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Author name: Parent Coach

divorce, Parenting Tips, Parents, Parents & Partners Divorcing

Helping Your Children Cope With Divorce: Tips For Co-Parenting

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NEW! Welcome to Talking to Your Kids About Divorce, brought to you by the team at Beech Acres Parenting Center! In this FREE course, you’ll be given a brief introduction to talking to your children about divorce and how to keep them informed throughout the process. Helping Your Children Cope With Divorce Once your divorce is finalized, it is critical to be on the same page with the other parent about raising and loving your children. Accept that, while the marriage is over, you will be parents together forever. The family is not ending; it is being reorganized. Tips For Co-Parenting Maintaining a parental relationship after divorce requires the ability to communicate. A clear co-parenting plan helps establish the boundaries in which you will parent your child together. Build from the ground up. Do not assume old patterns; establish new ones with your child’s best interests in mind. Clarify the expectations of the new relationship. Be intentional about how you behave with your former spouse. They are now your business partner in raising your children. Be Intentional Start with a clear plan that keeps your child’s well-being front and center. Make all agreements and arrangements clear. Use written agreements or digital calendars to stay organized. Be clear and complete in your communications. When creating schedules, always include times, places, and various needs (clothes, dinner, etc.). Schedule appointments to talk about your children when they are not present. Having this dedicated time to discuss issues related to raising your children will help keep you on the same page. Raising your child together “on purpose” helps increase stability for you and your child. Be Strong Your mutual concern is the well-being of your children. Establish a partnership that recognizes your reorganized family’s strengths. Lead with love always, but be prepared to flex your strengths of teamwork, judgment, and sometimes forgiveness. Be aware of and appreciate your own strengths as a parent and human being, and recognize the strengths of your co-parent. This allows you to see and grow your child’s natural gifts. Show appreciation for the other parent whenever possible in front of your children. Seeing you express appreciation, no matter how small, contributes to the greater success of the parenting partnership, which puts your children at ease. Be Mindful Being present, fully engaged, and accepting in each moment you spend with your child is so important. You cannot control what happens at the parent’s home beyond trying to establish clear guidelines for your co-parenting plan. Do not focus on or compare households, rather spend your time with your child the best way that you can. Listen to what they have to say and respect their feelings. This will create a loving, caring atmosphere in your home that reminds your child that they are loved and safe. Co-parenting using an intentional, strengths-based, and mindful approach gives you a blueprint for success. Staying on the same page, respecting each other, and being flexible whenever possible creates a strong, unified experience that shows your child that you love them and have their best interests at heart. More in this series: Telling Your Kids Working Through Custody Together

Photo of a woman taking her wedding band off of her finger
divorce, Parenting Tips

Helping Your Children Cope With Divorce

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Helping Your Children Cope With Divorce NEW! Welcome to Talking to Your Kids About Divorce, brought to you by the team at Beech Acres Parenting Center! In this FREE course, you’ll be given a brief introduction to talking to your children about divorce and how to keep them informed throughout the process. Sometimes, during divorce, we temporarily lose the ability to parent well. Like any other life-changing event, divorce can be dealt with positively and can result in emotional growth. Over the next few weeks, we will share valuable information to help you navigate this difficult time on your parenting journey. The topics we will cover include telling your kids about your divorce, working through custody, and tips for successful co-parenting. Parents, you love your children dearly. These tips will help you continue to show your children that you love them even and especially during this most difficult transition. This series is based on the work of the late Sharon James, a parenting expert who spent 18 years at Beech Acres Parenting Center, helping build stronger families. Sharon helped parents find their own strengths to guide them through their most difficult times, especially through her work with divorced parents, which was her true passion. To sponsor a family for Parent Coaching, make a donation to the Sharon James Parent Coaching Fund. More In This Series  Telling Your Kids Working Through Custody Together Tips For Co-Parenting Additional Resources Layers of divorce FREE download. Our friends at the Cincinnati Public Library put together a reading list featuring books with characters experiencing divorce.  Check out this mindful guide to co-parenting from Custody X Change. 11 Best Moving Companies (2022) from This Old House.

Online Safety, Parenting Tips

Is The App “Gas” Good Fuel For Your Child’s Well-Being?

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What Is Gas? Social media apps rise and fall. Remember MySpace? Friendster? Some catch fire quickly and burn hot for a while before fading into obscurity in the vast junkyard of the app store. Others, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, seem to develop large followings and retain users. Gas is the latest social media app catching fire in middle schools across the country.  Gas is an app for iOS rated for ages 12+. The app is free but offers in-app purchases. Users join their school on the app, add friends, and answer online polls. Users get “gassed up” and receive “flames” when they are chosen as an answer in the poll. The app store advertises the game with the tag “See who likes you.” The idea is someone could ask something like “who do you have a crush on?” and list the names of their friends on the app. Responses are anonymous, which can reduce the potential for bullying. Ideally, the app is designed around positivity, meaning you’re supposed to feel good when you are chosen and receive flames. Problems may arise if a user has few friends or if they are never selected. Questions may also not be so innocuous.  Is Gas Popular? Gas is currently the number 50 app in the “lifestyle” section of Apple’s App Store. The Android version is still in beta. Professional reviews have focused on the positive aspect of the app, and there have been several news stories about the app. There are nearly 250,000 user reviews of the app, with a 4.6 average rating.  Should I Be Concerned? Social media can connect people wherever they are in the world and disseminate news and information quickly. Early sites focused on college students and young users empowering users to have a space on the internet to be themselves. As smartphone use has exploded, so has social media. It’s estimated that 4.26 BILLION people actively use social media regularly. Many of these apps, like Gas, are either aimed at younger audiences or have features that appeal to younger users. As with any internet-based technology, it is critically important for parents to know what their children are doing on the internet.  What Can I Do? This should be an active conversation, not a passive one. Start by getting curious with your kids about their phone use. You may think they are just on Minecraft, but they may be spending time elsewhere in darker corners of the web. Ask them what apps they use, how they use them, and what friends they connect with. Ask probing questions that encourage dialogue. Encourage them to use their strength of Honesty during these conversations. Be intentional with these conversations and have them where your kids are comfortable – at the dinner table, on the way to a practice or a game, or whenever you can find time to have these important conversations. Research the apps your children are using and make decisions based on that. Gas does offer a safety page with details about the app. Take advantage of built-in parental controls. iOS and Android offer robust parental controls that give parents confidence. These controls can offer as little or as much freedom to your child as you are comfortable with. At the very least, enable the ability for them to have to get permission to install a new app. When the request comes through-THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION! It’s so easy to hit “approve” and wonder (or, more likely, forget) later. Take this chance to ask what the app is, why they want to use it, and who else they know is on the app. Keep the conversation going. Periodically check on their use and see what apps are installed. You may be surprised by what you find. Use your own family’s values to determine what apps are right for your family.  Gas is just the latest app to catch fire with kids. It won’t be the last. As a parent, you can control this by having an open, honest conversation with your children about their smartphone use. Take this opportunity to give your child your own positive “gas.” Pick out one of their strengths and strength and spot them using it. This will help them build their self-confidence; no smartphone needed. 

Photo of a group of women standing together and holding up a "Thank You! From the Leadership Team" sign
Uncategorized

Thank You For An Amazing 2022

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As we reflect on a year filled with extraordinary accomplishments, we would like to take a moment to thank you for your generosity, kindness, and support.  Your support provides comprehensive mental health support and wrap-around services to children in schools. Your generosity equips parents with powerful tools and valuable skills through parent coaching in pediatric offices. Your gift inspires parents, grandparents, and other loving adults to care for children other than their own through foster and kinship care. Thank you for your incredible generosity this year. Click here to watch a special message of thanks from Beech Acres. As a champion for children, your support makes all the difference for children, parents, and caregivers. Your compassion makes our community stronger.  You can help us continue to empower children and caregivers to thrive by making a year-end gift today.

Photo of a table with multiple hygiene products sitting on it and a girl smiling while holding up a poster behind it that says "Keep Going Keep Growing"
Uncategorized

Local Student Donates Personal Care Items for Senior Capstone Project

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Gracie Jackson, a senior at Mt. Notre Dame High School, was looking for a way to give back to the community. For her Senior Capstone Project, she chose to coordinate a drive for personal care items to be donated to Beech Acres Parenting Center. “I really like the mission Beech Acres has and the work they do,” Gracie said. “I taught some younger kids about service and what Beech Acres does. With their help and others, I collected personal care items that will be donated to Beech Acers and given to families.” Thank you Gracie for your generous donation! If you’d like to learn more about donating items to help families in your community, please click here.

Photo of a group of people sitting in white chairs in a classroom looking at a person giving a PowerPoint presentation in the front of the room
Natural Strength Parenting™

2022 Staff Retreat and Holiday Party

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To wrap up an exciting calendar year, Beech Acres Parenting Center staff gathered for two events this week. First, our team participated in an all-staff retreat. Team members from across the organization collaborated on team-building activities and recommitted our focus to Natural Strength Parenting™ as the core foundational tenant of all our work. Then, we celebrated! 2022 brought a lot of change and growth to our organization, and it was incredible to celebrate the holidays with our entire staff.

Photo of the Beech Acres Parenting center ball logo colored in a rainbow design to support LGBTQ+ individuals
Uncategorized

Statement on Ohio Resolution To Oppose The Proposed Changes to Title IX 

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Beech Acres Parenting Center is opposed to the RESOLUTION TO OPPOSE THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO TITLE IX AND TO AFFIRM PARENTAL RIGHTS AND LOCAL CONTROL OF OHIO K-12 EDUCATIONrecently approved by the Ohio State Board of Education. Beech Acres remains opposed to any legislation in the United States that is not based in a scientific understanding of child development.   What is the RESOLUTION TO OPPOSE THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO TITLE IX AND TO AFFIRM PARENTAL RIGHTS AND LOCAL CONTROL OF OHIO K-12 EDUCATION? In July of 2022, the U.S. Department of Education proposed amending the landmark civil rights legislation to more clearly protect students from all forms of sexual discrimination, including a provision to protect LGBTQI+ from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. The resolution passed by the Ohio State Board of Education opposes these changes.  Beech Acres Parenting Center Supports Families No Matter How They Are Put Together Beech Acres supports creating psychologically safe school environments where children can be their authentic selves. We know that this improves their development and creates a welcoming, inclusive culture for all students. This is especially important for those in minority and marginalized groups who are at higher risk of attempting and dying by suicide. The above resolution ignores scientifically accepted understandings of sex and gender.  What Can Caregivers Do? Beech Acres Parenting Center is a safe space where all families are welcome and supported. If your family values include teaching your children about the different experiences other kids & families may be experiencing, here are some things you can try.   Finally, discuss how your family can be open, inclusive, and kind to everyone they encounter. Advocate for your child, their friends, and your community. Increasing acceptance and reducing bias creates a positive, welcoming environment for everyone.  Additional Resources: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline The Trevor Project Family Acceptance Project Family Behaviors that Increase Your LGBTQ Child’s Health & Well-Being

White graphic with orange text that says "Setting intentions for 2023"
Intentional

Setting Intentions for 2023

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Imagine what this year could look like if you take the time to genuinely connect with your family and yourself by focusing on your strengths, mindfulness, and being more intentional with your time together. Head Focus on your Love of Learning to improve your family’s overall well-being. For Your Family A new year brings about new opportunities to improve yourself and the world around you. One way to do this is to involve your entire family in home improvement projects. Have a room that needs to be painted, a bookshelf that needs to be built, or perhaps an outdoor landscaping project? These are great opportunities to develop your family’s strengths of Love of Learning, Teamwork, and Creativity by researching, planning, and executing these projects together. Watch “how-to” videos together. YouTube provides a vast wealth of knowledge for these types of projects. Research paint colors by understanding the science behind how colors mix to make new colors. Discover how planting certain trees or flowers in your yard can positively impact the local and global ecosystem. These fun projects can bring your family together, increase your happiness, reduce stress, and improve your overall well-being. For Yourself Take the start of the new year as a fresh opportunity to finally begin that new thing you’ve wanted to learn. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn a second language. Perhaps you want to learn an instrument or learn to draw or paint. This year set an intention to get started. Once you’ve done that, create some milestones for yourself to ensure accountability. Doing something like this for yourself develops your strengths of Love of Learning, Bravery, and Perseverance. Heart Focus on your strength of Love to build your family’s emotional health. For Your Family Spending quality time with those we love is critical to our emotional health. This year be intentional about the time you spend with your family. If you have busy schedules, as most families do, set a time each day to spend just 15 minutes together. If it is unrealistic to have dinner or read together every night, be creative. Make the most out of those rides to school, practices, doctor appointmentsor therapy sessions. Ask powerful questions and listen expansively to their answers. Takea mindful moment together before you start your day by completing a breathing exercise. Your smartwatch or smartphone can probably help here. And always remember to end each day with a hug! Setting these intentionsto spend quality time together each day increases the likelihood of actually spending time together. For Yourself Try this brief exercise to center yourself and focus on Love, Hope, and Sense Of Meaning. Place your hand on your heart. While your hand is on your heart think about someone who has recently made a positive impact on your life. Can you set an intention to write that person a message of Gratitude for what they have done for you? This exercise not only gives you pause to focus on your own heart but affords you the opportunity to connect or reconnect with those you love. Hands Focus on appreciating Beauty and Excellence by getting active and having fun! For Your Family Let’s play! Getting your daughter to ballet practice on time and ensuring your son understands the right bus route to take to school are important, but don’t forget to take some time for fun. Try putting together a puzzle, assembling a Lego set, or simply coloring a picture together. Kids still love slime! There are plenty of recipes, colors, and even easy-to-use kits you can find online. Host your own “ baking” challenge. You’ll get to work with your hands, spend time together and end up with a delicious dessert or after-school treat. Working on any of these projects engages your strengths of Teamwork, Zest, and Appreciation of Beauty and excellence. These moments together can be fun and special. Make the most of them. For Yourself Any of the activities for your family can also be done solo as well. You’d be surprised how relaxing coloring can be. Doing something active alone can be refreshing and fun. Set an intention to complete that yard work you’ve been putting off or plant a garden. While you’re outdoors, take a moment to appreciate the beauty of your yard, the trees, and the nature all around you. Spend time journaling, actually writing down or typing out your thoughts and feelings can relieve stress and calm your mind. You can also use this as an opportunity to connect with others. We communicate so much beyond the words we say to one another. Is that an opportunity for you to be intentional and help someone (family, member, neighbor, co-worker)? Shovel a neighbor’s driveway or simply offer to open a door for a co-worker. These intentional gestures can mean a lot. Download this activity here.

Photo of a child putting ornaments in a man's beard while the man is wrapped in Christmas lights
Natural Strength Parenting™, Parenting Tips, Parents

Natural Strength Parenting Holiday Survival Guide

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Your Family Can Survive the Holidays This Year. Here’s How.  You can already feel the tensions rising at your house. Each day is colder, darker, and shorter than the last. The leaves have just finished falling from the trees, but your son is still wearing cargo shorts to school every day. Your neighbor’s perfect Christmas lights are already up and come on automatically at 6:05 every night while you’re still polishing off the Snickers leftover from Halloween. The holidays are here, and you need already need a break. The holidays are an incredibly stressful time for families. And everyone is affected. Additional holiday-related responsibilities pile on to your already hectic schedule of work, homework, dance classes, basketball games, therapy sessions, teacher conferences, and housework. Now, there’s shopping, baking, holiday parties, and even more to get through. Maybe it wasn’t such a great time to start that side-hustle driving for Lyft. Don’t worry. There’s plenty you can do to survive the holidays. The holidays can be the most stressful time of the year. Still, with a little strength, mindfulness, and intentionality, they can also be one of the most fun, loving, and wondrous times of the year.

Photo of a parent's hands over their child's hands as they help them cut cookie shapes out of cookie dough on a floured table
Natural Strength Parenting™, Parent Connext™, Strengths

Use Your Strengths to Navigate the Stressful Holiday Season

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Many families feel stressed around the holidays. There are additional expenses, commitments, and expectations. Many of us have very specific expectations of ourselves and others that are difficult to fulfill and may even be conflicting. The season can be hard for children, especially very young children, or those with sensory and attention issues. Seasonal decorations may be overstimulating, and changes in routines of eating and sleeping can be disruptive. Perseverance One way your family can cope with seasonal struggles is to plan some quiet activities that all family members can participate in. Some families enjoy crafts or cooking. These can be terrific as long as they focus on the process rather than the finished product. It’s also important to understand what children are capable of at their developmental level, so the adults have realistic expectations. For example, baking cookies as a family is a beloved traditional holiday activity. Children of all ages love to help bake! Even the youngest kids can help organize, measure, and stir ingredients. They may not have the ability to roll dough out or use cookie cutters to make shapes. They may also lack the attention span to complete this task. However, they might be able to roll some dough into a ball and place those on the cookie sheet. By carefully considering the abilities of your children and matching your recipe to those, baking cookies can be a family-friendly activity that will create fond memories for everyone. Creativity There are a variety of craft kits available for the holidays to create special ornaments and decorations. These are good activities for older children. You can find these kits at craft stores such as Michaels or JOANN. Make decorations for your use around your own house or make gifts for family, friends, and neighbors. Fun tip: Using a cookie cutter on a potato makes a fun “stamp” to use with tempera paint and decorate plain gift bags with stars, bells, drills, or other seasonal figures. Save money by checking Pinterest or other craft sites for ideas that match your children’s interests, strengths, and abilities. Kindness Many families want to focus on giving rather than receiving during the holidays. A simple way to do this is with a Kindness Chain activity. Cut strips of colorful paper and keep them in a basket with a glue stick or stapler. Every day, ask each family member to think of an act of kindness they did. Have them write it on a strip and then make it a loop with glue or staples and attach to their chain. Each family member can have their own individual chain or maintain one chain for the family with each person having their own color paper. This activity is not a competition, the links are to represent the acts of kindness. The activity works even better when linked to your family values. At the end of every week, take some time to reflect on how the chain has grown. Be sure to ask if anyone wants to share a kindness given or received from a family member, and how it helped them.

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