New Online Workshop Helps Resource Parents Address Children's Problematic Sexual Behaviors
September 18, 2019
Eugene, OR — Sexual development, like physical or cognitive development, is a natural part of growing up. However, when children in care demonstrate a sexual behavior, especially a problematic sexual behavior, it can be alarming for resource parents. “Without education and support,” explains Dr. Jane Silovsky, “it is not unusual for resource parents to request that children with problematic sexual behaviors leave their home. Unfortunately, this places the child at greater risk.”
To help resource parents understand children's sexual behavior and give them strategies for how to respond to behavior that is concerning or problematic, FosterParentCollege.com has just released its latest Advanced Parenting Workshop, Problematic Sexual Behaviors.
Created and led by Dr. Silovsky, Director of the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth, this workshop begins by explaining sexual development in children and exploring the continuum of sexual behaviors, from typical to concerning to problematic. Then the course explores how resource parents can respond to children's sexual behaviors. Even if "a sexual behavior may be typical, it still may not be acceptable or healthy," explains Dr. Silovsky. "Caregivers and other trusted adults need to provide guidance and support to help children and teens make healthy decisions." For children who demonstrate a sexual behavior problem, the workshop explores how parents can create a safety plan and what they should expect from evidence-based treatment.
Part of Foster Parent College's Advanced Parenting Workshop series, Problematic Sexual Behaviors is a six-credit-hour course designed specifically for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. It uses discussion board activities and interactive exercises to help participants explore strategies for parenting children who have exhibited sexual behavior problems.
The creation of Problematic Sexual Behaviors was made possible through a Small Business Innovation Research Grant (#R44 HD056645) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to Northwest Media, Inc., parent company of FosterParentCollege.com.
