Helping parents raise healthy and responsible kids.
PUBLIC SPEAKING: Topics
My presentations, workshops, and consultations are tailored to meet the needs of the organization I am working with. I take the time to understand what the community is looking for, what challenges they are facing, and what resources are available. Participants develop the skills and strategies for effectively working with children and teens, and are motivated to create an on-going network of support.
The topics listed below can be presented in a two-hour format or as a workshop series. Topics can be tailored to the needs of parents, educators, health professionals and religious educators. Teen workshops are developed to fit the age and gender of the young people involved.
I. The Talk: What Your Kids Need to Hear From YOU About Sex
Our children are being barraged by sexual information and stimulation at an earlier and earlier age. As parents, we need to be proactive in giving our children the information and behavioral guidelines they need to successfully handle both media and peer pressure. We need to begin this conversation while our opinion is still more valuable than the influence of their peers.
This highly acclaimed two-hour presentation presents parents with practical and positive ways of beginning and sustaining a dialogue about sexuality that includes values, guidelines for behavior, and peer pressure.
II. Aligning the Internet with Your Family Values
The Internet is an amazing resource that invites the world into our homes. How is this resource changing the way our children socialize and communicate? What impact does it have on the time we have together as a family? How do we set rules and guidelines for a resource that our children know more about than we do?
This presentation shows parents how kids are using and abusing the Internet, helps them understand the social/sexual implications of teen Internet use, and gives guidelines for safety and ethical behavior that aligns Internet use with family schedules and family values.
III. Raising Children that are Ready for Media and Peer Pressure
The media has discovered the "kiddie market" and is developing movies, pop lyrics, television shows and advertisements that play on the emotional vulnerabilities of children. Whether it's a candy bar at the checkout stand, a CD or permission to see the latest movie, parents are under siege to provide the newest and latest thing that will momentarily satisfy their child.
How can we protect our children from inappropriate and mindless stimulation? How can we be true to our own values and not ostracize our children from their peers? What guidelines can we give them for making intelligent choices?
This presentation helps parents design a realistic media strategy for their family. Parents learn how to counteract peer pressure by making their kids "media savvy" and enlisting the power of self-discipline.
IV. Preparing Our Daughters for Puberty
Our daughters face a daunting transition into womanhood during a time when many girls lose confidence. Once strong and involved young girls become tentative, anxious, and self-critical adolescents. Faced with the challenges of a changing body, peer pressure and media images of perfection, our daughters need our support and guidance more than ever.
This workshop enlists our power as mothers to maintain strong relationship with our daughters. It explores the social realities that our daughters face and examines concrete ways of inspiring our daughters to experience their femininity as a source of power and pride.
V. Who am I? Who Decides?
This workshop for preteens and teens addresses the overwhelming physical and emotional changes that occur during adolescence. It challenges the participants to find what and whom we can count on when everything inside and outside of our selves seems to be changing. Discussion topics include: the manipulative power of the media, influence of peers, and changing relationship with family. These issues are addressed in a context of respect for the teens' ability to find the inner strength to define their own values and discover the unique contribution they have to offer to the world. Using role-play, relaxation techniques and conversation, participants address how they make decisions and what resources are available to them.