When parents step up and help form their children as their first teachers, it not only stengthens families. I also strengthens our parishes and schools. We wan to help you empower your parents to be constructive forces in the lives of their children, their parish and their school and our parent formation talks are designed to help parents know how much their parish and school is there to support them.

The 2017 study Ask your Father and he will tell you: A Report on American Catholic Religious Parenting by the University of Notre Dame documents the powerful role that parents can play in helping their children to understand the faith, especially regarding the teachings of the Church regarding love, marriage and the human person. However, many parents don’t know how much they can positively influence their children. They need some basic information and encouragement. Our office’s role is to help provide parents that information so that they can be a strategic partner with schools in helping children embrace their Catholic faith and grow closer to God.

Our presentations include the following:

• Great Conversations: how to strengthen our families in challenging times by sharing God's plan for love and marriage
• Kids and Technology: managing screentime and protecting children from online risks
• Made for excellence: Forming habits that lead our children (and us) to good decisions

Time: 45 minutes or more - the more time we have the more material we can cover and the more time we have for the presentation to be interactive
Cost: $0 - This is a free service of the Office of Marriage and Family LIfe

Below are some tips for a successful parent presentation:

• Promote the event early and often:
  • Include a save the date notice for the in an E-newsletter to families one month ahead of the presentation
  • Promote the event three weeks below through a notice w/in the bulletin
  • Use the flyer below as a bulletin and school newsletter insert two weeks in advance of the presentation.
  • Remind parents of the event with a bulletin notice or 
• Provide an incentive - many schools offer a free dress day or some other incentive to draw parents. This isn't so much about the incentive as a signal that the event is important to the school
• Link to curriculum - Telling parents that the material offered in the parent formation presentation connects to what their children are learning in the classroom engages their interest. It also lays the groundwork for parents to help reinforce the most important things you want their children to learn. Don't hesitate to let our presenters know if there are certain messages you want to reinforce.

The Office of Marriage and Family Life is very happy to support parent formation events at your parish or school. If you have the ability to edit a pdf, use the link below for a template for a flyer to promote events in your community. You can then edit the template to tailor it to your particular event. Please review the file carefully to ensure that you have edited it properly so it includes only information relevant for your event.

PDF flyer for Great Conversations

If you need help in creating a flyer and promoting the events, contact our office at eric.paige@seattlearch.org.