VALDOSTA – Dr. Sheila Thomas said her goal is to increase the level of understanding in parent-child relationships. 

She tries to be a role model.

Thomas is an author, an education consultant and “The Parent Partner,” who’s given stories about her life in various forms to showcase what she’s learned in more than 30 years of parenting.

Her first book is a case in point: “J.R.’s Biggest Fan” released in June 2020, one she wrote about her son and her efforts to give him positive affirmations.

For instance if he was playing basketball and fell down or was in a spelling bee and failed to spell something correctly, she’d tell him “Never give up. I’ll always be your biggest fan.”

She wrote the book to show the support she gave to her son and offer other parents ways to support their children. It helps the child find something (activities, interests or otherwise) they enjoy, she says. 

“You have to be there to support your children,” Thomas said. “If your children see you’re interested in what they’re doing — that you care about what they’re doing — they’ll do better in school in life and all-around.”

In the same vein, Thomas has also published “Yes, I Can,” a coloring book of affirmations for boys filled with images of them doing different activities and saying “yes, I can.”

She’s also published “J.R.’s Biggest Fan” in Spanish.

This publication originally came at the behest of a school, but it also represented a need in the community given the large Hispanic population in Southern Georgia, she said. 

While all of Thomas’ books and information can be applied to all children, she tailors her books toward parents of “Black and brown children”— children of color.

As a parent of two Black and brown boys whose ages range from 17-36, she’s made a few observations of what they went through.

Because she knew what they were up against in school, she created a course called “Raising Brilliant Black and Brown Boys” to work with parents and show them statistics and trends of what their children may go through in schools.

This program branches out of her parent program, which she’s monikered “The Parent Partner,” that arms parents with tools and resources to advocate for their children.

The program gives parents the ability to better articulate how their child learns given the academic foundation created for them at home.

Thomas created the basis for this program using the 31 years of experience in education.

She’s taught within daycare, school and college-level systems and was a state-approved trainer for “Bright From the Start” where she taught teachers, giving them tools needed to work with children.

“One day, I said ‘who’s training the parents,’” she said about her initial motivation for her parent program. “We always say parents are the child’s first teacher.”

She went to school for education while most parents did not, so someone needed to work with the parents.

We need to remember the teacher, Thomas said, as this endeavor is about bridging the gaps between parents and schools.

“Parents can see a different perspective and sometimes when they see it from a person who’s not in that school, someone who’s outside (it), they’ll comprehend it a little bit better,” Thomas said.

Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced students and teachers into different forms of learning (i.e. Zoom, Google Meet classes, etc.), Thomas feels like this is the best time for her programs.

Things have changed so much within the past two years, she said.

“Parents are having to do a lot of things at home to support their children,” Thomas said. “I’m an educator (and) I’ve been in the schools. I know all the anxiety that’s happening.”

With the possibility of teachers being sick because of COVID-19, the weight is on the parent to create a catered and structured learning environment in the home which requires parent-child communication.

Doing this allows the parent to get to know their child better and themselves better. Mixing that together makes you and your child happier, and sends them to school more eager to learn, she said. 

This goes right along with giving children positive affirmations.

“We have to build up their self esteem and give them that confidence because of what they have to face in the world,” Thomas said.