Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) partners with South Bay Families Connected to offer a variety of free, monthly parent education events, including the Families Connected Speaker Series and Families Connected Parent Chat.
South Bay Families Connected is a not-for-profit whose mission is to improve the social and emotional wellness of area youth by supporting parents in their efforts to help their kids reach their full potential and live healthy, fulfilled lives. South Bay Families Connected offers parents free resources, education and opportunities to connect around parenting issues and challenges, including helping kids navigate the new social media landscape, to reducing the likelihood that they will use drugs and alcohol.
Enjoy these free resources around parenting issues and challenges:
The Families Connected Speaker Series was presented in partnership with Beach Cities Health District, South Bay Families Connected, Hermosa Beach City School District, Manhattan Beach Unified School District and Redondo Beach Unified School District.
2021-22 Families Connected Speaker Series events included:
Supporting Our Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic, presented by Dr. David J. Schonfeld
This session will provide practical advice to parents and other caregivers on how to help our children cope with persistent adjustment difficulties and grief associated with the pandemic. Common adjustment difficulties that are most likely to be seen at this point in the pandemic and practical strategies to provide assistance and support will be reviewed. The distinction between grief and loss, common during this pandemic, and trauma will be discussed; free resources from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement and the Coalition to Support Grieving Students to address these challenges will be highlighted. The session will underscore the need for self-care among adults. Time will be devoted to questions and discussion. Together, we will consider how best to promote the recovery and continued adaptation of children and ourselves.
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqQY4ziiHc4
The Families Connected Speaker Series was presented in partnership with Beach Cities Health District, South Bay Families Connected, Hermosa Beach City School District, Manhattan Beach Unified School District and Redondo Beach Unified School District. All Families Connected Speaker Series events throughout the 2020-21 school year were held virtually.
2020-21 Families Connected Speaker Series events included:
Practicing Resiliency with Your Family During COVID-19, presented by Dr. Kelly Greco
Resilience, or the ability of an individual to function competently in the face of adversity or distress, is an important protective factor for both adolescents and adults. COVID-19, with its continuing and lasting impacts, has presented many unprecedented and unique challenges for Beach Cities students and families. Families Connected Speaker Series keynote speaker Dr. Kelly Greco guided participants through a discussion for parents, caregivers and community members to learn how to utilize and teach life skills that help families cope and managing the stressors, loss, disappointments and unique challenges of life – with and without COVID-19.
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/HbuEe2hbEvA
Social Justice Parenting: Teaching Children to Leverage Privilege for Good, presented by Dr. Mimi Nartey
Dr. Mimi Nartey delivered strategies to empower parents to discuss social justice topics with their children, set intentions for themselves and their communities toward social justice outcomes, contextualize real and perceived social disadvantages responsibly and to leverage social privilege towards the manifestation of a better world.
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/e-FtjE1k8No
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, presented by Dr. Dan Siegel
In this seminar, Dr. Dan Siegel explored an exciting approach to raising children through engaging discussions, case examples and experiential immersions. Child development professionals, parents, grandparents, teachers and others who help children grow will find this learning experience filled with scientifically-based ideas and practical skills that can promote well-being in children’s lives. By offering a definition of an important aspect of the mind and a core mechanism of mental health, the whole-brain child approach offers care providers the cutting edge art and science of child development.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/0MkbCaxnMlk
More information and past recordings can be found at www.southbayfamiliesconnected.org
- “The Journey” – A Conversation About Mental Health in New, Uncertain Times, with professional surfer Alex Gray and local clinician Kevin Sousa, MFT. In this Families Connected Speaker Series, Kevin and Alex shared valuable insight and personal experiences with stress, anxiety and coping mechanisms in a casual, intimate conversation. The recording of the presentation can be found here.
- “Vaping in 2020: What Parents Need to Know,” presented by Sarah Grippa. Sarah Grippa, Co-Founder of the Marijuana Education Initiative, delivered unbiased information to help parents and educators better understand the risks and impacts of adolescents’ vaping and marijuana use. Relevant for parents of elementary through high school aged youth, this presentation helps navigate the unknown territory so many of our kids are already comfortable with. This recording of the presentation can be found here.
- How to Create a Community that Embraces Everyone, with Dr. Darin Earley
- How to Be a Good Friend: Helping Your Child Develop Healthy Peer Relationships
Presented by Katie Hurley, LCSW
Join Beach Cities Health District and South Bay Families Connected for a presentation by Katie Hurley, LCSW on Thursday, Nov. 7, “How to Be a Good Friend: Helping Your Child Develop Healthy Peer Relationships.” Hurley, the author of “No More Mean Girls” and “The Happy Kid Handbook,” is a local child and adolescent psychotherapist, writer and speaker. Navigating peer relationships can be a challenge, particularly throughout adolescence. Hurley will discuss ways parents, caregivers and friends can help their children establish healthy peer relationships, boundaries and a strong sense of self. Register at www.southbayfamiliesconnected.org/events. The Families Connected Speaker Series is presented in partnership with the Hermosa Beach City School District, Manhattan Beach Unified School District and Redondo Beach Unified School District.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Redondo Union High School Auditorium
1 Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach - Under Pressure: Stress Resilience When the Stakes are High
Beach Cities Health District in partnership with South Bay Families Connected, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, Positive Coaching Alliance, and the MBX Foundation, invite you to join a special panel presentation featuring Norm Chow, Casey Jennings, Valorie Kondos Field, and Mikah Maly-Karros, LMFT. All South Bay parents, caregivers, and teens are welcome to join us at this free event. Space is limited. Please register in advance.
- Auditorium
1401 Artesia Boulevard, Manhattan Beach - Media Moms & Digital Dads: A Fact-not-Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age
Presented by Dr. Yalda Uhls
Yalda T. Uhls, PhD is a research scientist (UCLA) and non-profit founder (Center for Scholars & Storytellers) with over 15 years of senior executive experience in the entertainment industry (MGM, Sony). Her expertise of how media content is created, as well as the science of how media affects children, informs her unique perspective.
Thursday, September 19, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Hermosa Valley School, Multi-Purpose Room
1645 Valley Dr., Hermosa Beach - Talk About It: Small Group Parent Workshops
bchd.org/talk
Thursday, September 12
South Bay Adult School, 3401 Inglewood Ave., Redondo Beach
Snapchat, 6 – 7 p.m. - Talk About It: Small Group Parent Workshops
bchd.org/talk
Tuesday, September 10
Beach Cities Health District, 514 N. Prospect Ave., Beach Cities Room, Redondo Beach
Elementary School Cyber Education, 9 – 10 a.m.
Instagram, 1 – 2 p.m.
- Carving out Your Creativity, Presented by World Champion Skateboarder Rodney Mullen
Thursday, March 28, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Hermosa Beach Community Center, Hermosa Beach - Julie Lythcott-Haimes presents, "How to Raise an Adult"
We’re proud to partner with MBEF and South Bay Families Connected to bring “How To Raise an Adult” author Julie Lythcott-Haims to Manhattan Beach. Learn how to help your child develop the resourcefulness, resilience and inner determination necessary for success. - A Conversation with Civil Rights Icon Terrence Roberts of the Little Rock Nine
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Mira Costa High School Auditorium
1401 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach
Sixty years ago, nine black students attended their first full day of school at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. This landmark effort to desegregate the all-white school played a pivotal moment in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine, will speak about the importance of understanding the history of segregation and civil rights to combat racism and discrimination today. - Grit, Resilience & a Growth Mindset
Wednesday, January 16
Redondo Union High School Auditorium
1 Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach
How can we teach our children to be resilient to both small setbacks and larger failures so they are able to grow their grit? Defined as a combination of passion and perseverance to achieve long-term goals, grit can be built through a growth mindset: the belief that the ability to learn can change – with effort.
Featuring:
Dr. Mike Gervais, High-Performance Psychologist and Co-Founder of Compete to Create
Adam Krikorian, Gold Medal-Winning Coach of the U.S. Women’s National Water Polo Team
Valerie Kondos, Pac-12 Coach of the Century for UCLA Gymnastics - Screening of “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety”
Tuesday, Nov. 13, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Mira Costa High School Auditorium
1401 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach
1 in 5 students may struggle with a mental health condition. Our students may be suffering emotionally, and we may not recognize the symptoms. Join us for a screening of “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety,” a documentary that looks at anxiety, its causes and effects, and what we can do about it. - Parenting in the Digital World, presented by the Cyber Cop
Monday, September 17, 6:30 -8:00 p.m.
Hermosa Beach Community Center
Hear from the “Cyber Cop,” Clayton Cranford, a law enforcement professional and one of the nation’s leading educators on social media, and learn about the risks and benefits of digital technology in today's age. This presentation is for parents only. Student assemblies will be happening at Beach Cities schools in the month of September.
- Families Connected Speaker Series & Parent Resource Expo
Tuesday, April 17, 5- 8 p.m.
Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center
Parent Resource Expo: 5-6:30 p.m.
Connect with school and community health resources on topics including student well-being, substance use prevention and mental health.
Overloaded and Underprepared: Helping Students Find Balance in the South Bay Pressure Cooker
Presented by Dr. Denise Pope of Challenge Success
Our society has become so focused on grades, test scores and performance, that little time is left to develop the necessary skills to become resilient, ethical and motivated learners. Hear from Dr. Denise Pope of Stanford’s Challenge Success on the practical, research-based tools parents need to create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for their kids. After all, success is measured over the course of a lifetime, not at the end of a semester. - Issues on the Minds of Teens: Teen Panel and Discussion
Presented by Adam O’Neil and Leah Niehaus
Tuesday, March 20 from 6:30-8 p.m.
Hermosa Valley MPR, 1645 Valley Dr., Hermosa Beach - Purpose vs. Performance: Shifting the Mindset from Outcomes to Experience
Presented by Eric Karros and Mikah Maly-Karros
Thursday, Feb. 8
Redondo Union High School Auditorium, 1 Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach
The Families Connected Speaker Series is presented by Beach Cities Health District and South Bay Families Connected, in partnership with Hermosa Beach City School District, Manhattan Beach Unified School District and Redondo Beach Unified School District. - Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in our 'All-About-Me' World
Presented by Dr. Michele Borba, author of "Unselfie"
Tuesday, Jan. 30
Mira Costa High School Auditorium, 1401 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach
Resources from the Families Connected Speaker Series Events:
