Lecturers from the Faculty of Psychology at Mercu Buana University Yogyakarta (UMBY) regularly engage in community service (PkM) as part of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education. This time, the activity took the form of a parenting seminar entitled "Parents Grow, Children Resilient" in collaboration with the Yogyakarta City Library and Archives Office.

The activity was led by Ranni Merli Safitri, S.T., M.T., Ph.D., as team leader, with team member Santi Esterlita Purnamasari, M.Si., a psychologist, who also served as the main speaker. The seminar was held online via Zoom on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, and was attended by 40 parents assisted by the Library Office.

The Head of the Yogyakarta City Library and Archives Office, Afia Rosdiana, M.Pd., opened the event and expressed her appreciation for the collaboration between government and educational institutions. She considered this activity a strategic step in improving family literacy, particularly in psychology-based childcare.

The head of the community service team, Ranni Merli Safitri, explained that this activity was designed to address parents' need to understand the dynamics of children's emotional development in the modern era.

"Through this activity, we want to help parents gain a more accurate understanding of their children's emotions, so they don't just react, but are able to respond in a wiser way and support their children's optimal development," she said.

In the main session, Santi Esterlita Purnamasari presented a topic entitled "Recognizing & Identifying Children's Emotional Problems." She emphasized the importance of parents understanding their children's emotional expressions as a form of communication and recognizing signs of emotional problems early on.

"Often, children's behavior is considered a problem, but it is actually their way of communicating their feelings. The parent's job is not just to stop the behavior, but to understand the emotions behind it," Santi explained.

She also added that emotional regulation skills don't emerge instantly but need to be cultivated through consistent and empathetic daily interactions.

"Children learn to manage their emotions from how their parents respond. When parents are able to be calm and understanding, children will learn to do the same," she added.

Santi further explained that some recognizable signs of emotional problems in children include aggressive behavior such as hitting or kicking, frequent refusal or avoidance of communication, difficulty expressing feelings, and excessive dependence on gadgets. She emphasized that these conditions can be addressed through a consistent approach, such as building empathetic communication, helping children recognize and name their emotions, setting clear boundaries, and modeling good emotional regulation.

The seminar was interactive and highly enthusiastic among participants. This was evident in the numerous questions asked, ranging from how to deal with children who avoid discussing emotions, addressing aggressive behavior in early childhood, to the challenges of managing gadget use and screen time.

One participant, Nur Fitriatus Shalihah, admitted to gaining new insights from the activity.

"The material was very relevant to my situation as a parent. I now understand more clearly that children's behavior is not simply 'naughty,' but involves emotions that need to be understood. Mrs. Santi's explanations were also practical and can be applied at home," she said.