( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) Dr. Lisa Pion-Berlin and Parents Anonymous Help Families Improve And Grow Closer
ENSPIRE Contributor: Elizabeth Casillas
Founded in 1969 by Jolly K, Parents Anonymous has worked to improve the lives of parents and children and shed a light on community issues relating to family structure.
Parents Anonymous was the first family strengthening program created and is still the only evidence-based Parent Partner Program. They started by creating a pathway for parents to strengthen their families, and they have evolved over time into the organization they are today.
In recent times Parents Anonymous has greatly expanded on what they do. They currently have hundreds of accredited organizations and many local affiliates who work with them to spread the Parent Anonymous programs for parents and students.
Dr. Lisa Pion-Berlin has been working with them since 1992 and is the President and CEO of Parents Anonymous. With her 38 years of research, advocacy, and program implementation focusing on Evidence-Based Services and Initiatives she has worked hard to keep Parents Anonymous in the lives of families throughout the nation.
With the impact coronavirus has had on families, Dr. Lisa had important tips to share with parents regarding how to treat children during these trying times.
On the topic of online lectures, Dr. Lisa stresses balancing school learning and assignments with regular paper and pencil activities. If a lecture can be done with physical worksheets and the like, it should be done that way to minimize screen time. Adding to this, with the added amount of screen time, parents should be monitoring the blue light setting on all of their children’s devices.
For difficult lectures, parents should talk with their children about staying focused, practice mediation, or finding a buddy in class they can work on all assignments with.
Outside of school, parents should work on creating a normal routine for their children. A family meeting could have everyone involved in creating a routine with fun and playtime. Exercise should be planned for all family members and extra emphasis should be placed on having fun and fostering creativity.
Dr. Lisa also offered suggestions for masks during the pandemic, specifically masks that children would find easy to wear. She recommends having the child choose the mask, or create a mask with their favorite character to encourage them to wear it. This mask should also be thoroughly washed daily.
