Course Information

The Common Sense Parenting Course modeled after the Boys Town USA Family Home Program was first offered in January 1989 at Offut Air Force Base in Nebraska.  Since then, thousands of families have been served.  The course has been successfully replicated at other locations in the United States.  The Common Sense Parenting?has been available in the CNMI since October 1997, and since then, there have been over 500 graduates from Saipan, Tinian & Rota.  The program has shown benefits for parents from a wide variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and parents having a history of difficult parenting.

The Common Sense Parenting is designed as a practical approach to help parents be more positive with their children and to use more effective discipline that will motivate their children to cooperate and behave in a more positive, desired, and cceptable manner.  It emphasizes on "disciplining from the heart".  It helps reduce parents?likelihood of yelling and resorting to harsh discipline. 

The program consists of six (6) two-hour sessions, once a week led by a Boys Town USA-certified instructor.  Parents are taught skills that help them encourage positive behavior, discourage negative behavior and teach alternative positive ehaviors.  The program model used focuses on experiential learning, using several methods, including role-play.  Each week, parents are assigned a new skill to use at home with real situations concerning their children.  The parents are provided with free Common Sense Parenting parent manuals, skill cards, student folders, and other materials.When parents have completed all six (6) sessions, they receive a Boys Town USA Certificate of Completion.

Classes can be taught in English, Chamorro, Carolinian, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean or Palauan.  Class schedules are available, although are subject to change. 

Outline of the Sessions