• 2017-2018 Speaker Series Lineup

    • Problem Solving with Your Child (based on the book, Raising a Human Being: Creating A Collaborative Partnership with Your Child by Dr. Ross Greene)
      Presenter: Jani Holyan

    • The Power of Parents: Talking & Setting Boundaries with Your Kids about Alcohol
      This session included a presentation by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and an expert panel including a therapist and law enforcement, followed by Q&A.
      Sponsored by the All In Clayton Coalition

    • Permission to Screw Up (based on the book of the same title)
      What can we be doing to equip our children for success? How do we help future generations reach their potential? How can we support our children by allowing them to fail, so that they learn and grow? In this talk, author Kristen Hadeed shared the exciting story of founding Student Maid, all the while giving attendees the understanding and tools needed to help their children achieve everything they hope they will and more.
      Sponsored by the District PTO Council

    • Hidden In Plain View: An Initiative to Help Parents Spot Signs of Risky Behavior
      Attendees explored an interactive display of a teenager’s bedroom containing items that could signal that a young person is involved in risky activities. They learned how to spot warning signs and get tips for talking with kids about the dangers of alcohol and drug use during a presentation by local nonprofit Addiction Is Real.
      Sponsored by the All In Clayton Coalition

    • A Parent's Guide to Social Media for 2018
      Webster University Professor Julie Smith is a dynamic and engaging speaker who travels extensively speaking to students, parents and teachers about media literacy. She is the author of "Master the Media: How Teaching Media Literacy Can Save our Plugged-In World" and has been researching social media for 10 years. In this presentation, parents learned about research on the impact of social media on students, how parents can help their children protect their digital identities and the importance of using coping skills for the social anxiety that social media can cause. Smith also provided techniques for spotting misinformation and discussed good vs. bad apps.
      Sponsored by the District PTO Council

    • Temperament Part 1: What You Need To Know to Work With Your Child and Make Family Life More Fun!
      Power struggles with our kids are no fun, but they offer us an opportunity to recognize and work with our child’s temperament instead of fighting against it. This session looked at two aspects of temperament that significantly shape family life: introversion/extraversion and the thinking/feeling preferences. Attendees left with some concrete tools for identifying these preferences in their child and why it can make all the difference in reducing power struggles and building strong parent-child relationships.
      Presenter: Jani Holyan

    • Temperament Part 2
      This session explored two other facets of temperament in attendees and their children and how they process information and organize their world. This session included several practical applications for helping kids with homework, making schedules, organizing their time, etc.
      Presenter: Jani Holyan

    • Kids, Parents & Power Struggles: The Secrets to Effective Discipline
      How do you discipline the child who refuses to take “no” for an answer and seems to know the perfect trigger to “push your buttons”? Attendees joined bestselling author and internationally recognized lecturer and parent educator Dr. Mary Sheedy Kurcinka for an interactive, humorous and thought-provoking presentation about how to build a relationship that makes their child want to work with them. Attendees learned strategies for preventing the morning and bedtime battles, the secret to managing the intensity – theirs and their child’s, and how to teach their child respectful and appropriate ways to express feelings and needs.

    • Teen Mental Health & Substance Abuse: Supporting teen health in the age of cell phones, juul pods and the opioid epidemic
      Experts at Clayton Behavioral presented a provocative talk on the opioid epidemic. Speakers included Ned Presnall, executive director of programs, Robert Riley II, a person in recovery and counselor, and Dr. Adelita Segovia, child and adolescent psychiatrist.
      Sponsored by the All In Clayton Coalition

    • ​Discussion & Debrief from ​Kids, Parents & Power Struggles: The Secrets to Effective Discipline
      Attendees discussed how to apply the wisdom they heard from Dr. Mary Sheedy Kurcinka about Kids, Parents and Power Struggles.