Program Overview
The Learning about L.I.F.E program consists of six family-based sessions, one each for families with children in pre-school, grades 1 and 2, grades 3 and 4, grades 5 and 6, grades 7 and 8, and grades 9 and 10. The program envisions gatherings of the children of the particular grade level with their parents in the school cafeteria or parish hall for sessions of one to two hours depending on the age of the children. The facilitator of the sessions leads the family groupings in age-appropriate activities that help parent and child discuss positive loving relationships and, in that context, relationships that are harmful and abusive.
The basic framework of these sessions is a gradual understanding by the children (and their parents) of the difference between the four kinds of human relationships represented by the acronym L.I.F.E.: Love, Infatuation, Friendship, and Exploitation. The reality of sexual abuse, as a severe form of exploitation, is presented in this context.
It is important to note that Deus Caritas Est, the first encyclical letter promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI, also speaks of human relationships in these four categories. The Holy Father uses the ancient Greek words Agape, Eros, and Philia to name the different kinds of positive relationships, and refers to sex without love as being debased and deceptive, a mere commodity that is used and exploited. (DCE 3 and 4)
Click here for a description of the program components of each grade level.
Click here for an explanation of the L.I.F.E. acronym.
Click here for a printable brochure.
