The Character Effect™ Characters have assembled AWESOME activities to keep your family busy this July. Download the tips here, hang them on your refrigerator, and stay busy all month long building your child’s strengths!
Using strengths, mindful, and intentional activities with children and families build resilience, teaches skills for self-management, empowers healing, and assists with forward growth. Directions Using strengths, mindful, and intentional activities with children and families build resilience, teaches skills for self-management, empowers healing, and assists with forward growth. Cut out the following “cards” to use for activities or provide them as a list to families, teachers, or children to strengthen understanding. You can also use your strength of creativity to come up with your own ideas, the possibilities are endless! Download this activity today!
Interested in hearing how the Beech Acres Parenting Center Continuum of Care is working for families? Need a bit of good news from foster families? We’ll be on TV this weekend to inspire families to ‘take a chance’ on foster care, educate on the term kinship, spread the power of Natural Strength Parenting™! Presented by General Electric Credit Union, Continuum of Care for Families is airing: Saturday at 10 am on Star64 Saturday at 12:30 pm on Local 12 Don’t miss this! Thank you General Electric Credit Union for your generous support!
Thank you. For 42 years, Jim Mason’s passion for children and visionary leadership has improved and saved the lives of thousands of children and families in our community. The Jim Mason Champion for Children Fund was established to honor the leadership and extraordinary impact Jim has made at Beech Acres AND to provide a strong foundation for the next CEO. We’re humbled and grateful to report we raised $235,059 in cash donations and $465,000 in estate gift commitments…for a grand total of $700,059 from 122 donors! This exceeded our original $500,000 goal by 40%!Thank you for your incredibly generous support and for your commitment to our mission; “Inspiring and equipping today’s parents, families, and communities to raise capable, caring, contributing children.” To make a donation to The Jim Mason Champion for Children Fund visit our website
Beech Acres Parenting Center is very excited and grateful to share that we have been named one of The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Top Workplaces for the 8th consecutive year! Beech Acres Parenting Center ranked #3 out of 32 businesses and organizations in the midsize category. Additionally, Beech Acres was thrilled to have won a Managers Specialty Award. What employees are saying about working at Beech Acres Parenting Center: “Yes, my manager is very open to questions and concerns. I feel like I am trusted to do my job. I am never ashamed when I do not have an answer or need clarification.” “I can use my creative thought process and help create a better future for parents and children.” Want to learn more about working at the Beech? Visit our careers page and start your journey today!
Get your family moving and stay fit together with these simple tips from Parent Connext™! Get Started Hold a family meeting. Talk about the importance of exercise and brainstorm ways you can be more active. Finally, commit to be fit! Consider tracking your progress to help you stay on track. Try Something New Try something new together: a kickball game or game of catch, going for a hike, taking a yoga class or doing an exercise video. Take note of what activities each of you enjoy most so you can keep doing them. Go To The Park Take advantage of your local parks and plan an outing to get some exercise in the great outdoors! Search for bike paths, playgrounds, or hiking trails you can explore. Celebrate! Celebrate how far you’ve come toward upping your fitness game! Keep up the good work! Go further with Parent Connext™ by scheduling a Natural Strength Parent Coaching session today!
This summer doesn’t have to be spent on a screen. These activities from The Character Effect™ build upon your family’s strengths and remind you to practice mindfulness. Download the summer activities here and get started today!
Guest Blogger Stephanie Born, MPA Team Lead, Beyond the Classroom When my son turned 4, his attitude went from loving life and seeing everything as fun and exciting to answers filled with “no” and constantly found the worst in any situation. They are the kids that are often referred to as “Negative Nancy” or have troubles letting go and just “being a kid”. Sound like your child? The first step is to recognize that this negative thinking can be the result of many factors in your child’s life. It can be anxiety, depression, an undiagnosed medical disorder, and even just their personality trait. In some cases, parents realized that they were negative and the child was simply reflecting back what they were used to seeing or hearing- the possibilities are everywhere. The good news is there are ways that you can work with your child and help them leverage their own strengths to see the world in a new light. Positive talking and affirmations can go a long way Help your child rephrase their negative thoughts by affirming the positive ones. If your child says something like “I am going to do terrible on my sight word quiz today”, instead say out loud and ask them to repeat after you “I am going to do GREAT on my sight word quick today!”. By restating negative comments as positives, your child’s brain will find motivation and boost your child’s confidence. This is a great technique to introduce and work on as a family! Appreciate the process, not the result My child often deals with all or nothing- and will often lean towards the nothing. Instead of focusing on the results of any situation- the failing of his sight word quiz, talk about the process of even getting to the sight word quiz. For example, your child says “ I am going to fail on my sight word quiz today”, refocus their energy away from passing or failing to the process of learning the sight words. You can say something like “ you worked really hard on learning the words” or “ remember yesterday when you knew two of the words and now you know 5?”. This allows your child to take the stress off of the results and not go in thinking the worst is bound to happen and instead realize the positive steps forward they were able to take. Ask Powerful Questions Instead of asking your child “how was school?”, start your conversation with asking “tell me one positive thing about your day”. It may be as small as a smile or as big as getting an award- all wins are still wins. Allow your child to be creative in finding good or positive things about his or her day. When your child comes up with something, validate their win. Eventually you may be able to get multiple wins or even be able to ask a blanket question such as “how was your day” and get the positive response you want. Ask for Help One of the best resources for my family was reaching out for behavioral support from my son’s school based counseling team. By working with professionals in the school- they were able to help me find positive things about my son’s day to ask him about or would let me know if there were areas that he was especially thriving in that I could highlight. They also work closely with his teachers and are able to remind them to give him affirmations when they see him doing things well that can help with his confidence. They are also able to provide you with evidence based approaches to help change the mindset of your child. Many children who lean towards being negative are often very curious and a deep sense of prudence. It may feel like your child is unhappy, but rest assured, this is often not the case. It is as simple as finding out the cause and working with them to change a mindset!
Over his remarkable 42-year career at Beech Acres Parenting Center, James R. Mason has led our 172-year-old organization through an incredible evolution of purpose and programs focused on strengthening families so children could achieve their unique potential. Anticipating modern society’s complex and rapid changes, Jim has purposefully led the former General Protestant Orphan Home through its evolution from a 19th- century orphanage to the 21st-century parenting center it is today. Jim’s singular vision led to helping thousands of parents meet the challenges of raising children today AND the creation, development, and implementation of Natural Strength Parenting™, our unique approach to parenting, upon which all of our family-focused programs are based. Jim joined Beech Acres as Assistant Director, Child Care in 1978. At that time, Jim was responsible for the planning and administration of daily operations in what was then a residential treatment center. In this scenario, Jim looked, as he always has, at the adults in a child’s life, the caretakers at Beech Acres, and how they could positively impact a child’s growth and development. To develop these caretakers to provide the best possible care for the children living here, Jim developed and implemented Beech Acres’ Training Program shortly after his arrival and became Director, Training in 1980. As divorce rates soared in the 1980s, the profound impact of the changing structure of the family unit dominated headlines. Jim sensed the changing needs of parents, families, and kids in the community and provided inspired leadership in founding The Aring Institute, which offered essential services to divorcing and remarried families and their children. Under Jim’s leadership as Director, The Aring Institute grew to a staff of 12, serving over 5,000 children, families, and professionals. By 1986, The Aring Institute was recognized as one of the country’s most comprehensive service centers for children and families experiencing the stress of divorce and remarriage. In the late 1980s, Jim’s uncanny ability to anticipate the ever-changing needs of parents, families, and kids led him to advocate fiercely among Beech Acres’ staff and the Board of Directors about the benefits of creating preventive services for families. Jim believed that prevention rather than reaction was the best way to build stronger families. This belief and this advocacy became the first seeds of Intentional, Strength-based, Mindful Practice, which would eventually grow into Natural Strength Parenting™. As a result of Jim’s vision of the future, changes in the community around social services, and a new approach to fundraising, Beech Acres held its final Orphan Feast in 1986, ending a 137-year fundraising tradition in the community. This signaled the biggest evolution in the organization’s history, as we transitioned from serving kids on-site to serving the wider community through a range of ever-evolving services designed to meet the needs of modern parents. By 1989 Beech Acres shuttered its final residential cottage and James R. Mason was named President & CEO. During the 1990s, Jim’s leadership as President & CEO grew Beech Acres’ reputation in the community by establishing partnerships and creating coalitions designed to support families in the community. These included: • The Emergency Therapeutic Foster Care program, which provided a safe, short-term environment for children to heal from an immediate crisis • Care Management, a component of Hamilton County’s new managed care initiative with Family & Children First Management, Inc. • Creative Connections, a collaboration with Lighthouse Youth Services to manage the care of the most troubled children in the county By 1998 Jim Mason’s Beech Acres had become a driving force in preventive and restorative services for families in the community. Jim provided collaborative leadership that led to the co-creation of Every Child Succeeds® with Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Community Action Agency, and the United Way. The following year saw the debut of For the Love of Kids®, a Beech Acres Conference for Practical Parenting. In 2001 Beech Acres was reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services (COA), having met the highest national standards and delivered the best quality services to the Greater Cincinnati area under Jim Mason’s leadership. The 2000’s saw further partnership development, evolution, transition and recognition for Beech Acres, including: • Receiving the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics • Establishment of MyParentSource.com to provide parents with one-on-one help from professional parent coaches • Expansion of mental health services into the westside at our new Glenmore location and into Warren and Clinton Counties • Creation of Parent Education Program (PEP) with Hamilton County Job and Family Services • Establishing our first school-based mental health services, a precursor to Beyond the ClassroomTM In 2010 to better reflect Jim Mason’s belief that the best way to serve children is through their parents, the organization changed its name to Beech Acres Parenting Center. In 2017, after decades of test and learn, Jim’s vision of parenting became embedded in Beech Acres’ DNA and all program areas with the establishment of Natural Strength Parenting™. Natural Strength Parenting™ encourages parents to be intentional in their approach to parenting, to be mindful and “in the moment” when spending time with their children, and to identify and cultivate their children’s unique strengths in order to unlock their potential, build resiliency and become capable, caring, and contributing citizens. In 2019, Jim navigated the organization through a major reorganization which saw Beech Acres move from 18 to 8 programs. This reorganization shifted the focus of the organization to meet parents and children where they were; in schools, pediatric offices, and the community. With this streamlined service delivery, Beech Acres is achieving greater impact on the lives of parents and children, which has led to solid investments in schools, pediatric practices, and child welfare. The highly committed and talented team of Beech Acres staff now makes a positive impact on more than 14,000 children, caregivers, teachers, health care providers and children in Southwest Ohio each year. For 8 years running, Beech Acres has been selected by The Cincinnati Enquirer as one of Cincinnati’s Top Places to Work, including a 2020 #1 ranking in the Meaningful Work category. Jim has also worked with other community leaders to create numerous local, state,
Beech Acres Parenting Center affirms the worth and dignity of all children. We believe that discrimination based on gender identity or expression is damaging to the health of children, families, and society. As the fight for inclusion moves from public restrooms to school locker rooms, Beech Acres unequivocally and emphatically stands in solidarity with transgender youth, and all transgender individuals. We recognize that transgender youth do not always receive the support, affirmation, and safety they need and deserve. Transgender children are more likely to experience victimization and violence which significantly and negatively impact their mental and emotional health1: 43% of transgender youth have been bullied on school property compared to 18% of cisgender youth 29% of trans youth have been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property compared to 7% of cisgender youth 29% of transgender youth have attempted suicide, compared to 7% of cisgender youth Among trans, nonbinary, or GNC students who reported that their school had policies to support students trans students, only 42.4% reported that their school’s policy addressed inclusive participation in athletics. Beech Acres Parenting Center is committed to combatting discrimination, bigotry, hatred, and violence, against transgender individuals, especially those living at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities. Moreover, we work to ensure that the adults in children’s lives are doing everything possible to support transgender youth. There are many ways to support transgender youth and their families, including the following: Support the Equality Act, which ensures protection in key areas of life where civil rights laws do not provide protections on the basis of sex. The bill was reintroduced in Congress in February of this year: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5 Learn about the work of the Parents for Transgender Equality National Council and the resources they provide to support transgender children and their parents: https://www.hrc.org/resources/parents-for-transgender-equality-national-council Learn about Welcoming Schools, an initiative of the Human Rights Campaign, helps schools embrace family diversity end bullying, and avoid gender stereotyping: https://www.welcomingschools.org/ Read to your children about transgender and LGBTQ+ children and families. See the Welcoming Schools Recommended Books: https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/WS-Booklist-012121.pdf?mtime=20210121172249&focal=none Understand your school’s policy on trans participation in sports. Endorse policies that allow for inclusive participation in sports which encourages all students to have an equal opportunity in education, which includes extracurricular activities and sports, so they can reach their full potential and thrive. https://www.glsen.org/activity/gender-affirming-inclusive-athletics-participation Take the text message course Understanding and Supporting Transgender Youth, brought to you by the team at Beech Acres Parenting Center! In this course, you’ll be given a brief introduction to who and what the term “transgender” refers to. You’ll also learn ways to support transgender youth while they learn about and express their gender identity. 1https://www.hrc.org/news/new-cdc-data-shows-lgbtq-youth-are-more-likely-to-be-bullied-than-straight-cisgender-youth
