Parents Anonymous (PA) is a self-help group for parents who may or may not have abused their children. PA was founded in 1967 by a 29 year-old single mother, Jolly K. and psychiatric social worker Leonard L. Lieber. Jolly K. was under Lieber's care at the time, and he suggested she meet with another parent from his caseload who had similar issues. The organization grew slowly until it received a grant from the Office of Child Development and Health Education and Welfare in 1974. Unlike traditional twelve-step programs PA mandates professional involvement, accepts funding from outside sources, but does emphasize the importance of protecting members anonymity and never charges parents a fee, dues or charge for attending. The PA Chapter Development Manual requires each chapter have professional facilitator who "should be a professional person from a 'helping' field with a profound respect for the self-help concept." Parents Anonymous publishes a periodical, Frontiers, and several manuals in addition to the Chapter Development Manual.
Famous quotes containing the words parents and/or anonymous:
“Taking the child’s point of view demands good will, time, and effort on the part of parents. The child is the clear beneficiary. Parents who make the effort to understand their children’s point of view are likely to treat children fairly and in an age-appropriate manner.”
—David Elkind (20th century)
“Men, my dear, are very queer animals, a mixture of horse- nervousness, ass-stubbornness, and camel-malice—with an angel bobbing about unexpectedly like the apple in the posset, and when they can do exactly as they please, they are very hard to drive.
Oh, England. Sick in head and sick in heart,
Sick in whole and every part,
And yet sicker thou art still
For thinking that thou art not ill.”
—Thomas Henry Anonymous (1825–95)