Raising another human being may be the most difficult, yet rewarding task a person could ever take on.

At times, all parents struggle with feeling completely unprepared for the challenges of parenthood. It can sometimes seem that just when a parent gets comfortable with a particular phase of a child’s life, they change!  These experiences, while sometimes uncomfortable, are common and completely natural.

What’s important to know is that parents are not alone in the child raising journey. In addition to the help that family and community can provide, NIȽ TU,O is also here to support Coast Salish parents by offering one of the most comprehensive parenting support programs available; the Indigenous Triple-P Parenting program.

A product of 35 years of ongoing research, Triple P is an evidence-based program that gives parents practical strategies to build strong relationships with their children, help them address misbehaviour in a healthy way, and prevent behavioural problems from developing in the first place. Triple P is used around the world across different cultures.

NIȽ TU,O offers Triple P programming specifically designed for Coast Salish families. Not designed to tell participants how to raise their children, instead, the Triple P programs provide simple and practical strategies and tools that can be adapted to suit the unique needs of each family.

I’IYMET SPAKEN

I’IYMET SPAKEN is a 6-week program that was developed with the help of Elders and Knowledge Holders as well as parents from Coast Salish communities in the Greater Victoria Area. It teaches participants cultural and parenting skills through interactive learning activities.

Working together with community Knowledge Keepers and a NIȽ TU,O Family Support Worker, participants explore a specific theme each week:

• Week 1 – What is cultural parenting?
• Week 2 – Mind
• Week 3 – Emotions
• Week 4 – Spirit
• Week 5 – Safety
• Week 6 – Our Bodies

The topics shared in these weekly sessions are grounded by traditional teachings of local grandparents, and parenting skills for all ages of children.

NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS

This program is designed to help parents nurture their relationships, with a focus on positive and healthy communication.    Participants receive information on life skills and how to work together in caring for their family and promoting equality within their relationship.This program is for adults in the home, to learn  about skills that will support the ‘adult’ roles of a family: budgeting, healthy communication, anger management, healthy cooking, self-care, and organizational skills.

Aboriginal Developmental Assets

This program was developed to help Indigenous youth cultivate the skills, relationships, and behaviours that would enable them to grow into successful adults. The developmental assets nurtured through this program also integrate culturally relevant aspects of Coast Salish people’s lives.

Individual Workshops

NIȽ TU,O also runs individual workshops that parents and families can attend depending on their needs. The topics tackled in these workshops include:

• Budgeting
• Building Confidence and Self Esteem
• Healthy Cooking
• Brain Development in Infants and Children
• Information on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and other brain-based disorders
• Grief and Loss
• Healthy Communication
• Information on Raising Tweens
• What is Family Violence
• Resiliency
• Creating Routines and Setting Boundaries in the Home
• Canning and Food Preservation

THE BENEFITS OF TRIPLE P FOR COAST SALISH FAMILIES

Triple P helps families raise confident, competent, and resilient children.

Parents learn strategies and tools they can use to help their children develop life skills like getting along with others and doing well in school. Triple P learning activities also help parents build strong familial relationships and support parents to help their children deal with difficult emotions and stress.

With the Indigenous Triple P program, participants can incorporate cultural and parenting skills learned from community Elders and Grandparents. The Indigenous Triple P program provides a space where Coast Salish families can recognize and talk about the challenges of raising children in two worlds—the cultural one and the colonized one.

NIȽ TU,O’s Indigenous Triple P program supports parents to walk through these challenges together, by providing an environment where parents can connect with each other and access effective support to strengthen Coast Salish Families.

Meet Your Triple P Facilitator

For nearly two decades, Michelle has worked with NIȽ TU,O Child and Family Services Society serving urban and reserve Coast Salish communities. Prior to joining NIȽ TU,O, she has worked in Greater Victoria communities in a variety of capacities such as Home Support Worker, Teaching Support Worker, Practicum Student, Childminder, First Nations Youth Employment Instructor, Parent Group Facilitator, and Family Support Worker.

Michelle’s current role at NIȽ TU,O allows her to provide a culturally sensitive approach to programs like Triple P, grief and loss workshops, and health and wellness workshops. She is involved in teaching cultural crafts like beadwork, leatherwork, and storytelling. Michelle also works with families who are raising youth with FASD or other brain-based disabilities, helping them access the services they need to lead healthy and productive lives.

As a First Nations parent and veteran Family Support Worker, Michelle works with the context of the trauma that continues to affect Indigenous families. She also acknowledges the strength, knowledge, wisdom, and caring of Coast Salish peoples and the determination to keep the culture alive and pass it on to the next generation.

In her work as an Indigenous Triple P Facilitator, Michelle shares the knowledge and strengths she’s learned from within the communities she works within, to add to the cultural teachings of the program.

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