Parents & caregivers: ‘Tune in’ to teen needs at spring events

Parents and caregivers looking to connect with their teens will have a valuable opportunity to hear about youth issues directly from 九秀直播 students this spring.

A series of events called ‘Tuned in Parents’ will be held this spring featuring a panel of 九秀直播 youth who will openly discuss their experiences and coping mechanisms related to stress, peer relationships, social media and substance use.

Held in partnership with the YMCA, the events will provide valuable insights on how to best approach teens about concerns and issues, as well as tips on what they can do to make it easier for their youth to open up.

“It helps both sides because it’s a great opportunity for the students involved to really drill down on the things that are important to them, and for parents, they get to hear a perspective that they might not be able to get out of their own kids,” explained Raman Bassi, a 九秀直播 Safe Schools Liaison and event facilitator.

To have a degree of separation between the students and parent audiences, the student panel is comprised of 10-12 youth from schools in different neighbourhoods than the host school.

“Some of the topics can get quite personal and so it’s easier for students to speak with a group of parents not connected with their school community,” said Bassi.

Bassi said the sessions are formatted more like a moderated panel than a question-and-answer period, as parents are not there to ask the students questions, but to instead hear what they have to say.

“I help to guide the conversation and cover the things that the youth believe would be helpful for their parents to know, as well as what the parents are hoping to hear,” she said. “The majority of the time, the two end up overlapping.”

Issues and concerns covered in past years’ sessions have included parental expectations to get good grades, peer pressure, social anxiety and more.

And Bassi said the audience has can be a mix of parents and caregivers, from those who are struggling to connect with their teens at home, to those who have a child who  just started their secondary school journey and want to know more about the kinds of pressures they may face. 

To learn more and to register for a session, click the links below: 

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