Family Resources

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jun 30, 1998

Rhonda Rabbitt has found a place where her kids can play with other children and she can swap parenting stories with other moms.

Rabbitt, of Barre Mills, said she heard about the Parent Connection program at Family Resources last summer shortly after her third child was born.

She said she decided to go because she thought it would be good for her children--Jessica, 3; Emerson, 2; and Julius, 11 months--to have contact with other children.

What surprises her, she said, is how much she looks forward to the weekly Wednesday morning sessions.

"It's a recharging," Rabbitt said. "It keeps me more positive. Usually on Wednesdays, I have a good after noon, just because we've been here."

The Parent Connection, one of many free programs offered by Family Resources, has been a help to several other women.

Sue Truax of Onalaska said she didn't know anyone when she moved to the La Crosse area last year from Colorado. Having worked as a paralegal, she said she considered getting a job. She contacted Family Resources for a list of child-care providers for her son, Noah, and learned of the Parent Connection while talking with staff.

The program has proved to be a good way to meet other parents and to give 19-month-old Noah contact with other children, Truax said.

"I'm a stay-at-home mom," she said. "It's good for both us."

Robin Grosch of La Crosse also participates in Family Resources' parent-friend program.

Through the program, Judy Bissen, a Family Resources program director in parent education, visits Grosch in her home and offers her advice in caring for 13-month-old twins Justin and Devin.

"She's helped out a lot," Grosch said.

At Bissen's suggestion, Grosch said, she uses television much less frequently to entertain her children.

She said Bissen showed her some new ways to entertain the twins, such as singing with them and reading to them from a scrapbook illustrated by magazine pictures of well-known items, such as cars and houses.

Barb Morrison of La Crosse also likes being able to share her struggles about parenting with other parents. She said that when she talks about a problem, such as one of her children, Daniel, 2, and Kathryn, 5 months, not sleeping, the other parents know exactly what she's talking about.

Rabbitt said group members really listen to her child-rearing problems and are supportive of her.

"I don't feel like I'm just boring someone with the story--I feel like they actually listen to me," Rabbitt said.