The city of Thousand Oaks and the Thousand Oaks Police Department have a mutual interest in ensuring that children reach their scholastic and personal growth potential.

In today's society, children have several obstacles, bad influences and distractions.

Raising children isn't easy.

Children sometimes engage in harmful behaviors fueled by negative influences, including alcohol, gangs and peer pressure.

The Thousand Oaks Police Department will be offering a parenting class Wednesdays for 10 weeks starting on April 15. Classes will be at the Thousand Oaks Police Department, 2101 E. Olsen Road in Thousand Oaks.

Parents with difficult, defiant or problematic children are encouraged to attend.

The goal is to give parents guidance to develop more successful children.

The course content consists of ways to address drugs, sex, gangs, poor grades, running away and violence.

Further content includes guidance in gaining children's compliance with house rules, how to never argue with your child again and how to use other parents for support.

More information is available at www.parentproject.com.

Senior deputies Dennis Sliva and Jim DeSoto of the Thousand Oaks Police Department will be facilitators. Interested parents can call DeSoto at (805) 3718362 or Sliva at (805) 494-8267 for further information.