Arizona State University’s Department of Psychology offers a ten meeting group program that is centered around the Five Building Blocks of Resilient Parenting. The Building Blocks are:
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Self-care: Taking care of yourself is a critical part of taking care of your children.
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Strengthening Family Bonds: Positive activities that parents and children share help strengthen their family bonds during times of stress.
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Active Listening: Letting children know that you are listening and understanding is one way a parent can help them cope.
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Effective Rules: Effective strategies for establishing family rules help avoid conflict and make family life more predictable during times of change.
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Supporting children’s coping: Parents learn to create a family environment in which children can cope effectively with their grief.
The program is based on research that has repeatedly found that high quality parenting is one of the strongest factors associated with better adjustment of bereaved children. The program is based on the Family Bereavement Program, which was successful in promoting effective parenting by bereaved parents and caregivers up to six years following the program.
The research also found that the program had significant benefits in terms of less distressing long-term grief and lower mental health problems for bereaved parents and their children. The website has many useful resources, as well as research that informs their program and their work around building resilience. For more information, take a look at https://psychology.asu.edu/reach/resilient-parenting.