For Mothers
Kamalat äidit® – peer support group for mothers of teenagers.
“I have more faith in myself; I am a good mom as I am”.
Is your child’s puberty challenging you as a parent? Would you like to share your thoughts with other mothers in the same life situation as you?
Join a Kamalat äidit/Terrible moms peer-support group!
Kamalat äidit® organizes peer support activities for mothers of teenagers. In the groups, we discuss parenthood and other themes related to women’s lives, share knowledge about teenage years and encourage mothers to talk and share their thoughts with the other participants.
The groups are open to all mothers of teenagers. After the first meeting, to ensure confidentiality, the group continues as a closed group.
The Kamalat äidit® groups are peer-support group leaders’ led groups, to which every mother of teenager can participate. In the group, we discuss daily life challenges such as curfews, use of money, intoxicants and addictions, as well as other things mothers are wondering and want to talk about.
The peer support groups meet every second week, 6 – 10 times in total, for approximately an hour and a half each time. 4 to 10 mothers can participate in one group. We expect the participants to be committed for the duration of the group.
Peer-support activities
- Are a reciprocal and confidential exchange of experience.
- Are based on people’s need to give and receive support from one another.
- Are about sharing one’s own experience and life situation in a respectful and safe environment.
Would you like to join?
- The Kamalat äidit groups meet in many different places all around Finland and new groups are started all the time. You can find more information about the groups in our calendar or asking directly from our team via email: kamalataidit@ywca.fi
- If there isn’t any Kamalat äidit group in your city, you can start one yourself! Contact us at: kamalataidit@ywca.fi
- Follow us and share with others on social media, you can find here our main Facebook page and our multilingual Facebook page.
Kamalat äidit® operating model is a registered trademark since Autumn 2013. It is coordinated by The Finnish YWCA and funded by STEA.
Moms’ feedback
” This was a good way of pausing, for me. It was so nice and great.”
“ The peer support was meaningful”.
“The peer support has made my life easier”
”I’m more kind towards myself”
”You always get support, cheers, strength”
”I dared to speak in the group and I got strength from that”.
The image of a mother sacrificing all her dreams to her husband and children is an inspiring example. But what about you? You deserve your dreams. You’re a wonderful mother, and you’re also a wonderful woman.
Pam Brown
Terrible mothers’ activities in English, Autumn 2024
Peer support groups
Autumn groups have not been confirmed yet. Please follow this page during the summer.
Evenings for mothers of teens
Evenings in Sept, Oct, Nov are in Finnish (please see more info from our Finnish web page).
In English: Tue 3 December at 18 – 19.30 hours “Co-parenting after Divorce” with Tanja Del Angel from Familia ry and Riikka/Kamalat äidit. More info? Please ask Riikka, tel./whats app 040 821 7894.
Evening Chats in English once a month Thursdays
You are most welcome to join us chatting about our everyday joys and challenges we face as mothers of teenagers. We meet on the Tukinet platform. No need to register, you can just join us (the link will be added on this page in August).
Thu 5 Sept, 3 Oct, 7 Nov at 20 – 21 hours
Orientation for peer support group leaders
After participating in our orientation, you will be able to facilitate a group or a chat to support mothers of teenagers . Groups can also be held online and/or in a different language. We offer group leader trainings in English (and Finnish) about twice a year. We also organise additional training and recreational activities for our instructors!
Then next orientation in English will start Mon 23 Sept 2024 and finish Mon 21 Oct. The registration link will be posted here during the summer.
The new Terrible Mothers group leader orientation!
We have successfully piloted the upgraded group leader training on the Howspace learning platform in spring 2023. The orientation now includes an introductory chat with a Terrible mothers coordinator, self-study, online exercises, and one live lecture. New instructors will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the group through demo workshops.
Finally, a Teams discussion will take place with each instructor who has completed the induction, to discuss how to start the group and any other questions.
Would you like to be part of the Terrible Mothers activities?
Would you like to receive up-to-date information on our activities? Join our mailing list (Don’t worry, we won’t fill your inbox by sending messages constantly!)
Join the Multilingual Terrible mothers’ Facebook page. We’ll keep you posted on upcoming events.