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Parenting Classes & Family Support
Practical Tools. Real Support. Stronger Families.
West Dakota offers a variety of free parenting classes and support programs designed to meet families where they are.
Whether you’re raising a newborn, navigating challenging behaviors, or experiencing a major life transition, our classes provide practical strategies you can use right away.
All classes are free for Region VIII families and led by experienced, supportive educators.
Connect With Us
Whether you're looking for parenting strategies, support during a transition, or opportunities to connect with other families, we’re here for you.
Call us to register or learn more:
(701) 456-0007
parentresource@dpsnd.org
Hagen Building
402 4th St W
Dickinson, ND
Find the Right Class for Your Family
Build connection and bonding with your baby while learning techniques to support relaxation, sleep, and development.
Topics include:
- Discussion of healthy family development
- How to vary the massage as the child grows
- How to deal with special problems such as colic, intestinal difficulties (gas, constipation, etc.)
- Individualized help with problems
- Teaching baby to relax
Learn how to turn conflict into cooperation and respond to behavior in a calm, effective way.
Join us in learning how to:
- Turn conflict into cooperation.
- Avoid teaching the very behavior you want to prevent.
- Understand the need your child is seeking by their behavior.
- Make your parenting language effective.
- Know your child. Know what’s normal.
- Create a connected and problem-solving home.
Circle of Security
Understand your child’s emotional needs and strengthen your relationship by learning when to support and when to guide.
- Use the Circle of Security to see a need - see through the behavior
- Recognize a need for your child's secure base
- Parental "shark music"
- Follow your child's need when possible, take charge when necessary
- Bigger. Stronger. Weaker. Kind
The Incredible Years
Support healthy development and build strong relationships with children ages 0–12 through research-based strategies.
- BUILD a pyramid of parenting skills.
- TROUBLESHOOT challenges.
- SUPPORT social/emotional skills.
- MOTIVATE learning.
- INCREASE cooperative behaviors.
- DEVELOP life-readiness skills.
- CEMENT a strong parent/child relationship.
Join us in learning how to:
- Turn conflict into cooperation.
- Avoid teaching the very behavior you want to prevent.
- Understand the need your child is seeking by their behavior.
- Make your parenting language effective.
- Know your child. Know what’s normal.
- Create a connected and problem-solving home.
Use a balanced approach that is both kind and firm to guide behavior and teach life skills. Learn research-based, effective tools and techniques to use discipline with your child that is kind and firm at the same time. Gain practice with experiential exercises that will help you go beyond intellectual understanding to be able to respond in empowering ways with your child.
Boundaries Jr.
Help children develop responsibility, independence, and respect through clear and consistent boundaries.
Parents explore:
- How to avoid conflict with your child
- How to encourage responsibility and self-management
- How to resolve problems
- How to prevent frustrating no-win power struggles
- How to build trust, consideration and respect
Children Explore:
- How and why rules are important
- Working alongside authority
- How to set their own boundaries
- Setting boundaries as a family
Nurtured Heart Approach
Focus on building positive behaviors by recognizing and reinforcing what children are doing right.
- Peaceful home or daycare environment.
- Richer “time in” and engaged in positive behaviors.
- Intensity used in creative rather than destructive ways.
- Build a child’s sense of Inner Wealth.
- Develop a basis for great decision making and success.
Explore ways to recognize positive behaviors using the Nurtured Heart Approach.
Designed for families experiencing separation or divorce, this class helps parents understand the impact on children and build healthy co-parenting strategies.
This may be helpful if you:
- are experiencing a family transition of separation/divorce.
- are considering separation/divorce and would like to learn more about the impact that can have on a family.
- are divorced and are experiencing challenges.
- have never been married and do not live together, but are having challenges.
Cooperative Parenting & Divorce
Learn how to reduce conflict, improve communication, and support your child through family changes.
- Offer children the opportunity to grow in a home environment free from being caught in the middle of their parent’s hostility.
- Creating a parenting partnership with your former partner on your child’s behalf
- Cope with emotional pain while minimizing the impact