Frankford shares
the power of parenting

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Allison McDonagh joined the Frankford Group Ministry’s Parent Empowerment Training course to become a leader in the parenting field.
McDonagh soon discovered that the course had other benefits. She learned how to become a better parent herself, and her two daughters made friends with the other children.
"It’s unusual to find an opportunity to gain something for yourself and to share with other people," she said.
McDonagh is one of seven women who last week completed the five-month course. The others are Lauren Rogers, Dawn Brooks, Lucrecia Lewis, Rebecca Daniel, Paterina Ralph and Jacqueline George. All are mothers.
The empowerment-training course was led by staffers of FGM’s Neighborhood Parenting Program, a 10-week class that focuses on parenting skills and anger management.
Six of the seven women who took the empowerment training are employed at FGM, which provides programs for emergency assistance, child-abuse prevention, economic development, children’s activities and more at its location at 4620 Griscom St.
The empowerment-training students ranged in age from 28-54. They met once a week for two hours, leading workshops, parent-child play groups and computer classes at the Neighborhood Parenting Program and in the community. They were also certified by the American Red Cross in CPR and first aid.
The project was funded by a grant from the city Department of Behavioral Health, and FGM is hoping for a future grant so it can offer the program again.
Michelle Machado, a parent educator who ran the program, said the women brought a positive attitude and were open to all methods of instruction.
Machado, who gave a certificate and a hug to all the graduates, said the women will now be able to take what they learned and help others become better moms.
"We don’t come with a book on how to parent. Every day is a challenge," she said.
Wendy Weingarten, director of the Neighborhood Parenting Program, presented the grads with "Parent Leader" T-shirts. She said the course taught the women communication and child-development skills.
As part of their jobs at FGM, the women built on the child care and parent/child play-group sessions they already oversee.
"They wanted to professionalize what they were doing," Weingarten said.
The Rev. Catherine Bowers, executive director of FGM, described motherhood as challenging and difficult but rewarding. She recounted a scene in the 1994 film The River Wild, in which the lead female character — played by Meryl Streep — settles an argument between her husband and son about whose "side" she is on.
She says, "I’m on everybody’s side. I’m the mother."
Bowers said she is happy that FGM puts such an emphasis on motherhood.
"All of us can do it better," she said.
The women agreed that they learned a lot during the course.
Lewis presented a workshop on crafts and how the activity can be a valuable teaching tool. She knows from experience that it can be time well spent.
"When my daughter is bored, we make different stuff. It gives you a chance to interact and bond with your kid," she said.
Brooks said many new mothers struggle at first with the big change in their life. They have the responsibility of raising a child and making sure the bills are paid. The course gave her insight she can pass on to other moms.
"Having a child the first time, you don’t know what to do. You don’t know how children act or how to teach that child," she said.
Ralph, who gave a workshop at the Frankford United Seventh Day Adventist Church, said she learned that parents and children need each other’s cooperation to forge a good relationship.
"We have to work hand in hand," she said. ••
To enroll in Frankford Group Ministry’s next Neighborhood Parenting Program, call Rebecca Daniel at 215-744-2990, Ext. 212.
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com