TEHRAN – To promote positive parenting skills, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has organized workshops targeting counselors from Primary Health Care (PHC) centres and schools across 14 cities in the southern and eight in the northern parts of Sistan-Baluchestan province.

So far, two workshops have been held in the province. The first training workshop took place in Chabahar from October 6 to 9, 2025, and the second was held in Zahedan from October 19 to 22.

Their goal was to help local Primary Health Care and School counselors guide and support parents of adolescents in adopting positive parenting approaches, the UNICEF website announced in a press release on November 10.

Psychologists and counselors in Sistan-Baluchestan province are now better equipped to support families with parenting skills thanks to a UNICEF-supported Adolescent Positive Parenting training program.

What did the counselors learn? They gained the crucial knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to engage with parents of adolescents effectively, support parents in fostering their adolescents’ healthy and positive development, strengthen family relationships, and bring the training to the community.

These workshops are just the start. Following the training, multisectoral teams will start holding adolescent-positive parenting sessions at the community level.

These teams include key partners from schools, Primary Healthcare (PHC) services, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), and Social Emergency Services.

By working together, these groups will ensure that at least 2,000 parents and caregivers in all 22 cities of Sistan-Baluchestan can access the help they need to support their adolescents positively.

Online resources for parents

Parents are encouraged to visit the UNICEF Iran website’s dedicated section on parenting (link). It offers a wealth of resources, articles, and advice to help families promote their children’s healthy development and well-being.

Adolescent positive parenting

In December, UNICEF in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) and the Ministry of Education (MoE), organized a comprehensive training workshop on “Adolescent Positive Parenting” in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi Province, to ensure adolescents in vulnerable areas will benefit from a supportive environment.

This intensive eight-day training, conducted in two four-day rounds in December, brought together 90 psychologists, counselors, and mental health practitioners from Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), schools, and community centres. The programme, funded by EU Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), the UNICEF website reported on December 23.

The workshop aimed to enhance their knowledge, skills, and technical expertise in delivering positive parenting programmes tailored specifically for parents of adolescents.

As part of a UNICEF-supported initiative, parents of adolescents in vulnerable districts are empowered with hands-on training in positive parenting skills.

The goal is to establish supportive and nurturing environments for adolescents in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

The “Adolescent Positive Parenting” package, developed with UNICEF’s support, includes three detailed manuals and workbooks for trainers, parents, and adolescents. It also features 17 educational films for trainers, five videos for parents, and five motion graphics designed to enhance learning and engagement.

To conduct the workshop, the Drug Control Headquarters (DCHQ), Provincial Drug Coordination Council (DCCC), Iranian Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and a local non-governmental organization collaborated with UNICEF, as well.

In the initial phase, the trained professionals will reach out to at least 1,600 parents in Khorasan Razavi Province, offering them practical training on positive parenting skills.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to scale up adolescent parenting programmes initially launched in Qom Province for vulnerable parents.

Over 4,000 parents of adolescents in marginalised areas of Qom have participated in at least eight sessions of parenting training, demonstrating the programme’s success in fostering stronger family relationships and adolescent well-being.

By collaborating with key governmental and non-governmental organisations, UNICEF continues to expand its reach, ensuring that adolescents and their families in vulnerable districts receive the essential support and guidance they need for a brighter future.

MT/MG