Effective Black Parenting

A dynamic and culturally relevant skill-building program for raising proud and confident African-American Children

Until the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC) created the Effective Black Parenting Program in the late 1970's, there were no programs that addressed these problems head on. There were also no programs that taught parenting skills in a manner that was respectful of African American patterns of communication and which recognized the African roots of the Extended Black Family. Thus, the program occupies a very special place in the history of parenting education in the United States.

CICC's Effective Black Parenting Program, which is based on an achievement orientation to African American parenting, provides an excellent learning and relearning context to help parents of African American children do the best job possible. Its basic ideas are derived from the writings of African American parenting scholars, from research with African American parents, and from adaptations of parenting skills that have been found helpful in raising children of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Each of the parenting strategies and skills in CICC's Effective Black Parenting Program is taught by making reference to African proverbs like "Children are the reward of life" or "A shephard does not strike his sheep." The systematic use of these proverbs helps to ground the teachings of the program in the wisdom and skillfulness of the African ancestors, and is an example of one of the many ways that the program promotes cultural pride.

Between the period when the program was first taught in 1979 to the date of this writing, 1998, over 100,000 parents have enrolled and benefitted.

What Parents Say About the Effective Black Parenting Program

"After taking the course, I would like to see more Blacks become involved, including my family members. My feelings are exactly like coming to know God. Once you've seen the light, you want everyone to see the same light so we as a race will not parish."
Tulsa, Oklahoma

"My son loves me now. He doesn't fear me."
Minneapolis, Minnesota

"It taught me to be more patient with my children, to listen, to know that they are l ittle human beings and have feelings too. Somehow that go lost - so it put me back on track."
Oakland, California

"I learned things from the class that I really needed to know. A lot of us didn't always get the structure from our parents, so we're trying to break out of that parenting cycle into on that will allow us to help our children meet their goals."
Seattle, Washington

"I never gave my children a chance to express themselves. It was always 'Shut up. I'm the mother, you're the child. What I say goes, and that's that.' But what I've come to realize is that children have ideas and opinions too and they need to express them."
Los Angeles, California

The complete Effective Black Parenting Program is designed to be taught as a class for small groups of 15 to 30 parents. The class meets for 15 3-hour sessions on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. The last session is a graduation ceremony where the parents receive certificates and deliver brief speeches. The class is often taught in schools, churches, mosques, agencies, community centers and even in private homes.

An instructor conducts the class, using a 333 page manual that contains fully-scripted guidelines for teaching each session and each of the program's parenting skills, strategies and special topics. The instructor demonstrates each skill and then has the parents practice it in class before going home to use it with their children. The instructor also uses a series of hightly attractive charts (instructional transparencies) to help parents learn and recall key points.

The parents receive a Parent's Handbook that reinforces what the instructor teaches. The Handbook includes the activities the parents are to engage in at home as they apply the program's parenting skills. Parents report each week on their home use of skills and receive helpful feedback from their instructor and classmates.

A brief version of the program for large groups of parents is also available.

The One-Day Seminar teaches a shortened version of several of the program's parenting strategies and skills.

Seminar leaders use a special Seminar Leader's Guide, along with the manual for the class version, as they conduct this training event. They also show many of the charts from the class version.

Each parent receives a special Parent's Guide that outlines everything that is taught in the seminar. Parents take this guide home with them to remind them how to use the strategies and skills they learned in the seminar.

The Seminar Version is designed for anywhere from 50 to 500 parents, and can be taught at any setting in the community that has a large meeting hall or auditorium. It has been used as an introduction to the complete program and as a vehicle for recruiting parents into the complete program. It has also been used as a gala, stand-alone educational event. Either type of use provides the participating parents with a stimulating day of training, and with skills they can use immediately.