Friends of the Family incorporates a philosophy of respect in all of our training and staff development programs:  respect for young children; respect for families served; and respect for participants in the training, whether professionals, para-professionals, or parents, for the wealth of knowledge and experience they bring to the training session. We believe that all participants in a training have something to offer to both other group members and to the trainer. All of our training and staff development activities include interaction, discussion, and an opportunity to share ideas or experiences. Friends of the Family embraces adult learning theory and applies it to our training and staff development events. All trainers are charged with using interactive and active learning approaches; incorporating opportunities to practice new skills whenever possible; using multi-media to provide information; and offering hand-outs and other materials to provide a reference after the training event. The relationship that the trainer develops with training participants models the types of respectful, empowering, and supportive relationships that should be used with young children and families. This parallel process between the principles of training and the principles of working with families is one of the aspects of Friends of the Family's training programs that makes them so successful.