Parenting Workshop and Helping Reduce Teen Stress program coming soon!
Cathy DeFuria
“Guiding Your Parenting Skills Workshop”
CAFY is sponsoring the "Guiding Your Parenting Skills" program for parents of 8th-11th graders. This program is designed to be interactive, experiential and fun. It will give you concrete tools to change the way you communicate with your teen. The two part series will help you review and learn what’s changed for adolescents, how much influence their peers have over their decisions, why risks are important to your teen’s development,what risks adolescents in Acton-Boxborough are taking, and three simple rules for you to use in parenting your teen(s) which will help “Promote Teen Health & Reduce Risky Behavior"
Kathy Bowen will conduct the program. She is an accomplished professional educator and entrepreneur, whose expertise garnered from over 25 years of coaching parents, teachers and children, has led her to become a sought-after parenting/families coach. She has conducted two Guiding Good Choices workshops for CAFY in the past; and she received “extremely positive” ratings by the participants.
The two session program will be held on Thursday, March 29th and Thursday, April 5th, between 7 pm and 9 pm, in the Acton Boxborough High School library. It will be limited to 20 participants. The registration fee is $25. To register, contact Bob McGowan, Chair of the CAFY Board, either atrmcgo...@aol.com or 978-930-1947. Please make out your check to CAFY; and mail it to: CAFY, PO Box 2063, Acton, MA 01720.
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“Parenting Strategies to Help Teens Manage Stress”
Teenage years are times of tremendous personal change, during which our youth can experience a great deal of stress from multiple sources. Each phase of life offers its own challenges and opportunities for growth. When teens have the tools to face these challenges, the journey can be one of interest and adventure.
The 2011 CAFY-ABCHY parent survey, that was completed by 338 Acton-Boxborough 6th-12th grade parents, identified teen stress as one of the major concerns of these parents. Approximately half of the participants, expressed concerns related the culture of stress in our community resulting from academic pressure, athletic competition, other extracurricular activities, college applications, peer pressure, parent expectations, etc.
CAFY is sponsoring a presentation for parents that will focus on the range of issues that cause teens to experience stress; and the strategies that parents can use to help them to manage their stress effectively. It will also help parents become more aware of family dynamics that provide a comfortable haven for teens that can help them stay anchored as they transition to adulthood.
Patricia Howard will conduct this presentation. She has been with Emerson Hospital for seven years. As a staff member of the Integrative Health & Wellness Center, she has provided stress reduction programs for patients and members of the community. More recently, she has conducted the “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Focusing Tools for Teens” program.
The program will be held on Tuesday, March 20th, between 7 pm and 9 pm, in the Chorus Room (Rm 106N) at Acton Boxborough Regional High School. Participants are encouraged to make a $5 donation to help cover the cost of the program and other CAFY initiatives.