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Happy Mother’s Day! There are many important women in a child’s life. But none are more important than “mom.” Mom may be a birth mother, an aunt, a sister, a special mentor or teacher, foster care parents, grandma, or another kinship caregiver. A “mom” is any woman who provides a child with love, protection, and guidance. This Mother’s Day, we celebrate all moms! Happy Mother’s Day!  Make a gift today in honor of a special mom in your life and we’ll send your honoree a message of gratitude. When you make your gift, we’ll also send a note of encouragement to a kinship caregiver or foster care mom thanking them for providing care to a special child. On behalf of moms, grandmas, aunts, sisters, and other special women raising kids in our community, thank you for your support!        

Understanding Differences between Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression Today’s society is becoming increasingly sophisticated in how we view gender. Experts who work with youth and gender issues share the two most common myths: Gender is binary, offering only two options Gender and sex are the same things. The take-aways: your gender is not based on your anatomy. And people can be “gender fluid” rather than only male or female. Some important distinctions to understand: Biological Sex. This is a medical classification that refers to anatomical, physiological, genetic or physical attributes that determine if a person is assigned male, female or intersex identity at birth. Gender Identity. One’s innermost feeling of maleness, femaleness, a blend of both or neither. One’s gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth. Gender Expression. External appearance of one’s gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being masculine or feminine. Sexual orientation. The gender of people you are sexually attracted to.

It is with tremendous sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of a beloved and cherished member of our community, Sharon James. Sharon James was a loving mother, sister and aunt, a skilled and caring parent coach, respected co-worker, and a much-loved friend. Sharon spent 18 years at Beech Acres Parenting Center. During that time she mastered her craft in working with parents, often helping them find their own strengths to guide them through their most difficult of times. Whether it was through her work with divorced parents; which was her true passion, new parents, blended families, families in crisis, or parents struggling with complex emotional issues she offered hope for a brighter future. “Sharon personified Beech Acres Parenting Center’s core values throughout her long and prolific career here,” Beech Acres Parenting Center President & CEO James R. Mason said. “In many ways, this work was her life’s purpose. She embraced every opportunity to learn and grow as a person and professional. She generously shared her insights with thousands of others and was humbly open to learning from them as well.  She humbly left an enormous legacy to Beech Acres’ future.  I am in awe and profoundly grateful for what she has done for our mission and everyone she touched. Mine is among those lives most moved. I will miss her deeply.” For the past few years, Sharon was focused on transforming Natural Strength Parenting™, Beech Acres Parenting Center’s unique strength-based approach to parenting, from simply a loose concept of ideologies into a movement. Dave Brewer, a good friend, and colleague of Sharon’s shared that, “Sharon had a unique presence, was so connected with each of the people who had the privilege of crossing her path. She lifted so many hearts and heads. She had the ability to see into our hearts and be with each of us, to support us in ways that sometimes we did not even know we needed to be supported.” Though our hearts are sad, we celebrate Sharon’s life and legacy with tremendous gratitude. Her dedication to improving the world every day through her work with parents was a genuine inspiration to everyone whom she met. Her smile was authentic, her demeanor caring yet never judgmental, and her presence was powerful and uplifting. She will be missed. A memorial visitation will be held Saturday, March 9, 2019, at Hodapp Funeral Home 6410 Cincinnati-Dayton Rd. Liberty Twp., OH 45044 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Yosemite Conservancy 101 Montgomery Street, Suite 1700 San Francisco, CA 94104.

Announcing The 2019 Strength Spotting Tournament! Find Out What Strengths Are Champions In Your House! This March, while you’re watching your March Madness tournament brackets don’t forget to acknowledge your family’s strengths. Fill out this bracket for your family. Tally up your strengths each week and discover which rise to the top. At the end of March, you’ll know which strength is the champion in your house! Share your brackets on our Facebook or Twitter page.

Parents, You Don’t Have To Be Anxious About Anxiety Nearly all children feel anxious at times, whether it’s imagining a monster under the bed, worrying about their first day of a new school year or feeling uncertain about how to manage a situation with a friend. These feelings are normal and fortunately, there are simple things you can do to help. Parents, you can’t help your kids avoid ALL of the things that make them anxious, but you CAN help them learn to confront, assess and cope with their anxiety. What is Anxiety? Anxiety is a common feeling that can cause fear, stress, and worry. There are ways to calm an anxious child by focusing on your child’s strengths. The best way to start is by showing empathy and offering reassurance. You can then try calming activities like a body scan exercise. You can also try a fun activity like making a calming canteen. Want to learn more? Schedule a Natural Strength Parenting™ Coaching Session with one of our Child Development Experts today. In Case You Missed It Watch Dave Brewer discuss anxiety and share some tips to help you mitigate the effects of anxiety in your home.

Nearly all children feel anxious at times, whether it’s imagining a monster under their bed, worrying about the first day of school, or feeling uncertain about how to manage a tough situation with a close friend. In an attempt to help, you may tell your child they have nothing to be afraid of or find that other suggestions you offer are not helping. It’s natural that out of love you want to shield your child from things that make them worried. And since we cannot always control what is going on in their world (they will move from one grade to the next for example), the best way to help is to discover ways with your child for them to manage their reaction to those uncomfortable situations. It is always a good idea for parents to check in with their Pediatrician and here are some ideas that may also help: Show empathy and offer reassurance. Let them know that you don’t like those feelings either and are so sorry they are experiencing them. Offer the reassurance that most people experience scary feelings and that there are a lot of different ways to feel better. “When I am worried, I like to color (walk, etc) and it really helps me feel calm. What would you like to try?” Do a mindful ‘body scan’ with them. Our thoughts can oftentimes increase worrying so move from head (thoughts) to body (physical) with questions like “Where in your body do you feel scared?” or “What part of your body feels calm?” Together, visualize moving the scary feelings out of the body through fingers or toes. Do deep breathing. Deep breathing brings oxygen to all parts of the body and calm, gentle breathing can settle an anxious child more than words. Your child can use their fingers to represent candles as they slowly breathe in and out. “Let’s gently blow out 5 ‘candles’ together”. Focus on their strengths. Think of a time that they managed a situation that was unfamiliar or scary. “Do you remember when you felt worried about going to the sleepover but you ended up really having fun?” Ask them if they can share what they did to help themselves with those feelings. For younger children, suggest reading “Visiting Feelings” by Lauren Rubenstein. With beautiful illustrations and descriptive prose, it allows children to explore and befriend their emotions with acceptance. The movie “Inside Out” offers a unique perspective on how big emotions show up and ways to better understand them. For teens, ‘The Anxiety Workbook for Teens’ by Lisa Schab has a lot of different activities for older children to try. Use metaphors to help children understand how feelings can be big and small and how they come and go. A parent might offer a metaphor: “Feelings come and go like waves” and explore with them how their feelings come in waves: Big, small and then go away. You can use something more tangible such as toy cars. “Your cars go up and down on their tracks and on bridges. Feelings are like that, too”. Get playfully curious with them and ask how they imagine their feelings. One child made paper wings and showed how her scary feelings flew around the room all around her. And then asked mom to buy a butterfly net so that she could catch them. Celebrate their success in any attempt to master their anxiousness. “I know those are not fun feelings but you are very brave for working so hard to make your worried feelings go away”. It is important to empower children to deal with uncomfortable feelings by equipping them with the tools to manage them. When they discover their own solutions with your support, their confidence soars. And this is one tool they can use their entire lives!

Parenting in the digital age has added a significant layer of complexity to an already challenging job. With everyone’s heads buried in a screen all day, it can seem impossible to spend meaningful moments together as a family. Today is #SaferInternetDay. The intent of this day is to bring awareness to potential dangers on the internet and to create a better internet for children. This is a great opportunity to review our resources for parenting in the digital age.  Parenting In The Digital Age Help! My Kid Might Be a Cyberbully! Apple and Google Address Concerns Over Screen Time Monitor Your Child’s Online Activity  Six Tips To Online Bliss But Mom! All Of My Friends Are On Snapchat!

Imagine what this year could look like if you take the time to genuinely connect with your family and with yourself by focusing on your strengths, taking time for mindfulness and being more intentional with the time you have 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, perhaps an outdoor landscaping project? These are great opportunities to develop your families’ 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 have a positive impact on 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 been wanting 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 appointments or therapy sessions. Ask powerful questions and listen expansively to their answers. Take a 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 intentions to 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 making sure your son understands the right bus route to take to get to school certainly 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. Click here to download this activity and set intentions with your family today! 

Warm up the winter with this fun Family Challenge from The Character Effect™!   Download and print this December calendar full of strengths-based activities and mindful moments for every day this month.