A publication of the Howard County Office of Children and Families Family Institute November 2021

Worries, Concerns and Apprehensions  In the early years, schoolwork, friends, negative experiences, or just the anticipation of something happening can overwhelm a child. In addition, the changes, stress and uncertainty of COVID has increased children's worries. Increasingly, parents report anxiety affects children and the entire family. In this workshop we will review the signs and the symptoms of worry in children; help you identify what is causing your child stress; and share techniques and strategies to help children process and work through their worries. This interactive workshop allows time to ask questions and get answers from a mental health professional on how to help your family. For parents of preschool through elementary age children.  Tuesday, November 9 / 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. / Free Virtual Workshop / Register    DIY Toy-Making  Using what you have, make DIY toys to promote early learning. Do you have empty toilet paper rolls in the house? Don’t throw them out! Using household items to make DIY toys can promote early learning skills and foster parent-child attachment. Learn how to make simple DIY toys for your little ones in this fun and engaging 60-minute workshop. Transform materials commonly found around the home into simple yet fun toys sure to spark creativity and keep your little ones engaged! This workshop is geared towards caregivers with children zero to five years old.  Tuesday, November 16 / 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. / Free Virtual Workshop / Register Nothing I Do Works: A Parent’s Guide to Challenging Behaviors The Pyramid Model is a comprehensive, research based approach that considers all of the factors that impact a child, family and a child's behavior. Learn how to help decrease negative behaviors from happening and/ or what to do when they do occur. Ask questions and leave with skills and resources that you can use immediately to help you feel more confident in your parenting. For children ages two to eight. Tuesday, November 16 / Noon to 1:00 p.m. / Free Virtual Workshop / Register

World Kindness Day  November 13 is World Kindness Day, a global awareness day that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, yourself and to the world. The day’s purpose is to help everyone understand that compassion for others is what binds us together. It’s the perfect time to help children perfect their social-emotional learning skills. Kindness can be as simple as sharing a smile, letting someone go ahead of you in the lunch line or giving someone a hand written card. Here are a few ideas to share with students which promote kindness, compassion, respect and teamwork.  Brainstorm ways to be a good friend - take turns in games, cheer each other up when sad or stick up for one another.  The friendship race - brainstorm qualities and attitudes that contribute to good friendships, and discuss how it manifests itself in friendships.  Voices in action - choose an important school or community issue and develop strategies to foster positive change.  We can work it out - set up a discussion group about conflict and come up with possible alternatives, then select the most appropriate responses.  For more information click here.

Circle of Care  How are you feeling today? Super? Swamped? It’s okay if you're feeling both. As parents, you’re often juggling so much that it feels like you’re doing it all. You don’t have to feel overwhelmed all the time. If you ask for help from others, you lighten the load, expand your support system and gain additional role models for your children. Try these simple ways to grow your circle of care:  Say yes - when someone offers to help, say yes, even if you don’t think you need it. Being open to help makes it easier to ask for help when you need it.  Help someone else - when you’re helping, it makes you feel good. Remember this when you need someone else’s help. You’re giving that person an opportunity to get the happy boost too.  Give children the chance to help - Yes, it might make more work for you in the moment, but letting children help with tasks empowers them and makes them feel a part of the team.  So, try asking for help from someone. Even asking for someone to hold the door open is good practice.

Sesame Street in Communities PBS, along with Sesame Street, provides resources related to racial justice and equity through the Sesame Street in Communities webpage. In the racial justice section, there are printables, storybooks, videos, interactive games, articles, and virtual parent workshops. Use the site’s resources to teach your child racial literacy, "allyship," and self-confidence.  If you are unsure of how to begin a conversation with your child: First, use the parent workshop “Helping parents talk about and stand up against racism” to guide your conversation.  Then, print out the “Beautiful Me” worksheet and have your child complete it, drawing themselves to promote self-identity.    Teach children to be an “Upstander” to Racism What is an upstander? Upstanders use kind words and actions to benefit themselves and others, standing up to unfair treatment based on skin color.  Use the resources from Sesame Street as a guide to help your child become smarter, stronger, and kinder. Beginning a discussion about race and racism with a child can be difficult, but it is never too early to start being an “upstander” for oneself, others, and one’s community. Show your child the videos below to introduce the topic:  Sesame Street: How to be an Upstander to Racism Song      Being Upstanders

HCC Free Food Giveaway Howard Community College's (HCC) Public Health Program, in collaboration with the Maryland Food Bank, is sponsoring a FREE food giveaway event on campus in Lot B, on Monday, November 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Each family will receive a box of food and information on HCC's Dental Hygiene Clinic which provides high quality, affordable dental hygiene care. Drive-through only, no walk-ups, masks are required.

Cultivating Confidence  There are days when parents feel really good about your parenting skills, work or accomplishing tasks around the house. When everything goes right, you get a confidence boost that reminds you that you’ve got this, you can do it. As parents, you need confidence and your children need it too.   Confidence is the sense of self-assurance you get from appreciating your own abilities or qualities, and from mastering new skills. Confidence helps you face challenges with optimism. We all want to see that confidence in our children. We want them to not only feel confident, but be optimistic when facing challenges. There are four simple steps to boosting your child’s confidence:  Acknowledge - understand and acknowledge your child’s big feelings and emotions  Introduce – talk about the powerful concept of “yet” and persistence   Remind – children what they are capable of, and all they have accomplished  Compliment – give specific compliments so that your child sees the value in the learning process, not just the result  For more on cultivating confidence, view video.

The Benefits of Attachment Parenting  Attachment is the relationship that develops between a baby and caregiver. Forming attachments is critical to a baby’s development because it creates the foundation on which everything else is based. Establishing a secure attachment with your child from infancy is crucial to healthy development. Having a secure attachment promotes brain development; children who have secure attachments are more likely to show curiosity, persistence, pleasure, an eagerness to explore, and initiative. Attachment continues to grow and develop throughout early childhood, serving as a pattern for future emotional relationships. The quality of attachment affects a baby's social, cognitive, and emotional development. Here are some ways to build a secure attachment with your baby:   Hold your baby  Talk to your baby  Spend a lot of time with your baby  If you must leave your baby with a caregiver, make sure that caregiver will take care of your baby the way you would.

Ways to Improve a Parent-Child Bond   Having a strong bond with your child can decrease parental stress, increase trust, improve your child’s school success, and improve how your child copes with stress in the future. Below are a few strategies that can help.  Set limits with your child, make rules for them to follow and teach them self control. Click here for more information.  Use positive parenting approaches, make things unique to your child and their needs. Show empathy and respect towards your child and how they react to things. Click here for more information.   Make sure your child feels loved, safe, and secure. Acknowledge your child’s feelings and support their goals/passions. Click here for more information.

Virtual 50+ EXPO The Howard County Office on Aging & Independence is a sponsor of the Beacon's Virtual 50+ EXPO, which runs November 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022. This virtual event includes a keynote speaker plus an interactive website with information and resources for older adults, classes and entertainment, available 24/7. Visit the Virtual 50+ EXPO

National Family Resiliency Center  Are you a parent going through a divorce? Are you experiencing difficulty with transitions in your life? The National Family Resiliency Center (NFRC) provides counseling and educational programs to help you cope, heal and navigate through these changes. NFRC programs and services help children and adults preserve a sense of family; foster healthy relationships; and adjust to change. If you are stressed and overwhelmed due to the pandemic, the Resiliency Program is for you. This free interactive program will teach you how to get rid of automatic negative thoughts and develop a healthier mindset. You will feel empowered to do more of what you like to do, regardless of the pandemic or other challenges. NFRC also offers KidsConnex and TeenConnex groups for children 6-16 to help them address their feelings, cope with change, communicate with parents and establish goals. Co-parenting education is also offered. For more information about NFRC programs, click here.

Caught in the Middle: Expert advice to ensure that your children without ADHD get the time and consideration they deserve.  Parents love their children equally, but it’s hard to deny that the child who is impulsive, distractible or hyperactive demands more time and energy. You want to give your children equal attention and opportunities, but despite your intentions, the sibling of a child with ADHD often feels shortchanged. How can you give each of them the attention they deserve without one feeling neglected? ADDitude provides ways a parent can respond when a child is feeling left out, embarrassed, guilty or fearful. It’s important to listen to your child without ADHD and allow them to express their feelings. The number one complaint is the child with ADHD gets all of the attention and there’s nothing left for the sibling. Providing extra one-on-one attention helps and makes the family run more smoothly.     How to Make Friends: A Guide for Kids with ADHD (and their Parents, too)  Friendship struggles are not uncommon among children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), who may lag in maturity and miss subtle social cues. Help your child forge healthy, lasting bonds by becoming their friendship coach. It can break a parent’s heart to see their child struggling to make friends, but sometimes a parent’s guidance can help a child figure out how to make friends and keep them. With a little coaching you can aid in their social development. ADDitude has come up with seventeen strategies that parents can use to guide their child’s social skills. Here are a few: Get to the root of the problem - when your child makes a social blunder, talk with them about what went wrong, why it happened and things they can do differently next time.  Watch your child closely - when your child is playing, be within sight or hearing distance so that you may intervene if he picks a fight, tells a fib or does something dangerous.  Consider team sports - joining an ADHD-friendly team or activity helps your child learn that everything isn’t about them. Lessons learned in sports can spill over into developing healthy friendships.  For more information and a list of all the strategies click here.

STEM Fun: Snap Circuits  Ages 6 to 9 / Central Branch / Thursday, November 4 / 3:00 to 3:45 p.m.   Celebrate the 2021 Maryland STEM Festival by exploring electricity. Discover the basics of how switches and circuits work, then complete a circuit! Ticket required. Tickets available fifteen minutes prior to class.   Play Partners  Ages infant to 23 months with adult / Seahorse Children’s Classroom, Elkridge Branch / Monday, November 8 / 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.  Enjoy stories, baby games and musical activities.  It's Only Rocket Science Ages 6 to 11 / Central Branch / Tuesday, November 9 / 7:00 to 7:45 p.m.   Celebrate the 2021 Maryland STEM Festival by traveling out of this world through books about space.  Learn about how scientists conduct experiments to gather more information about space. Then, become a rocket scientist and design a stomp rocket you will be able to take home with you! Ticket required. Tickets available fifteen minutes prior to class.   Little Learners: STEM Fun! Count and Play Math  Ages 2 to 5 with adult / Central Branch / Tuesday, November 9 / 2:00 to 2:45 p.m.  Children learn about numbers, precision and value, number relationships, and other math concepts. This class is part of the 2021 Maryland STEM Festival. Ticket required. Tickets available fifteen minutes prior to class. All Together Now  Ages 0 to 5 with adult / Pindell Room, Glenwood Branch / Friday, November 12 / 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.  Stories, songs and activities for children and adults to enjoy together. Ticket required. Tickets available fifteen minutes prior to class.   Family Field Trip to Your Library Children’s Area Scavenger Hunt  All Ages / Seahorse Children’s Classroom, Elkridge Branch / Thursday, November 18 / 7:00 to 7:30 p.m.  See how many special stations you can find throughout the children’s area. Get to know the collection of books, DVDs, toys and more. Ticket required. Tickets available fifteen minutes prior to class.

Thanksgiving Snacks for Kids: Fun & Healthy Recipes  Thanksgiving is a busy time. Generally it’s a time for family and friends to gather and enjoy big dinners. On top of that, you need to keep children busy and their bellies full throughout the festivities of the holiday. Have children assist with healthy and fun snack ideas from Forkly. Let their imaginations run wild with these recipes and watch how much fun they’ll have this Thanksgiving.

Sign Up for Parent Pages If you were forwarded this e-mail and would like to receive the latest Parent Pages news and updates directly, sign up today!