I would gladly take part in a second Mellow Parenting course

Mellow Parenting – a support group and a space for renewing the mother–child relationship

The piloting of the educational parenting programme “Mellow Parenting” in the Republic of Moldova began in 2016 in five regions of the country: Cahul, Călărași, Fălești, Nisporeni and Ungheni. With the support of the European Union, the NGO Partnerships for Every Child (PPFC), together with the Mellow Parenting organization from Scotland, trained 10 practitioners who were accredited to deliver the programme.

To date, around 100 mothers and 100 children from the five districts have benefited from the programme. An evaluation conducted by the Mellow Parenting organization showed that mothers became more confident in their own abilities, more patient, more open and communicative, and less depressed. They improved their mother–child relationships, understood that a child needs not only food and sleep but also affection and greater attention, and learned how to manage their emotions and prioritize their activities in order to spend more time with their children.

“I would gladly take part in a second Mellow Parenting course”

Elena (name changed) has five children. She learned about the Mellow Parenting educational programme from the kindergarten director during a parents’ meeting. At first, she was unsure whether she wanted to participate, partly because her husband did not support the idea.

Another mother encouraged her, and Elena eventually joined the group.

“Every time I left home to attend the course, it was accompanied by arguments and dissatisfaction from my husband. Nevertheless, I attended every session, and when I returned home, I did with my other children the activities we had practiced in the group.”

Elena says that the other mothers in the group encouraged her to continue attending the sessions, which helped her become more confident, more open with others, and more courageous. It also helped her build a closer relationship with all her children.

“Before the programme, I felt as if I was in a constant state of depression and had little desire to change anything. Now, however, I truly want to stay healthy so I can be with my children for as long as possible and support them. I would gladly participate in another Mellow Parenting course, if that were possible.”

The Mellow Parenting programme aims to support parents in developing parenting competencies at different stages of a child’s development. It is based on the principles of attachment, social learning, and cognitive behavioural theory.

The parenting skills development format includes 14 group sessions for parents with children aged 0 to 5 years. During these sessions, parents learn about child development, how to create healthy attachment relationships, and how to contribute to the harmonious development of both the child and the parent–child relationship. Activities are carried out in parallel for parents and children.

The Mellow Parenting educational programme is one of four programmes implemented within the project “Increasing Access for Children with Special Needs to Community Support and Early Education Services”, carried out by PPFC in collaboration with Mellow Parenting and HealthProm (United Kingdom), with the support of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, and local public authorities in the five beneficiary districts.

The total project budget amounts to €680,000 and is funded by the European Union. The programme is also being developed in three additional regions — Orhei, Sîngerei and Soroca — within the Mellow Parenting development project funded by the World Childhood Foundation.