United Way California Capital Region certified nonprofit partner The Center for Violence-free Relationships is giving parents an opportunity to improve their relationships with their children by focusing on compassionate communication that fosters connection and a strong bond between parent and child.
 

The Center is offering the “Parenting from your Heart” eight week workshops to parents to help them build a stronger connection with their children. The workshop will be held on Mondays starting on September 26th and ending November 21st from 6-8 p.m.
 

The “Parenting from your heart” series will help parents understand the needs behind their children’s behavior, empower their kids to open up, cooperate and realize their full potential and handle disagreements, problem behaviors, and tantrums without yelling, spanking or relying on the threat of punishment or the promise of rewards.

The workshops will focus primarily on teaching parents Nonviolent Communication (NVC), founded by Marshall Rosenberg. NVC has been used around the world to mediate conflicts, nurture relationships, and promote peace. NVC is also known as giraffe language because the giraffe has the largest heart of all land mammals. It is considered the language of compassion and/or the language of the heart.

“The best part about this workshop is that it allows the parents to stay connected to their desire to love their children consistently and empowers them and their children to connect at the heart level. What happens when this occurs is almost magical,” said Zacapa, who has seen this happen in many parents lives. “The result is parent and child reaching out and working together to meet each others needs compassionately.”

The Center for Violence-free Relationships is dedicated to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual assault and domestic violence through education, advocacy and services in western El Dorado County.

The “Parenting from your heart” workshops will be held at The Center for Violence-Free Relationships at 344 Placerville Dr., Suite 11, Placerville, CA 95667. To sign up or for more information contact Eddie Zacapa at 530-295-4210 or 916-916-939-4464 or  EddieZ@thecenternow.org.