VERO BEACH – Remember when M&M was a candy, not an infamous rap artist? Remember when twitter and tweet were sounds a bird would make, not a social networking site changing the world? Remember when hooking up meant telephone wiring, not sexual behavior?
The world our children face is hardly the one we knew at their age.
Learn how to “Keep Kids Human in a Hi-tech World” on Thursday, March 24 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Vero Beach Elementary School, 1770 12th Street.
Presented by Connected 4 Kids Coalition of IRC (C4K), the evening is the first in a series of free parenting workshops offered over the next eight months and includes dinner and childcare at no charge.
Guest presenter Margaret Sagarese will uncover the mystery of apps, blogs, YouTube, zip files and more, providing parents with tools on how to help their children cultivate real friendships in a “friending” environment, instill empathy in a cyber bullying environment, and teach kids about secrets and privacy in a world that exposes.
Sagarese is the best selling author of numerous parenting books and a frequent keynote speaker.
The co-author of the award-winning “The Roller-Coster Years: Raising Your Child Through the Maddening yet Magical Middle School Years,” she has made media appearances on such programs as The Today Show on NBC, The Early Show on CBS, CNN, MSNBC and NPR, and she has been featured in many publications.
“We are very excited to launch our 2011 Parent Academy workshop series with a speaker of the caliber of Ms. Sagarese,” said Barbara Schlitt Ford, Executive Director of Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program of Indian River County and the Founder of C4K. “We have found so many parents don’t have a grasp of the hi-tech world in which their kids are being raised, and so don’t really understand the potentially negative impact that could result.”
C4K is a coalition that’s mission is to connect organizations, information, resources and families to one another to benefit children.
With over 300 members from throughout Indian River County including schools, nonprofits and faith-based organizations, they produce an annual directory of resources and programs, and hold monthly meetings.
To RSVP for the free workshop and dinner, or for more information, call (772) 226-3092 or e-mail pvetrolmile@ircgov.com.
Future workshops include:
May 26: 1-2-3 Magic: Managing Difficult Behavior in Children 2 – 12 years old
Sept. 12: Making College a Reality
Oct. 6, 11 & 20: Literacy Services
Nov. 17: Mental Health Survey: Anger Management