Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Apr 28/00) - Eight mothers experienced an array of emotions at the Sa Naeah Pre-natal Centre recently.

The women were participating in a parenting workshop, where facilitator Addena Sumter-Freitag, of the NWT Council on the Status of Women, single-handedly enacted a poignant, dramatic presentation where a mother was physically abusing her daughter, said Lynn Wharton, a parent and co-ordinator of the pre-natal program.

"She was amazing. She showed us how the child felt from the child's perspective," said Wharton, a parent and co-ordinator of the pre-natal program.

The emotion Sumter-Freitag conveyed admittedly made an impact on mother Sharon Corneille, who referred to the performance as the highlight of the workshop.

Helen Corneille said she found the three-day seminar very interesting and learned about several games she can use to help her children express emotion and communicate better.

Wharton said the parents also engaged in activities that took them on a trip down memory lane.

For instance, they had to name and draw their family and friends from when they were eight or nine years old.

"It got us really thinking about how children think," she said. "Then we had to talk about what our hopes and dreams and fears were -- but the setting had to be set first with the drawings."

The workshop not only focused on parenting but also personal development, said Wharton.

"We learned to take a look at who our personal supports are," she said. "The better supported we are, with friends and family, the more able we are to parent in a patient manner and the more open we are to learning about new ways of parenting."

Finding supplementary methods of parenting is always beneficial as children respond differently as individuals and as they grow and develop.

"You learn from your mistakes, that's what I've found," said Sharon Corneille, who finds much joy in her role as a parent. "You're more like a guardian angel to your kids because you're watching them all the time and they look up to you ... and you look at them and you see a little angel in them."