Offered twice a year, all of the parenting classes are free.  Call  (757) 926-6649 for times and registration information

Birth to Six Parenting 

A course for parents of children birth to six years old. Developmental stages, appropriate discipline, and routines. Children in this age group are discovering the world around them and slowly moving into their early school years.

Active Parenting of Teens — 12 - 16 years

A course for parents of teens 12 to 16 years old. This course takes a look at parenting during those interesting years. Developmental stages of teens, communication, self-esteem, family time, drugs, responsibility and discipline, and more. You'll find out parents you are not alone.


Strengthening Families Program

These courses are for children ages 6 to 12 years and their parents. Families meet every week for 12 weeks. Dinner is provided, with free child care for children 2 1/2 years to 5 years of age. All children enrolled in child-care must be potty trained, no exceptions. Bus tickets available, upon sufficient notification.

These classes are designed to:

• Promote healthy parent/child communication
• Reduce risk factors for substance abuse
• Reduce risk factors for depression
• Reduce risk factors for violence and aggression in kids
• Parents in setting limits for their children
• Reduce risk factors for delinquency, and
• Reduce risk factors for school failure in children 6-12 years old

For more information about the Strengthening Families Program or to enroll in any of these free classes, call the Newport News Office on Children, Youth & Families at  (757) 926-6649.