TULSA, Okla. — Troubled children can be a common trait in the average classroom.
Teachers tell us they do all they can, but the real job is up to the parents.
Teach Not Punish is a program not just teaching children, but also their parents new ways to improve on long term behavior.
“That organization was definitely like a great experience for me,” Cobbs said.
Britney cobbs is a single mother of three boys.
“I wasn’t really 100% sure where I saw my life going," Cobbs said. "I dropped out of high school and I didn’t go to college right after. I really was kind of lost.”
She says she became a mother at 18, had her second child at 19, and her third at 21.
"Literally some days I would just wake up and be crying," Cobbs said. "I didn’t know why.”
And she didn’t know what to do.
“i just felt like why is my life like this," Cobbs said. "I was even suicidal for a while. That was like the scariest part for me.”
She worried the stress and anxiety she felt would rub off on her kids.
That was until she discovered Teach Not Punish.
“You can actually go there and all that you need," Cobbs said. "Not just for you, but your children as well,”
The program gave her the push she needed.
“It really gave me a lot of hope for my future," Cobbs said. "So it gave me a different perspective on what I like, what I don’t like. Where I see myself in five years. Where I see myself in 10 years now.”
And her middle child saw change too.
“That’s what i love about them, because if they don’t do what they have to do, then I wouldn’t be here in this house right now,” Jalil said.
11-year-old Jalil loves the program, and volunteers take him to the library, and teach him healthy ways to deal with his emotions.
“Stay in school. Get good grades, stay out of trouble,” Jalil said.
He's learned to give his mom space after a long day.
“Like when I go home, I don’t have to be bad," Jalil said. "I can just go in my house, chill out, watch a movie, or go outside and let my mama have her peace.”
Britney says if the program helped her it can help anyone.
“To all the single moms, you literally can do it," Cobbs said. "I know it’s one of the hardest, most challenging things to do in life. But it is very rewarding.”
For more details on the program, click here.
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