Parent Groups

We are slowly transitioning back to in-person neighborhood-based parent groups. Our online groups are now open to families in all Seattle metro areas!

FOCS peer-led parent groups are two-hour sessions held over eight to ten weeks. Many families who attend these groups choose to stay connected or reconnect through our family programming. To meet the diverse needs of families seeking connection based on shared location or identity, FOCS offers two types of Parent Groups:

  • Location and Stage Specific groups: These groups are tailored to different life stages of the child or parent; examples include our Expecting Parents group and Newborn and Waddlers group.

  • Affinity groups: These are groups formed based on common race, ethnic identity, or interest, such as Black Moms, Parents of Neurodivergent Children, Dads, Single Parents, and 2SLGBTQ+ Families. Participation in affinity groups is limited to parents/caregivers who share the same affinity identity. This ensures a sense of belonging and understanding among members.

FOCS curriculum includes discussions on racism, identity, and tools to support parents and caregivers in raising strong and compassionate children of color. FOCS Parent Group Facilitators are parents with lived experience and training specific to the group. Learn more about our FOCS Peer Group Facilitators HERE.

Peer-led Parent Groups for Families of Color

Parent Groups:
Schedule & Sign Up

FOCS COVID SAFETY PROTOCOL FOR IN-PERSON PARENT GROUPS

Families of Color Seattle (FOCS), informed by the most up-to-date CDC guidance and following all applicable federal and state laws, is carefully planning for a gradual return to in-person programming and parent groups,

Out of care and concern for FOCS families, our peer-group facilitators, our staff, and our BIPOC communities that have been disproportionately affected during this pandemic, we ask that those who exhibit respiratory symptoms or are feeling ill, join a virtual group instead. In-person meeting spaces have adequate ventilation and will be subject to increased cleaning protocols to ensure a clean environment.

If you would like to support us as we shift our resources to provide free in-person and virtual programming, we invite you to donate — any amount helps!

Please use the registration form to sign up for any upcoming groups and/or to indicate your interest in future groups. We do our best to host groups based on community interest and our capacity. Group schedule depends on Parent Educator availability.

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“FOCS parent groups are special and essential because they provide a safe and loving space for parents and children of color to explore complex identities and histories. Families of color need and deserve a space to grieve, celebrate, and just be in a space that acknowledges their unique challenges and intersections.”

-FOCS Parent Group Participant

FAQ’s About Groups

  • FOCS defines a family of color as having at least one child of color in your family. Our parenting programs are for parents/caregivers of color and for families raising children of color. This also includes multiracial/mixed, transracial adoptive/foster families, etc.

  • FOCS Parent Groups are currently offered for free during the COVID-19 Health Crisis, regardless of how many groups you join. So that we may continue to offer this service to the community, you can make a tax-free donation HERE

  • You can still use our registration form to indicate your interest in future groups! This gives us more information about what type of FOCS groups we should focus on providing in the upcoming months. Once a group is offered with confirmed dates, you will be the first to know and will be sent a link to register.

  • Families of Color Seattle includes families of all gender identities, expressions, and presentations.

    When you register for a group, we ask you for your gender identity (our internal experience and naming of our gender, which can correspond to or differ from the sex we were assigned at birth), so that we may better understand if our groups are welcoming to a diversity of gender identities.

    When you join a group, we introduce ourselves and include sharing our pronouns (whether you use specific pronouns, any pronouns, or none at all). We do this so that we do not assume each other’s correct pronouns, and allow people to self identify. Language is powerful, and people use pronouns as a form of affirming their identity and/or of safety. Lastly, we recognize that one gender identity does not directly translate to a specific set of pronouns. It is a privilege to go through life and have others make the correct assumption about your pronouns or gender.

    For more information on understanding gender, you can read this article on understanding gender, and learn about the gender wheel to talk with your children about gender.

  • Yes! FOCS offers over 14 types of parent groups with more to come as we develop curriculum for the diverse needs of our community. As a way to build community and support as a parent, in all the intersections of our lives, we encourage families to join more than one group.

  • Most FOCS affinity parent groups (i.e. Black Moms, Queer & Trans Families of Color, Single Moms of Color, Working Moms of Color, Native Families) are specific to People of Color. We appreciate your support in honoring this essential community building and healing.

    White parents /guardians of children of color can join FOCS groups that are not specific to a BIPOC-only parent audience. Your experience authentically engaging in a FOCS parent group and curriculum will be rooted in an ethos of racial equity and community power. We ask participants to commit to our Undoing Racism & White Privilege Agreement (see below) in their group learning journey within a women of color-led space and organization. Our family gatherings and dialogues are spaces of liberation and power for our community whose lived experiences and intersectional identities are impacted by systemic oppression.

    Undoing Racism/White Privilege Agreement For Parent Group Participants: Our FOCS Parent Groups hold space for discussion on race, identity, community, and equity with a foundation of undoing systems of oppression. Our parent groups are not a way to check a diversity box or to debate racism. Racism and white privilege exist. The FOCS Community is a place where families of color come to feel safer. We center the narratives of parents of color and those most impacted by oppression. We believe in upholding our value of undoing racism. These are our experiences, and we are sharing the pain, trauma, and liberation of our experiences so we can equip ourselves with the tools to protect and inform our children of color.

  • Groups are currently held online via Zoom video conference to maintain social connection despite physical distancing during COVID-19.

  • We recognize that many of our families have working parents and are unable to attend groups during the weekday. Our Parent Group schedules are largely based on Parent Educators’ schedules and sign-ups. Please indicate in your Parent Group registration about your preferred availability, indicating availability to attend evenings or weekends.

  • Yes, regional groups for Newborns and Waddlers are available based on interest and capacity. If you don’t see the group you want scheduled, use our interest list to indicate your interest in regional parent groups.

  • We expect you to bring your babies to the Newborns group and tots to the Waddlers group. We also encourage parents to have their children present in other groups to connect with other children of color.

  • Absolutely! Most of our groups center around the birthing parent and co-parent. Co-parenting isn’t defined by gender or sexuality. Affinity groups labeled for “families” accommodate two-parent participation (e.g. Native Families, Multicultural Families, Parents of Children with Disabilities, Couples group, QTFOCs).

  • You are welcome to join any/all groups.

  • We recommend that participants attend all sessions to build community, although we understand things come up based on scheduling. We recommend attending at least 6 sessions (missing no more than 2 sessions).

For all further questions and support, please email info@focseattle.org

Parent Group Descriptions

  • Newborns (0-6 months)

    Our most popular group for new parents to create community! Topics of dialogue range from nursing, sleep practices, relationships, creating & teaching culture, language & exploring race and identity. Each group will have one or two experts (child development specialist/midwife, sleep whisperer, breastfeeding advocate, postnatal yoga instructor, mindful parenting coach, specialists in baby massage or postnatal yoga) who will join to share informative workshops.

  • Waddlers (6 months to 3 years)

    Topics of dialogue range from feeding & nutrition, weaning, balancing work & home, finding family-friendly spaces, preschool search, relationships, and a dialogic approach to understanding and celebrating what it means to be a family of color as we are creating and teaching culture & language, while exploring race and identity. Experts ranging from child development specialist/midwife, nutritionist, postnatal yoga instructor, and/ or mindful parent coaching will join us to share informative workshops.

  • Black Moms

    Our Black Moms Group centers Black mothers’ narratives on raising children of color. Facilitated conversations will explore and celebrate RICE (Race, Identity, Community and Equity). Special discussion topics include: Black feminism; Black and multiracial identity in our children; Black hair and beauty; the impacts of institutionalized racism on Black children; and how parents can be equipped with knowledge through anti-bias workshops, education equity, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

  • Parents of Children with Disabilities

    This group is for parents who have children of color with disabilities or other special needs, and centers the narrative of the children and their families through an intersectional lens. The group includes, but is not limited to: ADHD, Speech delays/ disorders, Autism Spectrum, Down Syndrome; and any other visible or invisible disabilities, learning or special health care needs. The curriculum focuses on common parenting issues such as passing down traditions and culture, nutrition, childcare, discipline, education, etc. while keeping social and racial justice values at the core of these topics and exploring the complex challenges of parenting children at the intersection of race and disability.

  • Pacific Islander & Asian Parent Group

    Our Pacific Islander & Asian Parent Group centers narratives on raising children of color. Facilitated conversations will explore and celebrate RICE (Race, Identity, Community and Equity). Special discussion topics include: Family Immigration Stories; Food Culture; Intergenerational Trauma; Language and Cultural Loss & Reclaiming; Model Minority Myth; AntiBlackness; and how parents can be equipped with knowledge through anti-bias workshops, and education equity.

  • Queer & Trans Families Of Color

    This is a group for LGBTQ parents and caregivers of color of children age 0-17 to build community and learn from and with one another. We’ll explore how to navigate parenting at the intersection of multiple oppressed identities and how to talk to our children and other family members about race, gender, sexuality, and other complex topics.

  • Single Moms of Color

    Gather together to expand our parenting/resiliency tool kit and support system with other single mothers of color to explore common topics like work-life balance, childcare, discipline, and co-parenting. We’ll share stories, strategies, resources, and laughter and have meaningful dialogue around Race Identity Culture & Ethnicity (RICE) with other single moms in our FOCS community.

  • QTBIPOC Parenting As Survivors

    Hosted by API CHAYA | Queer Network Program in partnership with FOCS

    This 6 week, peer-support based parent group will offer solidarity, skills, and parenting tools for parents and caregivers of color seeking to cultivate joy, resiliency, and healing for their families and themselves as survivors of sexual violence (including CSA, DV / intimate partner violence, etc.).

    *This group is only for BIPOC parents/caregivers who identify as survivors of sexual violence, including CSA, DV, etc. and specifically centers queer and trans survivors.*

    Please keep in mind that while facilitators are skilled, they are not therapists or licensed mental health practitioners. Group meetings include a trained advocate on duty who is available to meet one-on-one, yet the limited duration of the parent support group means that we are not able to process specific, individual experiences of CSA or DV in depth. We strongly encourage participants to engage with a variety of counseling support resources available throughout the community.

  • Native Families

    This group is for Native families who want to build healthy community relationships and gain support in raising strong, culturally grounded children. Weekly meetups will include parent/caregiver-focused discussion and story-sharing, with opportunities for families to engage in cultural activities & play with their children and each other.

  • Dads’ Group

    Gather with other dads to talk about how to care for a new baby, ask your questions on how to parent, laugh about the sleepless nights, exchange diapers tips, and understand breastfeeding a newborn & feeding your waddler. Learn mindful parenting strategies as your little one starts becoming an emotional busybody of energy. Have meaningful dialogue around Race Identity Culture & Ethnicity (RICE) and gather with us to make solid connections with other dads in our FOCS community.

  • Growing Families

    Gather with other parents of two or more children to talk about how to care for a new baby while nurturing your toddler or preschooler; assuage the questions of how to parent multiple children, laugh about the sleepless nights and sibling fights, and learn mindful parenting strategies as your little ones solidify their special sibling bond. Have meaningful dialogue around Race Identity Culture & Ethnicity (RICE) and explore the experience of a growing family of color.

  • Working Moms of Color

    Gather with other mothers working outside the home to talk about work-life balance, assuage the “mom guilt” and the questions of how to parent, laugh about the sleepless nights, and explore common topics like childcare, discipline and co-parenting when mothers work outside the home. Have meaningful dialogue around Race Identity Culture & Ethnicity (RICE) and gather with us to make solid connections with other working moms in our FOCS community.

  • Multiracial Families

    This group centers narratives of Mixed-race/ Multiracial individuals with a curriculum focused on resources to support parents in raising confident and compassionate children of color. Facilitated conversations will explore and celebrate Multiracial experience in the US . This group is for Mixed-race parents (of two or more races) with children of any age, monoracial parents of Mixed-race babies and toddlers who have attended at least one other FOCS group (Newborns, Waddlers, or Growing Families), as well as and monoracial parents of Mixed-race children ages 3+ years old who may choose to attend this as their first FOCS group. See Bill of Rights for People of Mixed Heritage before registering.

  • Transracial Adoptees

    This group is for parents who were transracially adopted and centers their narrative. The curriculum focuses on common parenting issues such as feeding/nutrition, sleep, discipline, education, etc. while keeping social and racial justice values at the core of these topics and holding generous special space for personal stories of adoption and growth.

  • Transracial Adoptive and Foster Care Families

    This group is for parents who adopted transracially children of color. The curriculum focuses on common parenting issues such as feeding/nutrition, sleep, discipline, education, etc. while keeping social and racial justice values at the core of these topics and holding generous special space for personal stories of adoption and growth.

    Approved for Amara Foster Parent Training clock hours.

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