This three-stage course is dedicated to parents and educators and is led by Anna Giardi, a psychologist, family and school education consultant, and expert in relationship counselling and conflict mediation. The aim of the three meetings is to discover together the tools to strengthen the bond with children, in an atmosphere of listening and mutual growth. While the little ones play in the space next door, the adults engage in discussion and guided reflection.
The programme, which will see a second edition in five meetings starting on 21 February, is designed and proposed by Casa delle Meraviglie – Baba Jaga Aps.
‘This course,’ explains Anna Giardi, "aims to help parents recognise, experience and develop their own special educational sensitivity, cultivating compassion and gratitude first and foremost towards themselves and towards the daily commitment that parenthood requires.
Through a process of familiarisation with their own areas of difficulty, parents can experience that they are not alone on this journey.
Learning to relate to themselves in a new and more welcoming way promotes greater emotional connection in their relationships with others.
Thanks to mindfulness exercises, new ways of dealing with everyday life can emerge, in line with the psychoeducational training proposals."
Why did we choose the strength of Perseverance? Being persevering means being virtuous, being able to set ourselves goals that are not easy but possible, and growing together to offer our children that “secure base” every day that gives them the peace of mind to live relationships based on trust.
The Perseverance Journey meetings are structured in a workshop format: participants are encouraged by the facilitator to express themselves freely, sharing with others the experiences of their daily lives as parents. This can lead to discussion, shared considerations and reflections.
‘The three meetings of the first edition – continues Anna Giardi – have very specific themes and objectives.’
In the first, parents were invited to share moments of disorientation or emotional loneliness that can arise in everyday life, when one is faced with difficulties without being able to maintain balance.
In the second, experiences of family life were shared in which it was possible to recognise certain automatic responses to difficulties, experiencing the effort required to change what is happening. The work is geared towards greater individual awareness and deeper emotional attunement between the parents.
This process promotes a sense of cohesion that supports and strengthens the educational actions of the entire family system.
The third will focus on the concept of perseverance. The strength of relationships stems from the possibility of exercising perseverance, day after day. However, this is not always easy, because often a loss of motivation implies a loss of hope. It is necessary to become curious observers of what is happening, first and foremost within ourselves, accepting what our emotions lead us to feel, without judging ourselves if possible. These exercises in presence can lead parents to rediscover greater inner balance and a consequent, progressive emotional closeness to their children.
The Perseverance Journey is part of The Home's activities dedicated to the community and in particular to families, in line with The Human Safety Net's For the Families programme. The programme, active in 24 countries alongside 55 NGOs, supports parents during the crucial early childhood phase, a period in which children's brains form more than a million new neural connections every second and are particularly susceptible to environmental influences. Through parenting support programmes, The Human Safety Net offers parents the opportunity to strengthen their confidence and autonomy by providing resources, guidance and access to support networks, and by creating safe and secure family environments from the very beginning of life. This approach fosters the creation of caring relationships, promoting the development of children and the entire family. At the same time, through early learning programmes, it offers children the opportunity to learn, promoting their cognitive, emotional and social development.
‘The experience of this first edition has led the parents and educators who participated to develop a more lucid, stable and proactive educational approach,’ concludes Anna Giardi. ‘Next editions will be open to any parent who wishes to develop educational and relational resources and skills with the sensitivity of someone who cares deeply about their child and family.’
After the last meeting of the first series on 31 January, the Perseverance Journey will return to The Home of The Human Safety Net on 21 February and will continue with four more meetings on 28 February, 21 March, 18 April and 16 May. The complete calendar of all The Home's initiatives can be consulted on the events page.