I am pleased to announce a series of low fee parenting workshops to be held in my Oakland office throughout the fall. These workshops are designed to be friendly, low key ways to get some questions answered and to develop parenting strategies that work for your family. Come to one or come to all.
1st, 2nd, and 4th Mondays of the month!
September 26: Effective Limit Setting with Children: Why, When, and How to Draw the Line
October 3: From Tots to Teens: Parents Strategies that Grow with Your Child
October 10: Talking about Race with Preschoolers**
October 24: Worried about my Worrier: Taming Childhood Anxiety*
November 7: How to Pick your Battles: Avoiding Power Struggles with Children
November 14: Raising Muti-Racial Children**
November 28: Happy Holiday How To: A Family Sanity Guide
*with guest presenter Wendy Fiering, LMFT
**with guest presenter Dr. Melissa Orloff
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Location: 4408 Market Street, Suite C, Oakland, CA
Cost: $15/ person, $25/ parenting couple
Register: Call (925) 831-1926 or email katrinca@playtherapy.com. Drop ins welcome.
Workshops are also an opportunity to get to know professionals in the area. Workshops are free for therapist, child care providers, and educators in the area with advanced notice.
Effective Limit Setting with Children: Why, When, and How to Draw the Line
Setting limits is an essential part of being a parent. But how and where to set those limits is tricky. Experts agree that middle ground is the best. Too few limits and children lack direction and sense of responsibility. Too many limits and children may become withdrawn or rebellious. This workshop will help you think about which limits will work best in your family and how to make those limits stick without hurting or shaming your child.
From Tots to Teens: Parents Strategies that Grow with Your Child
Preschoolers and adolescents have a lot in common. At each of these stages, children are integrating new skills and attempting to understand who they are and how they fit into the larger world. How parents handle the challenges of the preschool years sets up a template which—for better or worse—will carry through the teen years. Learn how to use the preschool years to establish a parent-child relationship based on love, mutual respect, clear communication, and changing level of responsibility.
Talking about Race with Preschoolers
Children as young as 2 years old notice differences and are curious about them as they try to make sense of the world they live in. It’s developmentally normal for children this age to categorize and generalize. So how do we cultivate compassion and acceptance in our little ones as they soak up subtle societal messages like a sponge? This workshop focuses on how to address the thorny issue of race in an age-appropriate manner to foster a love of cultural diversity.
Worried about my Worrier: Taming Childhood Anxiety
Is your family losing sleep because your child is worried? It’s human to worry. But when persistent childhood fears lead to sleep issues, friendship problems, school trouble, or avoiding situations where we could be having fun, anxiety has the upper hand. The good news is that children are amazingly resilient and there are now great tools to help kids who worry. Come learn the science of how worry operates and practical strategies for helping your child manage their fears. For parents of children age 5 – 11.
How to Pick your Battles: Avoiding power struggles with children
“Pick your battles” is some of the most often offered advice for parents. And it’s good advice. Otherwise you may find yourself in constant conflict with your child. But which battles to choose is not always clear. This workshop offers insight into why power struggles occur between parent and child and what healthy outcome of the those struggles might look like. Explore family power dynamics and learn how to think about which battles to let go of and when to and see it through.
Raising Multi-Racial Children
As the number of interracial relationships and multiracial children continues to grow, parents and children often find themselves struggling to navigate our highly racialized society. “What are you?” and “Who am I?” are constant questions multiracial people struggle with. As parents, we want to raise our young children to be resilient, confident, and capable. This workshop focuses on how to help our children develop a strong sense of self and belonging in a world where they may find it difficult to feel accepted.
Happy Holiday How To: A Family Sanity Guide
It seems every year there is more and more hype about the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years all rolled into one giant hoopla creating expectation in your child that can never be met. Whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Secular, or Other, the holiday hype affects you and your children. Lets talk about how to cut through the hype, and set up holiday expectations that are in line with your family values and temperaments.
**Dr. Melissa Orloff is a biracial mother of a multi-racial toddler who practices Child-Parent Psychotherapy, an evidence based treatment for parents and children ages 0-5. She also specializes in working with interracial and cross-cultural couples using Emotion Focused Therapy for couples.
*Wendy Fiering, LMFT is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist and an early childhood educator. She has worked with children and families for over 20 years. She currently maintains a private psychotherapy practice in North Oakland, where one of her specialities is solution-focused work with children who worry.