Our Top Experts are Speaking on…

Navigating the Online World

An informative and entertaining session for Parents, educators and carers is delivered with Susan’s famous ‘no nonsense’ approach and will cover the positive benefits of technology as well as what parents need to be aware of:

• What are kids doing online  – The popular social networking sites and apps. What they are, what are the legal ages to use them & why these rules should be obeyed. The difference between an ‘online friend’ and a ‘stranger’.
• Online Grooming – What is it and when/how does it occur? What are the warning signs & what to do if you suspect this is happening to your child.
• Cyberbullying – What it is, where it happens, what it looks like, how to prevent and what to do if it occurs. Also the legal consequences and the possible criminal charges
• ‘Sexting’ – the taking and sending of explicit images…what are the REAL consequences. (Primary school kids too).
• Potential dangers and safety tips – how to assist the children in your care to stay safe online via parental controls and restriction passcodes.
• Learn the lingo! Be able to converse with your children in the language of cyberspace.
• Be confident in setting rules and boundaries around internet use in the home. It’s OK to say NO!
• The session will conclude with time for questions.

Handling Tricky Friendship Days: Guiding principles that will
change the conversation in homes and schools

Friendships can be complex, intense and filled with unpredictable ups and downs. Even  hough we might wish that our kids to “just get on with it”, most need our active guidance to problem-solve daily challenges. This presentation will offer a critical set of six guiding principles that will help kids to connect with their internal wisdom, and handle tricky friendship days with more confidence. It will also discuss the role that trusted adults play in social-emotional education, and what our kids need to optimise their identity development.

Building Kids and Teens Anxiety Coping Toolkit

Parents and teachers play the most important role in helping children when they experience anxiety. And whether they experience the everyday variety of anxiety that comes with being human, or anxiety that gets in the way of everyday life – there are skills and strategies children can learn to not only help them cope, but thrive. Now, and over their lifetime. Join best-selling author and anxiety educator Dr Jodi Richardson to:

• Develop your understanding of the brain’s alarm system
• Identify anxiety and teach your child/teen to recognise it when it’s rising
• Teach your child/teen the most important question to ask themselves with each and every worry
• Learn effective strategies to dial anxiety symptoms down
• Know when and where to seek professional help

Helping young people navigate a sexed-up world:
the impact of porn culture on respectful relationships

Drawing from research on the harms of sexualisation, objectification, pornography, and porn culture – and supported by compelling personal testimony from young people – Melinda will explore how these entrenched, commercialised practices contribute to a distorted view of bodies, relationships and sexuality in children and young people, hampering their healthy physical and emotional development.

How can we all help young people resist harmful messages, reject sexual pressure, enforce personal boundaries, act in accordance with their values, and aspire to relationships based on mutual respect, empathy, and authentic human connection?

RESILIENCE: Developing strength, calm and kindness in our kids

“How can I help my child be more resilient?” is a question Dr Justin Coulson often hears from worried mums and dads. In this session, parents will learn the psychological secrets that build their child’s sense of identity, strengths, and growth mindset in order to perform better, be happier, and build resilience.

Based on Dr Justin Coulson’s best-selling book 9 Ways to a Resilient Child, this session shows parents how to help their children cope powerfully and positively with the challenges that life throws at them. This presentation is one of Justin’s most popular ones with powerful stories and illustrations that every parent can relate to.

He explains the factors that help and hinder resilience, why common advice such as “Toughen up Princess” just doesn’t work, and how competition and praise may undermine resilience.