Programs for Parents
HGNA is committed to providing resources, support and education for parents of adolescent girls, professionals and the community as a whole. We offer workshops, training and discussion groups through which parents and other caring adults can enrich their understanding of the challenges facing adolescents and gain confidence in how to deal with them effectively.
HGNA Workshops and Speakers
Mom Chat, offered in conjunction with Chick Chat, provides moms the opportunity to hear a dynamic speaker and explore topics relevant to their daughters. Mom Chat is a wonderful way to start the day after dropping your daughter off to attend Chick Chat!
Helping Girls Navigate Adolescence, our popular, fundamental presentation to learn strategies to support girls in developing healthy relationships, self-esteem and body image.
Girl Bullying: Why Can Girls Be So Mean? explores the causes of relational aggression and provides prevention and intervention tips to guide your daughter (or students) through difficult relationships and behaviors.
Cyberspace: The New Frontier in Bullying is an essential workshop for all parents to help understand how kids are connecting online and the potential for danger and consequences in this new medium.
Effective Coaching to Positively Enhance the Lives of Girls, a workshop offered to coaches of local sports organizations to help understand why girls play sports, how sports can benefit girls and the critical role coaches play in supporting healthy team building.
Building a Solid Mother-Daughter Relationship a lively interactive presentation for Moms to support their significant but often challenging mother/daughter relationship.
Parent/Daughter Workshops
Being an adolescent/pre-teen girl has never been easy but today girls are challenged with so much more. Although opportunities for girls have never been better, relational bullying, stress, technology and materialism have taken their toll. Through separate presentations, this workshop helps girls and their caring adults to understand the social, emotional and biological challenges of adolescence. Learn ways to handle peer conflict and develop means for forming healthy friendships, peer support and self worth.
Guest Speaker Parent Education Series Workshops
HGNA is a strong supporter of parents and understands the KEY role they play in the healthy social and emotional development of their children. Thanks to our generous donors, fundraising efforts and hard working volunteers, we have coordinated or co-sponsored a number of high quality parent education programs over the past several years including:
• Bouncing Back: Back to School With a New Set of Tools, a free parent workshop featured Dr. Robert Brooks, a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty, best-selling author and leading expert on resilience, self-esteem, motivation and family relationships. The workshop was held in conjunction with Downers Grove Grade School District 58.
• How to be Cyber Savvy...When Your Kids are Cyber Social, a free workshop for parents of girls and boys in fourth grade and older featured expert speakers who explained why youth are engaging in potentially risky behavior online and via other electronic media. The evening also provided practical tools and strategies for navigating the social networking sites and the whole new realm of adolescent interaction.
• Stressed-Out Girls, a workshop with psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Roni Cohen-Sandler.
• An Evening with Rosalind Wiseman, best selling author of Queen Bees & Wannabes and Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads
• A two-day facilitator training session in the Girls Circle curriculum. The training was funded by a federal grant obtained with the help of the DuPage County Regional Office of Education.
• Parent Over Shoulder: Negotiating the Chaotic World of Your Adolescent, a well-attended community forum sponsored by District 58 in cooperation with HGNA, the Downers Grove Police Department, the Downers Grove Township and the PTA.
• Cracking the Code: Investigating the Bewildering Relationships of Adolescent Girls featured a panel discussion of local experts moderated by the Honorable Sandra Pihos (State Representative)
• Girl Bullying: Why We Should Care was our original workshop that got the discussion started. Thanks to the AAUW (American Association of University Women) Downers Grove branch for hosting that workshop and enthusiastically supporting our efforts ever since!
