Lesson Category: Teens

 A strong positive relationship with your child is the basis of cooperation. You can build a positive connection with your child and keep it strong as they grow and develop by celebrating their efforts and progress.

Research indicates that a high proportion of parents experience a condition called “Parental Concern Over After-School Time (PCAST).” This condition contributes to job disruption, distractions, errors, negative attitudes about promotions and lower job satisfaction. Parents will benefit from support to determine when children are ready to be home alone and what skills and knowledge children need to be safe.

Social media and online interactions are a huge part of our children's social lives. Trying to keep up with all of the apps and trends can feel like an exhausting game of whack-a-mole. The good news is that the key to navigating the risks and rewards of your child's online social life is regular, clear, and respectful conversations that happen when you communicate your curiosity and trust about an area of their lives you may only get rare glimpses into.

This class will address the use and over-use of technology for homework, leisure, socializing and the challenges it presents to families. Learn practical strategies you and your child can use to truly embrace this new digital frontier without fear and within reason.

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.

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.

Learning to have romantic relationships and deal with sexually maturing bodies are essential tasks of healthy teen development. As the parents, you may feel as unprepared as your kids feel to navigate this ever-changing stage. While adolescents sometimes act like they know it all, they often feel vulnerable and unprepared for the social and sexual realities of romantic relationships. And the same may be true for you – maybe you are wondering how do I support exploration and independence while keeping my child safe, especially during these challenging times.

Participants in this class will be able to

• Apply steps to navigate teens’ romantic relationships with trust, compassion, clarity and consistency
• Identify strategies to balance monitoring with trust
• Recognize the connections between physical and romantic relationships with parental relationship health

Raising healthy children with the ability to sustain meaningful relationships is a challenge even in the most ideal situations. Add on hormones, attitude, personality, and technology - welcome to the tween and teen years!

Come learn about parenting the independent, emerging adult while still nurturing the playful child within.  We will talk specifically about building relationships during this very unpredictable time.

Making plans with teens to try doing things on their own can help them succeed. Working together on independence can also put your mind a little more at ease.

We all want our kids to grow up to be capable, competent people who can find their own way in the world. But the steps to getting there can seem daunting.

How do we know when our kids are ready to do things on their own? How do we keep them safe and set them free at the same time?