Mental Health Literacy is the ability to prevent, recognize and cope with mental health conditions. Parents with Mental Health Literacy recognize that their own mental health affects their children’s well-being and that children’s behavior is sometimes a call for help. Because mental health disorders are the most common diseases of childhood, our children need us to understand the ways that we can help.
After this class you will be able to:
Define mental health literacy
Apply approaches that support good mental health
Define and recognize the importance of self-regulation and co-regulation
Recognize yellow and red flags with regard to mental health issues
Recognize and apply health habits that impact mental health
Finding a balance between protecting your child, and giving them the independence to learn and socialize online comes down to practicing safe online interactions and knowing the warning signs to watch out for. This class will give you the information you need to initiate honest and open conversations with your child about staying safe and the risks and benefits of the digital world in a way that communicates confidence and trust.
What can parents do that will really help to protect kids’ mental health? Make home a safe place. A really safe place. You might be thinking, What? Of course, our home is a safe place. Think again. Every day brings something new to worry over and the blurry lines between work and home can make it hard to leave your stress at the door. The good news is that the skills you need to manage the anxiety of work, home, and the world are the same.
After this class you will be able to:
Recognize how we create stress in our lives and its impact on our mind, our body and our family.
Apply 7 strategies built on decades of research to create a safe, peaceful home to help your children thrive
Finding your own nurturing style as a dad can be tricky. We all carry our own ideas about what fatherhood means, and these ideas are often influenced in part by our own experiences. Becoming aware of them helps us to decide what behaviors we want to pass on and which to leave behind.
After this class you will be able to:
Decide what you want to carry on and leave behind from your own childhood
Find your own balance between playfulness and boundary setting
Understand what your child’s behaviors are communicating about their needs
Have you watched “ABC's of potty-Training Part 1 - Get Ready!” and decided your family is ready? Then this class is for you. We'll review important choices you need to make in order to get going. And we will guide you through the process of creating a sustainable potty learning routine. We'll also look ahead and offer solutions to challenges you and your child may face.
Many parents worry that going back to work will be hard on their new baby or even harm their connection. This class will share the latest information from experts about how to make the most of your time with your baby to connect and help them feel close and safe.
Tantrums happen a lot when children are young and we’d all like to know what we can do to help. This class will help you to understand why your kid’s anger, sadness, or disappointment can cause meltdowns, what you can do to help while meltdowns are happening, and how to help them happen less.
Playfulness opens your child’s brain to learning and cooperation. In this class you will learn how and why this works. You will also learn easy ways to make daily routines fun and how playfulness can help during hard times.
It is easy to get frustrated with young children. This class will help you to understand how to keep cool when things get tough and how our own feelings can make it easier or harder for our kids to stay calm.
This class will help you:
Get to know what sets you off
Calm your brain
Create a schedule and habits that keep you calm even when your child is upset
Children are happiest when they know what to expect. Arguments and misbehaviors often start when they feel that a rule is unfair or unexpected. When you talk about family rules and routines together as a family, it helps everyone feel better about what to expect even when they don’t get exactly what they want.
In this class you will:
Learn the difference between rules and routines and how they work together to keep your household happy and safe
How to create rules and routines as a family
Ways of encouraging your child help them cooperate
A better relationship with your child starts with helping them to understand and talk about their own feelings and the feelings of others. This skill is called “emotional intelligence” and it helps them to feel better about themselves and grow closer to you. As you help your child to develop more emotional intelligence it will naturally lead to less arguing and misbehaviors at home and help them to have stronger relationships throughout their life.
Does your child seem uninterested, stressed or just bored when it comes to school?
Do you play homework police instead of connecting positively with your child?
Are you confused about what will really help?
Many parents feel overwhelmed or out of the loop when it comes to their kids’ school. This class will give you ways to help your child to care more and do better in school. You will learn how to work with your child’s school and to speak up when they need you to.
After this class you will be able to:
Recognize where your child needs help and how to help them
Work with your child and their teacher to stop arguing about homework and get it done
Use simple, practical ways of getting your child to care about school without taking over
Know when and how to get in touch with a teacher about your child’s school challenges
You may have noticed that since the pandemic started, you and your kid are more stressed than ever before. Taking the time to think about what is really important when it comes to your child and learning some new ways to connect can help keep you both calm and happy.
This class will help you learn:
How to talk and listen to your child in ways that build connection
What you can do to help your child learn to stay calm and manage big feelings
What to do when your child is acting out that will get more of the behavior you want and less of those you don’t.
Clinging, crying and/or tantrums when you separate
Excessive shyness, avoiding social situations
Constant worry
Avoiding situations or places because of fears
Complaints of frequent stomach aches or headaches
Sudden and frequent panic attacks
Your child may be struggling with anxiety. And you may feel frustrated and helpless. You are not alone. One in three children will experience an anxiety disorder before adulthood. Unless treated, many will grow up to be anxious adults. This class will help you better understand the nature of anxiety, refrain from reinforcing your child's distress by accommodating behaviors, and apply simple strategies to handle day to day challenges.
You don't have to go it alone. Being able to recognize the behavior as symptoms and having a clear plan about how to invite cooperation and respond to challenging behaviors will reduce your family stress and strengthen your child's positive behavior. Join with other parents facing similar struggles and create a plan that will work for your family. At the end of this class you will be able to:
Understand the most effective ways to set the stage for cooperation through carefully chosen wording and timing
Apply effective behavior support techniques combining clear communication and useful consequences when needed
When teens feel like they can talk to their parents they are less likely to take risks with sex, drugs, and violence. Talking isn’t lecturing and this class will strengthen your listening as well as talking skills in ways that will help protect your teens and maybe even save your sanity.
Parents often think that if you figure out what punishment will make your child miserable enough, they will then cooperate. You may be surprised to learn that research has shown that this is a myth. You can sometimes scare or threaten your child into following directions but you will not get improved behavior in the long run. This class will help you recognize the difference between rules and consequences, and punishment. You will also gain 5 practical strategies to teach better behavior to your tween or teen.
Not sure what the difference is between sexual orientation and gender identity?
Confused by terms your child might be using, like pansexual, queer, transgender, or nonbinary?
Feeling the need for some guidance about how to positively respond to your child?
There are many ways youth may be talking about their sexual orientation or gender identity that might be new or confusing for parents. Having a basic understanding of the words being used, along with some helpful ways to respond, can assist you in supporting your child. Participants in this class will be able to:
Identify the differences between sexual orientation and gender identity
Identify common LGBTQ identities and what they may mean for your child
Recognize and apply ways to respond to your child that are supportive
Recognize responses to your child that are not helpful