the session was Auntie Sarah, who used a variety of art and craft activities to teach parents ways of dealing with anger in their children. This involved equipping parents to communicate better with their children, emphasising the need to help their children to express their feelings in a healthy way, and exploring ways of counselling them.
Many of these parents had never had the opportunity to do these kinds of activities in their own childhood, and they were absolutely delighted to learn new strategies. There was a lot of laughter and cheering – anyone listening might well have suspected that the parents were just having a load of fun, rather than discussing a serious issue!
We learnt that behind anger, there may be shame, sadness, anxiety, hurt, jealousness, embarrassment and many other things. An angry child isn’t simply “stubborn” but is often desperate for help. As Sarah said: “Creating a beautiful and healthy relationship with your children is an excellent investment, because you will never know when your child is upset if you aren’t on good terms. Do encourage them to talk about the way they feel – and find time to listen, so you can find out what is happening with your children.”
A message like this is so pertinent to many of the families in our community in Masaka. Many children report leaving their homes to the Streets, due to the lack of understanding between them and their parents. In encouraging strong relationships between parents and children in our surrounding communities, we at River of Life Church hope to see unity within families. And it doesn’t matter where you live or who your children are – we can all learn something from this session. Good work, Auntie Sarah!
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