Children 1st is a class for parents who have difficulty communicating with their co-parent in an effective manner. The Children 1st class is designed to help parents understand their respective roles in the conflict, learn to take personal responsibility and reduce blame. Parents will learn empathy for their children and to put their children’s interests and well-being first.
Learning Objectives
- Conflict. Parents will learn how their behavior contributes to the conflict and the importance of effective co-parenting so as to limit the long-term effects of the conflict on their children/ themselves.
- Stress Reduction. Parents will learn what triggers their stress response, drives the conflict with their co-parent, and the skills to respond and not react. Parents will learn how stress, anger, violence, and substance use exacerbate conflict with their co-parent as well as stress-reduction techniques to help be more present for their children.
- Communication Skills. Parents will learn how to communicate effectively with each other to reduce the conflict between them. Skills include flexible thinking, managing their emotions, moderating behaviors; writing structured email/text communication; and developing a response protocol.
- Skills practice/The Plan. In Week 4, parents come together to prepare a child-focused communication plan and commit to focusing on quality parenting and child-focused resolutions.
Next Steps
To enroll, complete the following steps. Please remember, to register for the class per the Judge’s order, steps one and two are required. Failure to complete these steps and take the class may result in contempt of court for failure to comply with the Judge’s order.
Step One: Complete the Intake/Registration Form
Step Two: Pay the Fee ($800)
Class Requirements for Certificate of Completion
We encourage divorcing parents to register and attend Children 1st to learn positive coparenting skills. You can use the “intake form” above to register and voluntarily take the class. If you’ve been ordered to take the class; the following requirements are set forth by the Superior Court Judges:
- Each party must attend four, 2-hour classes held on consecutive Saturdays in a given month.
- Each party must fill out the required intake form located on our website and pay the fee in full before the first class.
- Each party must attend all four consecutive classes and do any and all required work to receive a Certificate of Completion.
Class Information
Location: Virtual
Dates: The Children’s 1st Parenting Class is held on four consecutive Saturdays. Classes in 2026 will be held on the following dates
-
Session 1: April 18, 25, May 2, 9
-
Session 2: July 11, 18, 25, August 1
-
Session 3: October 3, 10, 17, 24
Start/Stop Times: Start time is either listed on the court order or will be assigned by staff.
- Morning Sessions: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET
- Afternoon Sessions: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
Length: 8 hours (2 hours each weekend)
Fee: $800
Questions? Contact Lucy at lrau@mediationsavannah.com
