Temple B’nai Chaim is offering “Boost! Parenting Workshops” that are open to the public. Both workshops will be offered back-to-back on Wednesday, Oct. 21 from 7-9:30 p.m..

The courses will be taught by Chris Parrott, a BPS Chartered Counseling Psychologist. After graduating Cum Laude from Dartmouth College, she studied in London where she earned her MSc and post-MSc degree. Parrott co-founded “Your Self Series”– a teen identity development program, and “YourChatMat” tools to engage families in meaningful conversation. She recently co-authored Reach Before You Teach: Ignite passion and purpose in your classroom (Corwin Press, 2013), a detailed guide aimed at helping teachers connect with their students. Parrott is dedicated to raising the level of education globally so that it focuses on supporting teens socially and emotionally.

The courses are:

The Cyber Child and the Tangled Web of Social Media (7–8:15 p.m.)

What is the true impact of social media on our children? What are the benefits and pitfalls–neurologically, socially and educationally–to cyber exposure? What are the best strategies for parents to support the overall well-being of their children in today’s social-media-centric world? This workshop will answer these questions, leveraging the most current research on the effects of social media on children’s brains and behaviors. Participants will receive firsthand exposure to the cyber social reality that pervades children’s lives and shapes their still-forming identities and social interactions. They will be engaged to critically evaluate how their own interactions with children, consciously and unconsciously, are affected by social media and technology.

Happiness is not Happenstance: 5 Keys to Motivate and Inspire Children (8:15–9:30 p.m.)

Today’s children are stressed. At school and at home, they are bombarded with message about “success,” what it means and how to best attain it. If what parents really want for their children is happiness and love and health and contentment, how do they best weed through the noise, even the noise they themselves are contributing to? How do they best counteract the stresses that are undermining emotional well-being and actually shutting down the learning centers of their children’s brains? This workshop will help parents defuse their children’s stress. It will pinpoint the five important elements that will help children to feel motivated, inspired, happy. It will lay out the concrete strategies for stoking passion, resilience, emotional awareness/regulation, connection and gratitude in today’s hungry child.

The cost to attend both sessions is $35, and payment is required in advance during online registration by Wednesday, Oct. 14. (Refunds are only available until Oct. 14.) For more information (and to see if spaces are still available after Oct. 14) email Temple B’nai Chaim.

The program held at Temple B’nai Chaim (82 Portland Ave.) in Georgetown. Light refreshments will be served. No children please.