Raising the B.A.R. Parent Alliance old

Taking Parenting to a Whole New Level

As a parent, do you ever feel pulled in several directions, with no idea where to go first? Do you struggle to find the best ways of meeting your children’s needs, with little help? Do you want your family to be happy, but you feel like there’s no time just to enjoy being together?
If you said yes to any of those questions, you’re not alone. You’re also exactly the kind of parent who could benefit from Be Strong International’s parenting program, Raising the B.A.R. (Budding Adult-Child Relationship).
Raising the B.A.R. is a free workshop program that teaches caregivers evidence-based strategies for raising happy, healthy children. The program is one way we pursue our mission to provide educational services and resources to parents, caregivers and families. It helps us to help families develop and sustain healthy relationships.

Support Our Parent Department

Be Strong’s Parent Department is funded from a variety of sources, which allows us to serve parents throughout Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

They include:

The Children's Trust

A dedicated source of revenue derived from property taxes, the Children’s Trust partners with the

community to plan, advocate for and fund strategic investments that improve the lives of all children

and families in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The Ocean Reef Community Foundation

The Foundation supports charitable efforts throughout the Ocean Reef Club and surrounding areas.

Projects include the Community Grants Fund, which awards grants to local organizations supporting

education, youth and families, arts, culture and the environment.

Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE)

Part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, SRAE funds programs that teach participants

how to voluntarily refrain from non-marital sexual activity. SRAE programs also help young people in

areas like goal setting, developing healthy relationships, avoiding dating violence and resisting underage

drinking and illicit drug use.

For information on how you can help make a difference for our children and families, please contact our main office: (305) 969-7829 and ask to speak to our Program Director, Darryl Auberry.

Be Strong Q&A with Ezra Carias, Parent Facilitator

Why is it important for parents to attend programs like Raising the B.A.R.? 

Many parents have stated they do not want to make the same mistakes their parents made when they grew up. They want to be the best parent they could be. They want to take their skills to the next level and getting all the knowledge from programs like this helps them. These workshops will also teach them techniques to reduce their stress as they raise their children.

What are some of the parenting issues you are seeing in your Be Strong families? What do parents most need and want to know?

One of the biggest issues parents are dealing with is dealing with the changes brought forth by COVID-19 – working from home, some are losing their jobs and their children are home schooling. What parents most need are the skills needed to speak to their children about sensitive issues like sex and how to deal with their emotions. For example: how to deal with anger, sadness and hurt.  

Are today's parents as confident as they should be about their parenting skills? 

No. It’s all about time, time, time. Parents always talk about time. They are so busy today working to provide for their family while their children are connected to Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter and Snapchat. This creates a barrier to communication between parent and child because the children don’t practice their social skills. Both parties don’t interact as often and as a result they don’t know each other. The only interaction they have is when something bad happens. As a result, the children link interacting with parents with discipline only. The children become defensive or they pull away from their parents and this is when the parents look for help to bridge the gap.  

How does Raising the B.A.R. help them? How does it help families? 

The workshops equip parents with the skills to strengthen their families. Parents have testified they have applied the teachings and they have worked for them. 

Can you share any particular success stories? 

There was a father who attended a workshop complaining about telling his son to clean up his room over and over. The son would reply, “I’m going to do it.” The father learned from the workshop to set a time when to ask his son his request. The father returned to another workshop and testified setting a time did work for him. 

Need more information? Email us​ .