I am facilitating two Approachable Adult workshops on June 16.

I am facilitating two Approachable Adult workshops on June 16.  The first workshop will focus on the topic of puberty and the second workshop will focus on providing sex-positive messaging for youth.

A close family member of mine said to me the other day: “Parenting is hard.”  As a parent myself I agree, parenting is hard.  And with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day around the corner I hope all the parents out there take the time to really enjoy celebrating this day.  I would also like to acknowledge here that this post can be triggering for folks who have wished to be parents and could not, due to what my nurse colleague states is due to circumstantial or situational infertility.  I am so compassionate towards you all out there and I hear you! 

In reflecting on this remark of the difficulties humans experience either parenting or trying to become a parent and cannot, I am reminded of the resilience of human beings.  Having spent 10 years in the emergency department and 20 years moving through the mountains in many different forms and 2 years trying to become a mother and then after 2 years of hardship I did finally become a mother I have learned that doing hard things makes us realize our resiliency.  However, resilience, I believe, has an end point.  We can only do hard things for so long and can only keep on going when we set aside time to rest and recover and celebrate our resilience through joy and connection in community.  Because I know you all know that we cannot do anything alone.  We must trust in our community to hold space for us when we need to rest and we all contribute in many different ways to facilitate healthy development in our community, including healthy development of the children and youth in our community.

One of the “hard” things in parenting is holding space for difficult conversations.  One of the hardest conversations to have with our kids is regarding the topic of sexuality.  It’s hard because the topics of sex, abortion, STIs, gender identity, and genitals are all taboo topics; and often times what makes these conversations even harder are the values and beliefs parents often have around these issues can be very different from the perspectives of their children.  So how does one approach these topics with the kids and youth in our lives?  What do we even discuss with them?  How do we know that they’re ready to even have these discussions?  These are common questions parents and caregivers have around the topic of sexuality.

I, too, once found the topic of sexuality to be a very difficult topic to discuss and to ponder, but I was always curious and my curiosity led me to my career as a Registered Nurse and a Certified Sexual Health Educator.  I feel very comfortable talking about sexuality now, however it was hard work getting to this point which required a deep reflection of my own values and beliefs and paying attention to my biases and language.  I would like to share my knowledge and experience with you through a couple of hours of discussion.  I have created a program that is trauma-sensitive and sex-positive.

I am offering two different workshops on June 16. 

The first workshop (10am to 12pm) focuses on the topic of puberty.  The focus will be on the impacts that the body changes that occur during puberty have on body image, relationships and mental health.  I will share with you strategies that parents, caregiver and community leaders can use to guide kids through this stage by exploring believes and values around gender identity, intimacy, consent and boundaries and social media.  I will share strategies that can create a positive experience for kids during this time that will leave the grownups in their lives feeling more empowered to be positive role models.

The second workshop (1230pm to 230pm) focuses on guiding youth towards healthy decisions around their own sexuality.  The focus will be on leading youth towards having conversations with trusted adults in their life to explore their own values and beliefs on the topics of:

·       Gender identity

·       Intimacy and healthy relationships

·       Consent and boundaries

·       STIs

·       Pregnancy options: pregnancy, adoption and abortion.

·       The impacts of media on body image.

·       Self-compassion in making decisions.

I will also facilitate discussions to explore how the grownups in their lives create space to have these conversations with a positive mindset even when their values and beliefs may differ from each other. 

Attached is a poster with more information detailing the time and cost to attend these Zoom Workshops.  Just a reminder that the workshop is in Pacific Standard Time (PST).  The zoom sessions will not be recorded and participation is not required to attend.  Handouts with resources will be provided via email.