Autonomous non-profit organization social-educational project “ABC’s of the Family”
The ABCs of a Happy Family - Regional Clubs
CSS contribution, rubles
Total budget, rubles
Implementation period, months
Project idea
The ABC of the Family Parent Clubs are weekly meetings for parents, held either online or offline, where parents share experiences and gain foundational knowledge in family and child psychology.
The unique advantage of this project over others is that the lessons are conducted in a peer-to-peer format and are presented in a clear and engaging way – featuring real-life stories, concise theoretical insights, and practical exercises.
Program Blocks:
- Family System;
- Attachment;
- Childhood Psychological Traumas;
- Difficult Behavior;
- Growing Up and Separation.
A training book, “The ABCs of a Happy Family: 30 Lessons of Conscious Parenting,” developed by experienced psychologists and educators, serves as a methodological aid in the clubs. This book combines leading psychological theories with practical insights to support families.
The clubs also provide free training for Parent Club Leaders, who can be specialists (psychologists, teachers, social workers) or experienced parents with a certificate from the Foster Parent School history of successfully raising children.
Certified leaders receive additional resources, including books on child and family psychology, and the clubs regularly host conferences, online courses, and webinars with renowned child psychology experts.
Relevance
Strengthening the family unit is a key component of the state’s social agenda. This is essential for demographic growth, societal well-being, and even business success, as harmony in families is closely linked to employee productivity.
According to open source data, 55% of the population has no secure family attachment, 60% of marriages break up (863,039 marriages accounted for 583,942 divorces in 2018), 40% of families are single-parent (of which 90% are single mothers and 10% are single fathers), the country’s orphanhood statistics are alarming (481,284 children in 2018), and nearly 60,000 crimes are committed against children per year (54,697 in 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these problems, with rising divorce rates and family violence.
Many of these issues stem from a lack of understanding of family dynamics and child psychology, leading to low parental awareness.
Being a parent is not easy because an adult’s attitude towards a child is influenced by their own childhood experiences, environment, and psychological traumas. First, one must learn to manage all of this baggage. And this is not taught anywhere.
“The ABCs of a Happy Family” is designed as an early intervention project to prevent family dysfunction. It provides parents with the necessary tools to establish harmonious relationships, fostering happier families and, ultimately, a healthier society. By equipping parents with the right knowledge and support, the project aims to break negative cycles and build stronger, happier families for future generations.
Social effect
Enhancing parental awareness in raising children, building a parental community, and helping prevent child abandonment.
KPI
KPI
Project Results
Over the course of the project, six parental awareness schools were established in the six cities selected for the program across various regions of the country. The leaders of these schools were parents who had successfully overcome crises within their own families and were willing to help other parents based on the principles of “peer to peer.” They shared their successful experiences of building healthy family relationships, along with the knowledge they gained during the training.
Initially, 153 families joined the project, and 120 stayed through to the end. According to the assessment results, the project successfully prevented crises in 10 families, improved child-parent relationships in 60% of the families, and reduced stress and anxiety levels in 30% of the families who responded. Additionally, the percentage of parents who believed that punishment is an essential part of parenting decreased by 14% (from 24% to 10%).
Another significant result was the spread of self-help practices among families. Supportive and inclusive parent groups were formed in each participating region. These groups are equipped to continue providing assistance to other parents facing similar challenges, offering help based on the issues they themselves have successfully resolved. In addition to gaining valuable psychological and pedagogical knowledge, parents reported improved psycho-emotional well-being thanks to social support and the development of self-care skills.
Project progress after CSS funding
There are plans to expand the project to other regions of Russia.
Additionally, the program will be launched in schools, kindergartens, and colleges as thematic parent meeting projects, in cooperation with the Institute of Education of the Russian Academy of Education.
Funding will come from fundraising efforts, as well as through fees for paid counseling services offered to families who are able to afford them. Additional funding will also be sought from regional public organizations involved in the project.
