Parenting Ideas Newsletters and a Thank You!

Thank you to all those who attended last Friday's first "Coffee & Conversation".  It was so lovely to meet you, get to know one other a little and to share a hot drink and a piece of (homemade!) cake.  I'm looking forward to offering another morning along the same lines on Friday 21st November and seeing some more parents and carers there.  Thanks to Melissa Crosswell for taking time out of her busy schedule to come along too!

It was the final day for our Yr. 12 students last Thursday and some of you may have been at the Whole School Assembly for their farewell.  Many of the parents who attended "Coffee & Conversation" actually spoke about how wonderful it was that their children were able to participate in the celebration and that they got to share this special senior school experience.  We also spoke about how this can really benefit in terms of their transition from primary in to secondary school.  How gorgeous were the little ones in reading Dr. Seuss?!

Please find attached the latest two interesting articles from our Parenting Ideas school subscription.  .

Oh So Serious
Sexual Behaviours in Children and Young People

Warm regards,
Jo Betti - HCC Social Worker

Parentingideas Newsletter

As mentioned last term, HCC has recently become a Parentingideas "Helping Parents" member and as such now has access to a wealth of great parenting resources.
Fortunately, Parentingideas has also just changed the format of their resources to PDF which means I will now be able to post them directly into my Wellbeing Blog, right here for your convenience.  Today's two articles are all about the secret of raising happy, confident kids and the dangers of online gaming which can turn into an addiction.
I hope you enjoy the insights offered in these two articles.
Jo Betti, HCC Social Worker

Raising happy, confident kids

When does fun flip into addiction?

Coffee & Conversation - take two!!

My apologies for having to cancel last term's introductory "Coffee & Conversation" at HCC.  We'll try again this Friday 24th October 2014.  
For any interested parents and friends of the Early Learning Centre students, this is your chance to enjoy a cup of tea/coffee (and cake!) whilst you network with other HCC parents, make some new friends and share some of your parenting experiences and challenges.   From 9:15am (after Gospel) in the HCC Cafe.  Hope to see you there!  Joanne Betti, HCC Social Worker

Coffee & Conversation - this Friday!

Please join me this Friday 19th September for our first "Coffee & Conversation" at HCC.  For any interested parents and friends of the Early Learning Centre students, this is your chance to enjoy a cup of tea/coffee (and cake!) whilst you network with other HCC parents, make some new friends and share some of your parenting experiences and challenges.   From 9:15am (after Gospel) in the HCC Cafe.  Hope to see you there!  Joanne Betti, HCC Social Worker

RUOK?

Today is RUOK? Day, a national campaign that encourages and equips people to regularly and meaningfully ask each other “are you ok?”

As you would appreciate, suicide prevention is an enormously complex and sensitive challenge, however we do know there is power in that simplest of questions - “Are you ok?”.  By inspiring people to take the time to ask and to really listen, to have regular, face-to-face conversations with people, we can help those struggling with life feel connected long before they even think about suicide.
Asking “are you ok?” is a great place to start to help - if you think life is getting a bit tough or stressful for someone you know, if a friend or family member is really struggling, then please remember to ask RUOK?

At school today the message of RUOK? Day was shared with HCC students to raise awareness of the campaign.  Students watched a short video during HTG specifically aimed at young people, and participated in a short activity to help them realise strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats of using social media for communicating and also about the dangers of mixed meanings when we use text messages to ensure we are helping and not hurting.  Around the campus I also positioned strategic ‘Conversation corners’ to encourage them to start a conversation with someone today.

I really hope that the students gained some insight today into the importance of staying connected.

Being a great Dad

To coincide with Father's Day, Parentingideas  has produced two insightful articles on Fatherhood - I have posted both of these on Parent Conneqt for your perusal.

"Being a Great Dad" highlights seven ideas to help you form close relationships with your kids, and maximise your effectiveness as a parent and partner, namely:
1) Find something in common with your kids;
2) Spend time with your sons;
3) Don't whimp out on discipline;
4) Treat your daughters well;
5) Say good bye to Superman, hello Clarke Kent;
6) Support your partner; and
7) Change as your child changes. 

"Beyond their Years" looks at the vital role parents play in monitoring and controlling the TV content children are exposed to.  This article is aimed at parents of primary aged children.

Read the full articles on Parent Conneqt!

Father's Day Quotes

Here are twenty quotes about fathers from Parentingideas ... just in time for Father's Day!

1. “I know what a good man is because I saw it in my father.” Raimond Gaita

2. "A father is someone who will play with you, even though he has friends his own age to play with.” Unknown

3.“If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.” Bruce Barton

4."Just do what we say, Dad, and no one will get hurt." Two daughters.

5."Your children need your presence more than your presents." Jesse Jackson

6."The fundamental defect of fathers is that they want their children to be a credit to them." Bertrand Russell

7.“One of the unseen benefits of having children is that they deliver you from your own selfishness. There’s no going back.” Martin Amis

8."What a father says to his children is not heard by the world: but it will be heard by posterity." Jean Paul Richter

9.“When you have kids, there’s no such thing as quality time. There’s just time. There’s no, ‘Ooh, his graduation’s better than going to the mall.’ It’s all kind of equal. Changing her diaper and her winning a contest — it’s all good.” Chris Rock

10.“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.”  Jim Valvano

11“Having a kid is like falling in love for the first time when you’re 12, but every day.”  Mike Myers

12.“A man knows he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez

13.”When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." Mark Twain

14.“I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.” Harry S. Truman

15.“My sisters and I can still recite Dad’s grilling rules: Rule No. 1: Dad is in charge. Rule No. 2: Repeat Rule No. 1.” Connie Schultz

16. “My father taught me that the only way you can make good at anything is to practice, and then practice some more.” Pete Rose

17.“Before I got married I had six theories about raising children; now, I have six children and no theories.” John Wilmot

18.“He has always provided me a safe place to land and a hard place from which to launch.” Chelsea Clinton

19. “I just sit there and make up songs and sing to [my son] in gibberish. I’m very good at gibberish now.”  Elton John

20. " A (rad) dad is someone who carries a picture where his money used to be." Rad for a Dad