One of the key goals of “Can
We Talk?” is to increase the knowledge and ability of parents and caregivers to effectively
communicate with pre-teens and teens about topics surrounding:
- Health and safety
- Justice and the law
- Medically accurate information about sexuality and health
- Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs
- Conflict and
violence
- Family rules and school policies
- Internet safety and mixed messages in the media
- Self esteem
- Peer
pressure
Our belief is that with the right resources, support, and information, young
adults will be empowered to make well-informed and healthier decisions about their commitment to
school, their relationships and sexual behavior, their use of alcohol and other drugs, and their ability to
cope effectively with conflict and potential violence.
Long term, “Can We
Talk?” supports New Mexico state’s goal of students completing high school and
preventing:
- Teen pregnancy
- STD/HIV
- Alcohol and Drug Use
- Alcohol related accidents
- Youth Violence
Excerpted are comments from "A Report on the Evaluation of the 2002-03 Can We Talk? Rhode Island Parent-Child Communication and Health Promotion Program"
Parents provided 197 comments about the "Can We Talk?" workshops and their effect, most of them extremely positive.
• The workshops helped me learn new things.
• The entire series was helpful. All the sessions were great.
• The way it was presented was what I liked best. It gave me new ideas.
• I have very good communication with my children.
• We talked about a lot of things before the workshop and continue to talk about them now.
Self-reported effects or outcomes of the training were classified into three groups – cognitive, behavioral and skill-related.
Thirty-nine reported outcomes were considered cognitive:
• Made me aware that children want to hear what parents have to say.
• I am more aware of using spontaneous moments to foster a discussion on topics.
• Just getting over the discomfort of talking about some of the topics.
• Made me realize that other people had problems talking to their children too – so just talk.
Seventeen were considered behavioral outcomes:
• My kids and I are closer now. We can talk about anything now.
• It opened lines of communication.
• I pay more attention to what they watch on TV and we talk about it after. My kids feel more comfortable talking about sex with me.
• I feel that since my participation in the workshop, I feel most compelled not to avoid topics or concerns that are brought up by my child. It’s easy to say ‘we’ll’ talk later.
Ten reported changes were considered skills-related:
• Taught me how to empower my children to make better choices.
• Helped me to talk about sexuality better.
• The staff answered every question I had and made me feel comfortable.
• I’m less intimidated to talk to my children about sensitive topics.
• It made me find the right way to explain things in a way they can understand things.
For more information on the evaluation of "Can We Talk?"
and our evaluation plan, please contact us.
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