Welcome to PEPTalk! This blog is all about parenting – including tips, great articles and updates on our class offerings. The conversation is for parents and others who want to raise healthy, cooperative, thriving children. Raising children to thrive isn’t easy, especially when those children regularly mess up our plans for their success. We learn the art of parenting from each other, and our PEPTalk blog is here to help—with tips, tools, talk and encouragement—as well as updates about PEP’s many educational programs.
Our bloggers are like our class leaders (many of them are class leaders)—parents who have found at PEP support, inspiration and a sensible road map for the journey. They’ll share their unique perspectives and experiences, connected by their deep commitment to helping you be the parent you want to be. We invite you to join the conversation.
Limits can be tricky. Some of us set too many limits, which we spend all our parenting energy upholding. Some of us set too few limits and just throw up our hands saying, “Kids will be kids.” Limits are important. Both the natural and the social world have plenty of them. If we don’t define and uphold limits within our families, our children may go into the world unprepared to work, live and play with both a spirit of freedom and a sense of responsibility.... read more>>
Scenario: Tired after a long day at work, you pick up your child, head home and prepare the evening meal. You have no sooner joined each other at the table than you are greeted with a high-pitched whiny voice complaining “I don’t like that!” and the evening spirals downward from there. A very discouraging moment, indeed. What’s a parent to do? You are concerned about your child’s health and providing nutritious food.... read more>>
Last Father’s Day, I invited my dad, Herb Lewis, to look back over the decades and describe his childhood experiences, his relationship with his parents and how it all shaped his approach to parenting. Here are his thoughts and parenting lessons, including what’s different about parenting today. (Thank you, Dad.) Freedom to Explore and Gain Independence I grew up in a blue-collar rowhouse in Southwest Baltimore in the 1940s and 1950s.... read more>>
“If you help clean the garage, I will give you 10 dollars!” “Avery, your room is a hot mess! If you don’t clean it up, I’m going to toss all your junk out the window!” “If I catch you sneaking candy again, you won’t get any dessert for two weeks!” “Isabella, you will wear that jacket to school whether you like it or not! It’s cold out there!” If these phrases sound familiar,... read more>>
At the playground recently, I watched a mom try to convince her 6- or 7-year-old daughter to leave behind a collection of sticks and twigs she had been playing with. The mom’s patience finally ran out, and she spoke firmly: “Sarah, you heard me. No sticks in the car. It’s time to go.” Her daughter instantly exploded with rage. Screaming in protest, she flung the sticks at the car, burst into tears and ran off to the opposite side of the playground to sulk.... read more>>
“Courage is about something magical that happens on the inside that helps us push through fear, self-doubt, and anxiety; not something magical that happens inside us to make us suddenly brave.” – Jeff Ludlum In the 1990s, when my first child was growing up in our small town, one of her fears was making new friends. Painfully shy, she preferred staying in the classroom with her teachers during recess to avoid being alone on the playground.... read more>>
If you’re the parent of an introverted child, you might find this article enlightening and potentially useful. If you’re the extroverted parent of an introverted child, you – or potentially future-you – could write this article. Me, I’m an introvert. Nothing better than curling up by the fire with a good book and a hot cup of tea. My husband, he’s an extrovert with a capital “E.” His car radio: always on.... read more>>
KENSINGTON, MD (February 1, 2022) – PEP (the Parent Encouragement Program), a leading nonprofit educational organization based in Kensington, Maryland, partnering with MHP, a private nonprofit dedicated to providing access to quality affordable housing, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, has received a $72,576 grant from the Children’s Opportunity Fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. The grant will be used to strengthen the resiliency, mental wellness and school readiness of children who reside in MHP housing by providing parenting education and support to their parents and caregivers.... read more>>
KENSINGTON, MD (May 11, 2020) – PEP (the Parent Encouragement Program), a leading non-profit educational organization based in Kensington, Maryland, has signed a multi-year contract to provide its award-winning Parent Education Program to the employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) based in Washington, D.C., and around the world. PEP is working under the leadership of KonTerra, a leading provider of staff care and organizational resilience services. KonTerra has been providing services to the USAID global workforce since the inception of USAID’s Staff Care ... read more>>
“Dear Carolyn: My son, 11, has been acting up in school: not doing his homework, talking during class, picking on younger kids, getting detentions and just being an all-around brat. At home, he’s picking on his siblings and talking back to me and his dad. We’ve had him tested by both his pediatrician and the school psychologist, and no underlying health issues of any kind have been identified. Every other year,... read more>>
Parent Encouragement Program
10100 Connecticut Ave.
Kensington, MD 20895
301-929-8824
office@PEPparent.org
Apart from the free survey software, we also have access to QuestionPro's free survey templates . We've found many of them useful and powerful to collect insights from various stakeholders of our organization.
