It's been said, "It takes a village to raise a child," and Vicki Dolan subscribes to that philosophy. She created Children's Playroom, an Elizabethtown-based nonprofit agency that offers support and education to parents of young children. Children's Playroom will be open for families with children from birth through age 6 to experience on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Oct. 27 and 28, Nov. 17 and 18 and Dec. 15 and 16, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 398 N. Locust St., Elizabethtown. These sessions will be offered by donation before a 15-week session begins in January for a fee.

"Parenting is the most important job you'll ever have and the most difficult," Dolan said. "I want parents to know they have support on their parenting journey and are not alone."

In a typical Children's Playroom session, staff members and volunteers oversee playtime, which includes crafts, painting, puzzles and other activities, followed by a music activity and reading time. While the children enjoy a snack, parents participate in a discussion on a different topic each week, including positive discipline, stress management and potty training.

The goal of Children's Playroom, Dolan noted, is to help parents develop positive parenting skills and improve their parent-child relationships. Parents also learn to develop realistic expectations for young children while exploring developmentally appropriate activities for their children.

Dolan, who is the executive director, started the program in 1998 under an agency called Parentworks in Harrisburg. In 2004, when that organization closed, she started the process of getting her own nonprofit up and running and received her nonprofit status in January of 2005.

The program works, Dolan stated, because parents soon realize they are not alone. And, she added, Children's Playroom has a positive impact on the little ones as well.

"Not only do moms benefit, but children have the benefit to play with others and develop socialization skills," she remarked. "While mostly mothers attend, the program is open to both parents."

As Kelly, a young mother who participates in the program, noted, "When I started in the Playroom ... I felt very isolated at home. There was kind of no one else to talk about the struggles I was having with parenting."

Sarah, a mother of two children, said the structure of the sessions helped her to hone her parenting skills. "I think without Playroom, I would have been a very reactionary parent," she stated, "and Playroom has taught me that there's always a feeling behind a child's behavior."

For more information on Children's Playroom, visit http://www.childrensplayroom.org.