Osage County Extension Service slates classes on co-parenting

The Osage County Extension Service is offering a “Co-Parenting for Resilience” class to assist divorcing parents with minor children.

Parents who attend the class will gain a better idea of how their children are dealing with the divorce. They also will learn strategies and skills to help them work with their co-parent for the wellbeing of their children.

“Divorce is life changing for everyone in the family, including the children, and how the parents handle the divorce can make the experience better or worse for them,” said Donna Robbins, Osage County Family and Consumer Science Educator.

The class, based on the most up-to-date research in the marriage and family field, will be taught by Robbins, who is specially trained to work with divorcing couples.

According to Oklahoma House Bill 2249, parents with children 18 or younger are required to attend a co-parenting class which relates to the impact of divorce on children.

Coincidentally, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension’s “Co-Parenting for Resilience” course has been taught for more than 20 years, meets all the requirements of the new state law and has a long, strong track record of effectiveness.

Developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at OSU, the class uses a combination of lecture, discussion, video and interactive activities to help parents figure out the best ways to help their children adjust to the divorce.

Recent class evaluations show more than 90 percent of participants who attended the class reported learning new ways to effectively parent their children during and after the divorce.

Classes will be held at the Pawhuska Business Development Center, 1225 Virginia Short St., on July 18, Aug. 8 and Sept. 19 — which are all Mondays — as well as on Wednesday, Oct. 5, and Monday, Nov. 7. Each session will last from 1-4 p.m. The cost is $30 per person.

For more information about the for “Co-Parenting for Resilience” class (or to register), contact Donna Robbins at the Osage County Extension office, 918-287-4170 or donna.robbins@okstate.edu.