Equipping families with ideas, insight, and community to help them thrive.

Not familiar with Parent Edge? Find more info at miparentedge.org

May Highlights

Welcome to our May highlights! We have curated a selection of videos and webinars featuring leading psychologists, educators and thinkers on topics of interest for our community. We hope you learn something new that will help you and your family. Keep an eye out for more next month!

* To access events, sign-up and register or view by clicking the event links in blue!

How to Navigate Difficult Conversations With Your Kids

Dr. Donald Grant will guide parents through navigating difficult conversations with their children and teens. Whether it's addressing sensitive topics like exclusion, peer pressure, or academic struggles, Dr. Grant will provide practical insights and tools to foster open communication and understanding within the family dynamic.

Parents will leave equipped with valuable techniques to approach challenging discussions with empathy, clarity, and confidence.

How to Navigate Difficult Conversations With Your Kids
Wednesday, May 15, 5:30pm PT
Virtual Event (Live)

* Miss a live event? Tune into the Video Library, a free resource with recordings of 250+ Parent Ed events. Click here.

Recent Recordings

Did you miss any of the recent webinars? Here are some we think are worth taking a look at:

The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, Lisa Damour, PhD
Belonging: The Science of Creating Connections and Bridging Divides, Geoffrey Cohen, PhD
How and Why to Talk to Kids about Climate Change, parenting author Anya Kamenetz (Climate Mental Health Network) and climate advocate Liz Hurtado (Moms Clean Air Force/EcoMadres)
Project Unlonely: Healing our Crisis of Disconnect, Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH
Cyberbulling Prevention: Navigating the Intersection of AI, Social Media, and Digital Ethics, Sameer Hinduja, PhD, cyberbullying expert
Understanding the Tweenage Brain, Deborah Farmer Kris, author, parenting expert, and founder of Parenthood365
Why a Sense of Control is Key to Mental Health: How to Foster It in Kids, Bill Stixrud, PhD, and Ned Johnson
Making It Less Awkward: Navigating the Tween and Teen Years, Cara Natterson, MD, and Vanessa Kroll Bennett

All past webinars can be found in the Parent Venture Video Library.

Parent Circle Coffee Connection

Monday, May 13 @ 9:30am

Looking to connect with other MI parents? Want to talk about parenting topics that are on your mind? Join us for our May 13th Parent Circle! There is no requirement to read or watch anything but to simply show up! We will be in the common area of the Mercer Island Community Center. Hope to see you there!

MI Parents - What's on Your Mind?

Mercer Island Parent Edge is a non-profit organization within the MI PTA Council that is run by parent volunteers. We coordinate speakers and events for parents, educators, students and our community. Our goal is to provide educational events and to encourage dialogue on issues and concerns in our community.

We would appreciate it if you would please take a moment to let us know what type of programming you would like to see Parent Edge offer the Mercer Island Community.

If you have questions, please email miparentedge@gmail.com

Survey

2023-24 Program Themes

Technology and Digital Lives

Achievement Pressure

Social and Emotional Skill Building

Based on survey feedback from parents about topics most important to them, we will spotlight these three themes. This year we've partnered with Parent Venture, a non-profit organization, to showcase their line-up of well-known authors, speakers and parenting experts that focus on topics of highest interest to MI families.

What does that mean for you? These events will be accessible in a few ways:

Live webinar
Recorded programs (over 25 programs this year) and a large library of past programs
Spotlighted Parent Edge programming
Parent Circles: in-person, follow-up group conversations

New to the district? Wondering what Parent Edge is all about? Check out more info here.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, May 9

5:30p Empowered and Equipped: A Personal Perspective of Neurodiversity

Monday, May 13

9:30a Parent Circle: Lisa Damour: Emotional Lives of Teenagers (MI Community Center Common Area)

Wednesday, May 15

5:30p How to Navigate Difficult Conversations With Your Kids

Mercer Island Parent Edge is a program within the Mercer Island PTA Council.
We coordinate events and programs for parents, students and educators.
Our goal is to encourage dialogue and share best practices.

SUBJECT: Parent Edge May Overview