Positive Indian Parenting

Skokomish ICW will soon be offering Positive Indian Parenting, an eight-part curriculum that’s intent is honoring our children by honoring our traditions. ICW has partnered with Health & Wellness to train our Community Health Representatives as instructors. Currently, we are testing instructional strategies, receiving feedback, and planning to begin offering classes sometime this summer. Positive Indian Parenting is a curriculum for several different groups along the continuum including young people yet to become parents to seasoned parents who have much to share about parenting and their culture. The eight lessons include:

Session 1: Traditional Parenting which introduces historical Native childbearing practices having a great deal to teach parents today.

Session 2: Lessons of the Storyteller explores the tradition of storytelling, communication with children, the development of good judgement, and the importance of nurturing relationships.

Session 3: Lessons of the Cradleboard examine the use of cradleboards, wrapping, massaging, singing, and nurturing ways.

Session 4: Harmony in Child Rearing parents examine harmony, balance, and relationships among all as they look at ways Native people traditionally maintained a harmonious living environment.

Session 5: Traditional Behavior Management explores behavior management through looking at traditional ways and modern skills.

Session 6: Lessons of Mother Nature examines how nature was a teacher and how examples from nature taught people to get along with each other.

Session 7: Praise in Traditional Parenting introduces the idea that praise, and positive reinforcement are important in child-rearing in the past and are still important today.

Session 8: Choices in Parenting addresses the question, “What makes it hard to be a Native parent?”. This session examines where Natives have learned to parent, the circumstances in which they now parent, the problems faced by Native children in today’s world, and cultural issues parents face in parenting.

Check our website for updates!