PLEASE NOTE:  THE CHILDREN 1ST: HIGH CONFLICT PARENTING CLASS FOR APRIL IS CANCELED.  AS SOON AS IT IS SAFE TO CONVENE, WE WILL EMAIL YOU THE DATES AND TIMES.

 

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. Parents are required to attend this class by court order or a parent can request to take the class by emailing Trish Murphy, Director of the Family Law Resource Center & Children 1st class, at tmurphy@mediationsavannah.com.

To enroll, complete the following two steps:

#1 – Complete the Confidential Intake Form

#2 – Pay the Fee ($800)

**The Order to Attend is a court order and can not and will not be changed by The Mediation Center.  If you can’t attend all 4 consecutive classes, can’t pay the fee in full on-time or have any other compliance issue,  you must address it with the Judge’s office.**

If you’re voluntarily enrolling in the class: In 2020, the Children 1st: High Conflict Parenting Class will be held in February, April, August and October. The class meets the first four Saturdays in those months. You must complete all four Saturdays in the month in which you enroll. When you complete the Confidential Intake Form, you will select the month you’d like to enroll.  Meeting times on Saturdays are from 10am-12pm or 1pm-3pm and your session time will be selected by staff dependent upon availability.

Children 1st Class Requirements:

• Each party must attend four (4), two-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 4 consecutive classes and do any and all required work to receive a Certificate of Completion.

Parents attending this class will learn the following:

• Conflict:  Parents will learn how their behavior contributes to the conflict. Parents will learn the importance of effective co-parenting so as to limit the long-term effects of the conflict on their children and 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 to conflict.   Parents will learn ways that stress, anger, violence and substance use exacerbates the problems with their co-parent. Parents will learn stress-reduction techniques & how to be present for their children.
• Communication Skills:  Parents will learn how to communicate effectively with each other to reduce the conflict between them.  Parents will learn flexible thinking, how to manage their emotions and moderate their behaviors. Parents will learn structured email/text communication & response protocol.  
• Skills practice / The Plan:  In Week 4, parents come together to prepare a child-focused communication plan and commit to focus on quality parenting and child-focused resolutions.

 

The class is located at

The Mediation Center

5105 Paulsen Street

Savannah, GA 31405

Phone: 912-354-6057

Email:  flrc@mediationsavannah.com