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SCHOOLS, churches and community organisations have joined forces in Knysna to provide parenting classes in an effort to address social issues affecting families, including children becoming involved in delinquent activities and drug abuse.

On Tuesday night, the Knysna council made its facilities available for the first “Parenting with Assurance” training course.

Organiser Jimmy Wright extended an invitation to all parents to attend the four- week course, which he hoped to offer on a continual basis next year.

“We aim to have several hundred parents go through the course and build up a solid infrastructure,” he said.

Presenter and social worker Karin du Plessis said parents were a missing link in society.

“Parents are so busy trying to survive and keep it all together, we expect the school systems to do it, but it’s up to the parents ... let’s face it, parenting is challenging.”

Wright is the founder of Crossing, a non-profit organisation which he describes as a “community transformation platform” geared towards the youth.

He was previously national chairman of campus ministries for tertiary institutions and through Crossing is linking churches, NGOs, local government, schools and business individuals in Knysna who want to make a positive difference in the lives of young people.

The course is designed to help parents steer their children away from high-risk behaviour, including drug and alcohol abuse, by using 12 “tools of parenting”. Acceptance, boundary setting, unconditional love, responsibility and affirmation are other topics covered in the course, which originates from the international Focus on the Family organisation founded by Dr James Dobson.

A number of parents attending the first session said they would be prepared to mentor other parents after completing the course.

Dawie Coetzee said: “I think our children need us to have proper parenting skills to communicate better and to enrich the lives of our children.”

Russel and Lourencia Williams, who live in Hornlee, a high drug risk area, said they hoped to learn how to take better charge over their children. “You can give them everything they need, and they can still go the wrong route. We need to know how to control this,” Russel said.

Kenny Innes, also from Hornlee, said he realised he needed to find more time for his children.

Du Plessis said that when Gavin Kruger, the author of Parenting with Assurance, had presented the course in Knysna three years ago she had attended.

“People think that if they attend a parenting course there is a stigma attached, that they are failing, but it’s not true. None of us were born with the skills to be parents.”