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2019

Photo of a man holding two babies with the BAPC logo in the corner
Donate, Giving Tuesday, Natural Strength Parenting™, The Character Effect™

Support Beech Acres Parenting Center This Giving Tuesday

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Support Beech Acres Parenting Center This Giving Tuesday, December 3, 2019. Inpire and Equip today’s parents, families, and communities to raise capable, caring, contributing children. The mission of Beech Acres Parenting Center hasn’t changed much in over 170 years. What has changed is the way we approach our mission. In today’s rapidly changing world, parents are looking for ways to be more present with their children, to understand and to build on their child’s strengths, and to improve their child’s mental well being. Thanks to your support Beech Acres Parenting Center meets parents where they are; in schools, pediatrician’s offices, and right in their community with innovative services such as The Character Effect™, Parent Connext™, Kinship Connections, and our beloved Foster Care Program. This #GivingTuesday help us achieve our vision of a world where all children are nurtured to discover, cultivate and apply their natural gifts. Your gift supports parents right in our community who are looking to improve their relationship with their children and strengthen their families. Thank you for your support.

Small circular red gratitude icon
character strengths, Gratitude, Strengths

Gratitude Coloring Page

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Everyone has 24 character strengths inside them. This month we’re celebrating the strength of gratitude.  Gratitude is being aware of and being thankful for the good things that happen in your life. And being mindful about taking the time to express that thanks. Express your gratitude by downloading our gratitude coloring page.  Coloring can be a relaxing exercise. Share this activity with your family. After you color the front side, take a moment to share and write down things you are grateful for on the reverse.  *logo used with permission from Children, Inc.

Blue scripps howard foundation logo
Uncategorized

Beech Acres Parenting Center Receives Generous Grant From the Scripps Howard Foundation

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Beech Acres Parenting Center is grateful to the Scripps Howard Foundation for their generous grant of $10,000 designated for our Family Emergency Fund. The Family Emergency Fund helps address basic needs that many of the families we serve face, including shelter, transportation, clothing, and food. Thank you to the Scripps Howard Foundation for your extraordinary generosity! ABOUT THE SCRIPPS HOWARD FOUNDATION The Scripps Howard Foundation (www.scripps.com/foundation), based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company. With a special commitment to the regions where Scripps does business, the Foundation helps build strong communities and improve the quality of life through support of sound educational programs, strong families, vital social services, enriching arts and culture and inclusive civic affairs. The Scripps Howard Foundation is a leader in industry efforts in journalism education, scholarships, internships, minority recruitment and development, literacy and First Amendment causes.

Graphic about gratitude with a photo of a mother and father standing with their child in the kitchen
Gratitude, Strengths

What Are You Grateful For?

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A child’s gratitude naturally grows from a loving, mindful connection to their parents. When you listen and actively engage with your kids, you are planting the seeds of gratitude. The message is that they matter and that you are grateful for the love and time that you share. This month we’re celebrating the strength of #gratitude. We’ll have some fun activities for you to share gratitude with your family and we want to hear from you. What are you grateful for?

Photo of a child's hand writing I Am Being Bullied on a notepad
Bullying, Natural Strength Parenting™

How Can You Tell If Your Child Is Being Bullied? Here Are Some Things to Look For…And What to Do If They Are

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Is My Child Being Bullied? It’s one question every parent dreads; is their child is being bullied at school?  Bullying is a serious issue that affects children of all ages. Sometimes it may not be obvious that your child is being bullied and if they are, they may not be ready to tell you about it. That’s OK. Here are a few things you can look for that may indicate your child is being bullied along. And what to do if they are.  All tips based on Natural Strength Parenting™. Torn or Ripped Clothing One sign that your child may be experiencing physical bullying is torn or ripped clothing. If your child comes home from school with a tear in their favorite hoodie or ripped jeans be sure to ask what happened. This is a good way to start the conversation and to let them know you care. NSP™ Tip: Being fully present and engaged in these conversations may help your child feel more comfortable and thus more likely to open up to you. Damaged Property If your daughter or son bring any of their personal items home from school damaged, it could be a sign they are being bullied. Broken tablets or laptops, damaged backpacks, ripped folders or paper and shattered or missing cell phones can all indicate something is wrong. Make sure you ask questions, especially if you notice multiple or repeated damage to personal items. You can allow them the opportunity to discuss what is happening and start to move forward by asking a few simple questions. “I notice your backpack is looking a little beat up. I know you love that backpack, is there anything you’d like to discuss before dinner?” NSP™ Tip: Providing the opportunity to clear something up can encourage your child to discuss the issue and start to move forward. Unexplained Cuts, Bruises, and Scratches It is important to be aware of any physical injuries your child comes home with. The occasional skinned knee or elbow is to be expected, but any physical symptoms should be addressed right away. When asking what happened, look for details and make sure to offer reassurance. If your child is being harmed physically it is a very serious manner and may be difficult for them to bring up with you. NSP™ Tip: If your child is hurt try a quiet, mindful moment with them to calm them down. Even just a few slow, deep breaths can help quiet their mind and have a calming effect. Changes in Attitude or Behavior Watch for changes in attitude towards school, sports, or other activities. Difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite or other noticeable changes in their behavior can all be signs that something is wrong. If your child is being bullied and they do not know how to deal with it, it can affect their mood. Be aware of any changes that you notice and take the opportunity to sit down and talk with them. Sometimes just taking time to ask the right questions can make a big difference. NSP™ Tip: Take a moment to recognize or celebrate a good grade on a test, a strong effort in a game, or a kind act you’ve seen them do recently. Offering affirmation to your daughter or son can help them focus on something positive.

Photo of two children pointing down at a third child as he looks at the ground
Bullying, Natural Strength Parenting™

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Are You Prepared to Talk to Your Child About Bullying?

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October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month Nearly one out of every five students report being bullied. Are you prepared to talk to your child about bullying? Bullying is a growing concern for children and parents everywhere. Bullying is prevalent from your child’s preschool playground to their high school locker room. Natural Strength Parenting™ can provide you with tools to build your child’s resilience and help your family deal with bullying. All month we will be providing valuable information for parents to identify, address, and reduce the impact of bullying on their child. Bookmark the Beech Roots blog and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Find additional resources from innerbody here.

Parent Connext™, Parenting Tips

Support Your Child’s Self-Confidence, Boost Their Resilience, and Promote Their Well Being Using This Parenting Road Map

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  Support Your Child’s Self-Confidence, Boost Their Resilience, and Promote Their Well Being Using This Parenting Road Map The Power of Three Support Your Child’s Self-Confidence You can support your child’s self-confidence by letting them know they are loved unconditionally each and every day. Point out and affirm their unique, individual strengths and celebrate their successes. Actively listen to what they have to say and be empathetic and open to their feelings. Here are 3 ways to support your child’s self-confidence: Take the VIA Character Strengths Survey Spend at least five “unplugged” minutes per day with your child Be intentional about offering praise Boost Your Child’s Resilience Continue to show your ongoing and unconditional love and support while allowing your child to be independent and develop their own coping and problem-solving skills. Avoid “helicopter” or “lawnmower” parenting whenever possible to encourage independence. Let your child make choices. Guide them by providing solutions that you are comfortable with Name your emotions when you are feeling them and encourage your child to do the same Let your child deal with the consequences of their actions. Be there to follow up and support them, but allow them to use their strengths to deal with situations Promote Your Child’s Mental Well Being Speak to your child regularly about important topics such as mental health, dating, respect, and relationships. Focus on your family’s values when discussing these topics. Encourage your child to take care of themselves by relaxing, practicing mindfulness and putting down their phone from time to time. Model these behaviors by practicing them yourself. Practice mindfulness, meditation, and other relaxation activities with your child Talk with your child about stress and symptoms they may experience because of that stress Gather more information about your child’s developmental stage Download our Power of Three Roadmap and try these strategies with your child. You can also visit our website to find out if Beech Acres Parenting Center is in your child’s school or pediatrician’s office.  

Photo of women standing in a room with a Beech Acres sign on the wall
Kinship, Kinship Connections

Beech Acres Parenting Center Kinship Connections In The Spotlight

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Earlier this week, representatives from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) visited Beech Acres Parenting Center to explore and better understand the successes of our Kinship Connections program. Kinship Connections Kinship Connections at Beech Acres Parenting Center was established to address the growing needs of grandparents and other relatives who find themselves caring for a loved one’s child unexpectedly due to unforeseen or unfortunate circumstances. In Ohio, over 200,000 children are being cared for in homes primarily by their grandparents or another relative. The growing opioid epidemic has exacerbated this issue. Kinship Connections, funded by the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund and the Mental Health Recovery Services of Warren and Clinton Counties, is designed to assist families in Southwest Ohio by helping them navigate complex paperwork, connecting them with valuable resources, and building camaraderie among families experiencing similar circumstances. Government Accountability Office Research The Government Accountability Office had the following questions and research objectives during their visit: 1. What is known about the trends in the number of grandparents and other older relatives raising children, and factors related to these trends? 2. What are the key challenges that these older relative caregivers face, and how do selected state and local officials report addressing these challenges? 3. To what extent has HHS supported state efforts to adopt recent federal initiatives targeted to older relative caregivers? Our Solution for Ohio Beech Acres Parenting Center has carefully followed trends in this arena, adjusting our program to meet the needs of the community as they evolve. Local agencies such as Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services (HCJFS) and government officials including County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, and Moira Weir and Chandra Mathews-Smith at HCJFS are aware of our efforts. They have a vested interest and are having conversations with Beech Acres Parenting Center. Key challenges include resources, financial, legal, and basic needs. Kinship Caregivers are also challenged with the emotional trauma associated with what brought the children into their care as well in addition to the standard challenges of parenting that all parents face. Kinship Connections is based in Natural Strength Parenting™, Beech Acres Parenting Center’s unique approach to parenting that combines intentionality, character strengths, and mindfulness, which empowers Kinship providers to address these challenges effectively. Kinship Connections also incorporates proven approaches such as Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) to provide comprehensive support to these families. The Health and Human Services Family First Prevention Act will support care for families like the those served in Kinship. The Act will fund services to allow children that are at risk for foster care placement to stay with their relatives and loved ones. Seeing An Impact During the visit, GAO officials were able to observe a well-attended kinship meeting where caregivers were able to hear about available resources, connect and share their experiences and stories with each other, and participate in a self-care activity based in mindfulness. They also visited with Kinship Manager Dawn Merritt and her entire team to understand how they are implementing the program and having a positive effect on the families and communities that they work with every day. To learn more about our Kinship Connections at Beech Acres Parenting Center, please visit our website. 

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Anxiety, Mental Health, Natural Strength Parenting™

How To Talk To Your Kids About Mental Health; A Complete Guide For Parents

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How To Talk To Your Kids About Mental Health 1 in 5 children lives with a serious, diagnosable mental illness. 1 in 5. Think about your child’s friends, their class, and their school. That’s a lot of kids. It’s never been more important to be able to speak openly and honestly about mental health with your children. Fortunately, today’s parents are more open to discussing these important issues than previous generations. So, you’re open to discussing mental health with your child, but how do you do it? Where do you start? As with most essential topics, start at the beginning. Talk with your children about their feelings, focus on their strengths, and most importantly listen to what they have to say. Here are some tips from our parenting experts to get the conversation started at any age and to keep it going. Preschool It’s never too early to begin talking to your child about mental health. For your younger children, keep it simple and speak in terms and contexts that they will be able to understand. Preschool-age children are likely not just going to tell you how they feel, but they may express their feelings in a variety of ways. Look for their clues and engage them when you see them expressing different emotions. Use these clues as an opportunity for you to help them understand their feelings as they are first experiencing them and help them navigate their reactions to those emotions. What to ask. And what to say to your preschooler. What causes you to have butterflies in your stomach? This feeling of anxiety or nervousness is an easy one for children to recognize as it manifests itself physically. Help them identify what causes these feelings and help them cope with it by facing their feelings head-on. Where do your feelings come from? Helping your children understand where their feelings come from, how and why they react to certain experiences and stimuli, can help them begin to work out what to do with those emotions. Who can you talk to if your feelings get to be too much? Let your children know that you are there for them always. But also teach them to establish trust with other key adults in their lives. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, mentors, close friends, and doctors and therapists should be recognized as trusted people that they can turn to discuss their feelings. What are some ways you can calm down/relax/feel better/control your feelings? However, you phrase it, making sure that your children understand basic coping techniques at an early age is important. It may be quiet time in their room, a certain song or playlist, drawing or coloring, or even snuggling with mom or dad. Once your children know they have a way to deal with their feelings, they are starting to build resilience. Use media and daily experiences to normalize conversations about reacting to specific emotions. After watching a movie, TV show, or YouTube video together discuss how the characters interacted with each other and dealt with their feelings. Elementary School By the time your child is in elementary school, their personalities are well established, they’ve probably made some strong friendships and they are full of emotions. Often, these emotions will come as unexpected outbursts that may catch you off guard! That’s OK. They are learning to express their feelings, and you can be there to guide them. Linking their feelings and how they express them to their strengths is key at this age to identify and build their unique strengths and build resiliency. What to say to your kids when they are in elementary school. Make a feelings thermometer Kids at this age can understand things when they are presented to them visually. Giving them a way to express and understand how they are feeling visually can help them start to manage those emotions. Have your child interview others about their feelings and how they cope. Hopefully, while your child was younger, you helped them identify key adults (including yourself!) that they can talk to about their feelings. An interview with one of these trusted persons can help your child see that everyone deals with changing emotions and can give them insight into how others cope. Ask your child, “Is it okay to feel; sad, embarrassed, guilty, shame, happy, joy, lonely, anger?” Normalize their feelings. No matter what they are. Forget the notion that boys don’t cry and eliminate the concept of shame from your daughter’s vocabulary. All emotions are valid, and your child is going to feel ALL of the feels. Sometimes in the same day! Make sure they understand it is OK to not be OK all the time. And remind them that you are there for them. What does it feel like when you get nervous? Those butterflies in their stomach aren’t going to go anywhere anytime soon. As they get older, they may encounter more things that cause them to be nervous. New teachers, new school, new friends, new team, homework. Managing their nervousness and making sure it doesn’t explode into full-blown panic is a skill that they can continue to develop their entire lives. Who are three people are in can trust with your thoughts/ feelings? As they get older, your children may feel more comfortable discussing things with their friends. That’s fine, but make sure those relationships stay healthy and make sure to keep yourself in the loop. Narrowing down a circle of trusted people ensures them that they always have someone to talk to you. Junior High and High School   Teenagers. Am I right? You thought they could throw a tantrum when they were toddlers? That’s nothing to the depth of emotions you’ll see as they (hopefully) mature into young adults. Pre-teens, tweens, and teenagers are different from your younger kids as they are dealing with far greater and far more pressure than ever before. Mix in challenging physical changes and ever more complex relationships, and you’ll quickly find that discussing

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Anxiety, Mental Health, Natural Strength Parenting™, Parenting Tips, Parents

How To Talk To Your Kids About Mental Health; Speaking To Your High Schooler

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How To Talk To Your Kids About Mental Health 1 in 5 children lives with a serious, diagnosable mental illness. 1 in 5. Think about your child’s friends, their class, their school. That’s a lot of kids. It’s never been more important to be able to speak openly and honestly about mental health with your children. Fortunately, today’s parents are more open to discussing these important issues that previous generations. So, you’re open to discussing mental health with your child, but how do you do it? Where do you start? As with most essential topics, start at the beginning. Talk with your children about their feelings, focus on their strengths, and, most importantly listen to what they have to say. Here are some tips from our parenting experts to start the conversation with your teen. Junior High and High School   Teenagers. Am I right? You thought they could throw a tantrum when they were toddlers? That’s nothing to the depth of emotions you’ll see as they (hopefully) mature into young adults. Pre-teens, tweens, and teenagers are different from your younger kids as they are dealing with far greater and far more pressure than ever before. Mix in challenging physical changes and ever more complex relationships, and you’ll quickly find that discussing mental health with your teenagers is critically important. With teen suicide at an all-time high, there has never been a better reason to talk, and listen to, your kids.  What to say to your kids as they sprint toward adulthood. Find creative ways other than talking to express their feelings. The bottom line is sometimes your teen is just not going to want to talk about how they are feeling. That can be OK on occasion as long as they have some way to express themselves. Encourage journaling, painting, music, drawing, dancing, anything artistic builds on their strength of creativity and can help them manage their emotions even when they don’t feel like talking. Ask questions when they are feeling fine. Mental health is just like physical health. Sometimes you feel good, and other times, not so much. Having conversations around their positive emotions and what makes them feel good, reinforces those good feelings, and helps prepare them to cope with the bad. Ask them questions that help you gauge their sadder emotions. Understanding if your child feels like they do not have a way to express their feelings, or don’t have someone to talk to is critical. Hopefully, when they were younger, you established key adults in their lives that they can go to. Ask them, “Do you ever feel completely alone?” or “Do you ever feel like no one understands you?” If the answer is yes, reinforce that you are there for them and reiterate everyone else in their lives that care for them as well. A mental health assessment may help you understand if a more therapeutic approach is necessary here. Talk to them about the stressors and pressures in their lives. Kids are busier now than ever. And the pressure they feel, whether it’s from you, a teacher or coach, or even themselves, is greater than ever. Stay involved. Talk to your children daily over dinner and understand what is going on in their lives. If homework, an after-school job, or college pressures are getting to be too much, intervene with coping methods to help them get back on track. A little mindfulness, some breathing exercises, yoga, or even just a walk outdoors can help ease their stress Monitor their media consumption. Look, you know your kid is staring at their phone all day every day. But do you know what they are staring at. This generation is growing up in a culture and with a comfort around technology that you probably don’t have. It can be hard to keep up. The reality is it’s far too easy for them to slip in a digital rabbit hole of inappropriate content, messaging that doesn’t align with your family’s values, and cyberbullying. Be aware of what they are doing online and be proactive. Ask if they know people who struggle with anxiety or depression and how they manage it? Be prepared for the answer to this question to be yes. Your child likely knows someone that is dealing with something. They may learn coping skills from their friends, but this is an opportunity to gain insight into how they are feeling about anxiety or depression. Listen to them and seek help if necessary. How long is it okay to be sad…. 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day, 100 days? Trying to gauge your child understanding of sadness can open up a real conversation about mental health. Feelings should come and go. Again, like physical feelings, emotional feelings can be good and bad and can and should change with experiences and because of your environment. It’s when those not so great feeling emotions hang around for a little too long that you may need to be concerned. Talking with your children early, often, and continuously about their mental well-being is so essential. Share these tips with fellow parents and let us know which strategies worked best for your family. Check out our complete guide to talking to your child about mental health at any age. Learn more about discussing mental health with your preschooler. Learn more about discussing mental health with your child in elementary school. Learn more about discussing mental health with your teens and high schoolers. Looking to go further? Check out Natural Strength Parenting To Go! These text-based courses from our parenting experts help you get the most out of Natural Strength Parenting™ with easy-to-implement parenting strategies. Get started today!

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