Breaking Free, Inc. Aurora
120 Gale St.
Aurora, IL 60506
Phone (630) 897-1003 Fax (630) 897-1042
© Copyright 2012 Breaking Free, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed by Kestrel Marketing, Inc.
Parenting Education Programs
Breaking Free uses the Nurturing Parenting Program, a family-based program that provides parents
with the skills they need for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. The goals of program are to:
- Increase parents’ sense of self-worth, personal empowerment, empathy, bonding, and attachment.
- Increase the use of alternative strategies to harsh and abusive disciplinary practices.
- Increase parents’ knowledge of age-appropriate developmental expectations.
- Reduce abuse and neglect rates.
The program is based on psychoeducational and cognitive-behavioral approaches to learning and focuses
on "re-parenting": helping parents learn new patterns of parenting to replace their existing, learned, abusive patterns. Through questionnaires,
discussion, role-play, and audiovisual exercises, participants learn how to nurture themselves as individuals and in turn build their
nurturing family and parenting skills as dads, moms, sons, and daughters.
Family members develop their awareness, knowledge,
and skills in five areas:
- Age-appropriate expectations;
- Empathy, bonding, and attachment;
- Nonviolent nurturing discipline;
- Self-awareness and self-worth; and
- Empowerment, autonomy, and healthy independence.
Participating families attend sessions at community sites in
a group format with other families. These sessions combine separate experiences for parents and children with shared "family nurturing
time."
These programs are offered in cooperation with community partners, including schools, churches, neighborhood and community
agencies. A variety of specialized programs are available, including one for parents recovering from drug and alcohol dependence.
For more information about these services email Nikki Lay, Director of Prevention Services or call her at 630-897-1003, x327.