Long before positive parenting had its own hashtag, the Elternförderungsprogramm (PEP), was teaching life-changing parenting education classes (rooted in Adlerian psychology, which will surprise no one who knows me) to parents across the Washington area. It started in 1982.
Forty-four years later, PEP has helped thousands of families trade nagging and power struggles for mutual respect and encouragement. That work rests on a dedicated staff, board, and a crew of educators who have supported PEP’s mission, year after year, for decades.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a certified parent educator and proud to serve on PEP’s board. What you may not know is that PEP also contributes monthly articles to the Parenting Advice column of Washington Parent Media magazine. Several of our leaders and educators take turns writing them, and I was honored to be asked to write the one for November.
Its subject felt timely, with the holiday catalogs already piling up by the front door: how children can learn to love giving at least as much as getting, and why that lesson rarely comes from the wish list.
Thank you, PEP, for 44 years of encouraging parents, and for trusting me with this one.
