PEP Talks Winner

Congratulations to Kelsey! Enjoy your tickets to PEP Talks--I'll see you there!

For those of you who would like to go but didn't win, there are still some tickets left to see Jennifer Kolari speak about empathy in parenting.

Don't miss the other two speakers as well--here are the details & links:

Jennifer Kolari, Connected Parenting: How to Raise a Great Kid, November 27th, 2013
Barabara Coloroso, How to Raise Ethical Children, February 5th, 2014
Joel Bakan, Standing Up for Childhood, March 5th, 2014

All shows are 7:30-9pm at the Vancouver Playhouse 600 Hamilton Street.

You can purchase a SERIES TICKET for $99 to see all three speakers, or just see two SPEAKERS for $70, or one SPEAKER for $39. STUDENT tickets are $22. All prices include GST & service charges. Call 604 708 5655 for more information. All proceeds from PEP Talks go to support the ongoing programs of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.
 

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PEP Talks: Jennifer Kolari on Empathy & Connected Parenting (GIVEAWAY)

Empathy. We know it's an essential part of being a decent human being. There are many programs in schools that are based around encouraging children to be more empathetic to prevent bullying. But how can we use it in our parenting?

Jennifer Kolari will be answering this question in just a couple of weeks during her talk, 'Connected Parenting: How to Raise a Great Kid'. The event is part of this winter's PEP Talks series, put on as a fundraiser for the Vancouver International Children's Festival (VICF).

Last spring's PEP Talks were a great success so VICF decided to do it again. I got to attend two of the spring talks; I really enjoyed hearing Lenore Skenazy speak about the Free Range Parenting movement and Deborah MacNamara explain the vital role of play in children's development. More than just an enjoyable evening out, the two nights really gave me something to think about and have informed my parenting since then.

PEP Talks are such a brilliant idea for busy parents. First off, getting to hear engaging, insightful speakers is fun. Secondly, it's quick--who has time to read a whole parenting book once you are actually a parent? Probably the best part of the PEP Talks series is the fact that, unlike a book, you can ask questions of the expert after their presentation.

Jennifer Kolari's will be the first PEP Talk of the winter series on November 27th, from 7:30 to 9pm. Connected Parenting is not unlike many other parenting techniques, which stress the importance of empathy. Connected Parenting helps parents to use empathy skillfully to repair frayed bonds, deescalate tantrums (have I convinced all the parents of three-year-olds yet??), contain and correct difficult behaviours and help children to become more confident and emotionally resilient. Kolari uses a collaborative and supportive coaching model and provide inspirational, easy-to-understand techniques grounded in neuroscience and attachment. The end result is a child who is more compliant, more relaxed, and–most importantly–happier.

Jennifer Kolari, MSW, RSW, is a family and child therapist with over twenty years of helping children, teens and families get connected. She's one of Canada’s leading parenting experts, as well as the founder and author of Connected Parenting: How To Raise A Great Kid (Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You’re Ruining My Life! (But Not Really) Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011). The Toronto mother of three is also the Parenting expert on CBC’s Steven and Chris show, and has frequently appeared on Canada AM and Breakfast Television. Her advice can be found in many Canadian and U.S. magazines such as Today’s Parent, Redbook, Parent Magazine and Canadian Family, not to mention the health advisory board for Chatelaine Magazine.

For more information about Jennifer Kolari visit her Connected Parenting website.

As I mentioned earlier, the PEP Talks is a series, with three different speakers:
Jennifer Kolari, Connected Parenting: How to Raise a Great Kid, November 27th, 2013
Barabara Coloroso, How to Raise Ethical Children, February 5th, 2014
Joel Bakan, Standing Up for Childhood, March 5th, 2014

You can purchase a SERIES TICKET for $99 to see all three speakers, or just see two SPEAKERS for $70, or one SPEAKER for $39. STUDENT tickets are $22. All prices include GST & service charges. Call 604 708 5655 for more information. All proceeds from PEP Talks go to support the ongoing programs of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.

Now that you've heard about how awesome the PEP Talks series is, I bet you're raring to go to Jennifer's talk, right? Here's your chance to WIN two tickets to see her! You have several ways to enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. A winner will be randomly chosen from valid entries on Monday, November 18th at 11:59pm. Please email me if you have any questions or issues using it! GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Lenore Skenazy's PEP Talk Nearly Made Me Pee My Pants

Lenore Skenazy at PEP Talks in Vancouver, 7 March 2013

Last night I went to see Lenore Skenazy, aka "America's Worst Mom" speak at the Vancouver Playhouse, the first in the Parenting Education Program Talks. Before the 'educational' part makes you think it was one of those dry workshops where you're struggling to keep your eyes open, even though you know it's supposed to be important, let me tell you it was immensely entertaining.

Lenore is a syndicated columnist who lives in New York City & she first became famous--well, infamous might be a better word--when she wrote a column about allowing her 9-year-old son to take the subway home. Alone. In New York City. (cue ominous music) After her column came out, the barrage of interview requests from the likes of the Today Show & even the Howard Stern Show surprised her. Her son had asked to take the subway by himself & she felt comfortable allowing it, as he'd been riding these trains all his life. What was the big deal?

After becoming a media sensation & being christened "America's Worst Mom", she soon realized her
common-sense approach to parenting--allowing kids to take on responsiblity when they're ready, rather than protecting them from everything all the time forever--was worth writing a book about. She authored Free Range Kids in 2010 & it's become a best-seller. I read the book a year or two ago & I really agree with her perspective. It's by allowing kids to explore & learn about the world that they become safer. Street smarts can only be learned on the streets, right?

Lenore's high-energy talk jumped around in a way that she claimed was a result of downing a large Starbucks before taking the stage. Like her writing, in person she's approachable & funny, with a liberal dose of stream-of-consciousness digressions in her narrative. Through anecdotes that had the audience nearly in tears from laughter, she lambasted the irrational fears that we have as a society over the safety of our children.

Though fear of abduction by stranger is her biggest target, she also pullled several dubious safety products out of her purse to question their validity. I have to say, my favourite was the rubber ducky bath thermometer--c'mon parents, you know the one--that will say "HOT!" on the bottom if the bathwater is too warm for baby. The best part was when she asked an audience member to read out a line from the packaging, telling parents that they must test the water with their hands before ever putting a child in the bath. A product that explains its own redundancy!

Lenore's talk & her book, Free Range Kids, is what parents need. She lays out in words her common-sense attitude toward child-rearing without prescriptive tips or fear-mongering. She reminds us that crime rates are at an all-time low & raising children to fear strangers will not keep them safer.

As I mentioned earlier, PEP Talks is a series: there are three more yet to come, featuring Dr. Sheryl
Feinstein on "The Adolescent Brain" April 10, Deborah MacNamara & "The Lost Art of Play" May 15, then Lisa Bloom on "Raising Smart Kids in the New Millennium". Tickets are $35 per event, available online on the PEP Talks website, with proceeds going to support the Vancouver International Children's Festival.

*Disclaimers: I was given free tickets to see Lenore to help promote the series. Also, the link to Free Range Kids is an affiliate link.

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