Top 5 Reasons for Parents to Attend

Top 5 Reasons:

There are many benefits to you as a parent for attending a Family Honor program at your parish (or in your home – ask us about this new option).  Here is our list of the Top 5:

5.   You’ll find our programs to be relaxed and fun. 

We know the thought of talking about sex, chastity, dating, marriage, communication and other sensitive topics with your son or daughter can be, well … daunting. But we also know many parents are looking for help in protecting their children from the unrelenting immoral influences in today’s culture.

So, we created our programs to put participants at ease, and also to have some fun built in!  (Note our Family Honor Presenter, Alex, in his lobster hat during one of our recent Real Love & Real Life program skits!)

Although some serious issues are covered, too, our Presenters typically try to keep things light-hearted and deliver the material in a variety of ways, via skits, Power Point, video, audience participation, colorful graphics, and small group break outs. This kind of format takes a lot of the anxiety out of talking about sex and chastity – for both you as a parent and your teen or pre-teen.

Go to:  https://familyhonor.org/elk-county-catholic-2014-photos to view some photos from one of our Real Love & Real Life programs.

4.   You’ll gain increased confidence and receive helpful information.

Research done specifically on Family Honor has shown that parents have an increased sense of both confidence and competence in speaking with their children about sexuality-related issues after participating in our programs. Parents appreciate the information and materials we provide to them during the programs, and also the additional list of updated resources we make available after the programs for those who complete the short evaluation.   To read more about the qualities of effective abstinence programs, go to: https://www.familyhonor.org/research/index.html

3.   Your child will be given age-appropriate information.

Family Honor programs were created to be age-appropriate, so you can feel secure in the knowledge that material on chastity, fetal development, dating, male-female complementarity, fertility appreciation and more is geared toward the stage of development your son or daughter is in.  (As another option, if you want some help with those important conversations, but you’re not sure your child is ready for the program your parish is hosting, we invite you to attend by yourself.)

2.   You’ll spend focused time with your son or daughter (for our parent-child programs) or with your spouse (for our parent-only programs).

Parent-child programs:

One of the other great benefits of participating in a Family Honor parent-child program is that you get away from all the other daily distractions (phones, television, sports practice, dentist appointments, grocery shopping, etc.) to focus on some of the most important topics in life with one of your children in a way that meets their needs and shows them that you are giving these conversations a priority. That speaks volumes!

In addition, you will likely enhance the sense of ‘connectedness’ with your adolescent by attending with them and participating with them. Research shows that the perceived sense of ‘connectedness’ (which researchers defined as the sense of warmth and caring from the parent, perceived by the child) is the single biggest factor in reducing risk-taking behavior among adolescents.

Parent-only programs:

Two of our four programs are actually for parents only. One of these is Leading & Loving, for parents of young children. In this program, you and your spouse have the opportunity to think and plan how you will frame issues with your children – even at an early age – on topics relating to sexuality, gender differences, respect for life, male-female complementarity, and Church teaching on these subjects. Children are asking provocative questions at younger ages, and many parents aren’t sure how much or what information to give. This program will help.

In Staying Connected, our parent-only program for those who have high-school age teens, parents get to hear some updated information on teen brain development and what types of conversations work best with your older adolescent.  We zoom in on how parents of older teens can respond authoritatively and lovingly with the more challenging questions of those teens.

1.  You’ll have a faith-based experience, with Christ as the center.

Family Honor’s mission sums it up: we provide and promote a family-centered, Catholic approach to chastity education.

Our programs are grounded in Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the teaching documents of the church such as Humanae Vitae, Saint Pope John Paul II’s Familiaris Consortio and the Theology of the Body.

God is the author of life, and the very meaning of love. Thus, programs for young people which talk about sex should include the meaning of being created male and female in God’s image, the virtue of chastity, the qualities of Christ-like love, the privilege of being co-creators with God in forming a new human life, and ultimately what all this means for the human person –  how we live our life and the choices we make.

To find out more about Family Honor programs, go to:

https://familyhonor.org/program-descriptions/ or call our office at: 803.929.0858