Normalize the fear of parenting: How one social worker is making a difference
As a Social Worker for Napa Valley Unified School District, Christie Johnston sees firsthand the ways that family and community struggles impact Napa’s children. Working with students at Phillips and Shearer Elementary Schools, Christie has the vital job of supporting students through these challenges so that they can thrive in the classroom: “School social workers work hard to address issues that get in the way of learning. For many students, that includes challenges like mental health, insecure housing and family issues.”
Since she works one-on-one with children, Christie sees on a regular basis the toll that family stress can take on students. “When parents are stressed, their kids are stressed.”
Problems at home can strain a child’s emotions and contribute to loss of focus or acting out at school. Supporting a child means supporting their family. “School social workers help students, but we also identify other support that their family needs and connect them with available services.”
Christie first learned about Cope when she was working as a family therapist. She was new to Napa and was researching community resources that she could refer families to for additional support. “Cope has been a great resource for parents of the children I worked with. So many parents are worried that they aren’t ‘doing it right’ and that causes a lot of stress. Talking to parents about Cope’s positive parenting classes is a way to have a conversation with a concerned parent. I let them know that there’s help available, and that gives them hope.”
While Cope’s parenting classes provide caregivers with the skills and tools to manage parenting challenges, the classes also contribute something just as vital: by bringing together parents experiencing similar struggles in raising their children, the classes help normalize the fear of parenting and build confidence. “Hearing from other parents going through similar challenges helps parents feel less isolated and more empowered.” Christie has also seen how the classes help change the way parents communicate with their kids. “It shifts the focus to connection over compliance or correction which fosters a stronger relationship.”
Coparenting classes have been especially helpful for families going through separation. Christie recalls a family she used to work with when she was a therapist: “A 7-year-old client was struggling with severe anxiety. Her parents were going through a divorce at the time, and I suggested that they take Cope’s Family Transitions class. After mom took the class, the daughter’s anxiety was much lower. There was a shift in communication and the daughter didn’t feel caught in the middle anymore.”
Something that particularly stands out to Christie is how responsive Cope is as an organization; they make it easy for families to receive help during times of crisis, and staff approach each client and situation with compassion and care. When a student’s mom was struggling with a family emergency, Christie reached out to Cope for help. “This mother was extremely overwhelmed. She didn’t know what to do or where to go. Cope contacted her right away. When I spoke to her a couple weeks later, she was in a very different place and so grateful for the help and hope that Cope offered. Cope’s immediate response made it easy to connect the family with the resources they needed to get through the crisis.”
As Christie knows, family stress is a top factor affecting many students’ success, so helping families through challenging times is critical to supporting their children’s healthy learning and development. “Cope is such an important resource for parents and I’m so grateful that families have this help in our community.” In providing struggling families with the resources, services, and support that may otherwise be inaccessible, Cope is helping bridge the gap so that all of Napa’s children can thrive, regardless of the various life challenges their parents might face.