Restore is excited to share that the Restore Parenting Group was launched on September 16, 2022.  Parents were welcomed to the new Restore office in Banilad, Cebu City, for this historic event.  The focus of the Parenting Group is to teach parents about five vital protective factors that will help them create a safe, healthy home environment.  The protective factors consist of parental resilience, social and emotional competence of children, knowledge of parenting and child development, social connections, and concrete support in times of need.  Parents participated in various activities that helped them understand the meaning of the protective factors and how they can implement them.  Activities included sharing personal experiences, struggles and challenges as parents, journaling, workshops, games, lectures and therapeutic activities including how to care for themselves.

Six parents from different barangays of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Lapu-Lapu successfully completed the three-month curriculum.  They attended every Friday from 6pm to 8pm.  The participants expressed positive feedback about the parenting group. One parent reported: “Sa wala pa me sa Restore, isog kaayo ko sa tanan. Wala neng 5 protective factors. Ang naa kay problema, kalugmok, stress, og daghan pa. Lisud kaayo ang pagkainahan labi na imong anak badlungon, pero wa pud ka kabawo ikaw sad ginikanan badlungon kaniadto, mura sya og curse or tunglo nga magbalikbalik. Pasalamat ko sa Restore kay nahimo silang instrumento nga maputol ang tunglo” (Before Restore, I was angry with everything. I didn’t know anything about these five factors. We just knew about problems, discouragement, stress and a lot more.  It’s hard to be a mom if your children always misbehave, but to think of it, we were the same way with our parents.  It feels like it’s a curse and this cycle continues.  I am thankful to Restore because they became instruments that cut the cycle of the curse.) – Mrs. M

“Sa Restore natudluan ko unsaon pagpamalandon kanunay, aron atong hunahuna hapsay og dili pirmi gubot, so sa pagdisiplina sa atong anak hapsay sad, kay nakapamalandong naman ta unsay angayan natong buhaton.” (Restore taught me how to pause and meditate in order to have peace of mind.  Once we have this, it is easier to discipline our kids because we reflect on what to do and how to do it.) – Mrs. L