MARCH 2022
Upcoming Events
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March 1, 1:00: Operation Parent’s website has been updated and features recorded webinars on a wide variety of critical topics about supporting teens and tweens, including their upcoming live broadcast of “MANAGING YOUR TEENS EXCESSIVE GAMING” on March 1, 2022 at 1:00. This is a wealth of useful information and we encourage you to share it with your friends and family.
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March 21, 6:00-7:00 p.m.: We are offering a FREE, online, Narcan/naloxone training through Monroe County Office of Mental Health. This one-hour class prepares you to save the life of a suspected opioid/heroin overdose patient using a nasal spray. The overdose reversal kit will be mailed to you upon completion of the training session. Register here.
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April 9, 10:00-4:00: Stop by Webster Central PTSA’s Community Arts Day and visit our table where we will not only have loads of prevention information to share, but also a fun, free, “Planting Positivity” craft where kids can plant flower seeds and take them home to watch them grow. Tending their plant together is a great opportunity for families to build protective factors through open communication, and bonding over shared activities.
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Save the date - April 30: Start cleaning out your medicine cabinets – the DEA’s next National Drug Take Back Day is April 30, 10:00-2:00. We’ll share more details about how you can help to keep Webster safe by properly disposing of, or donating, unused medication in next month’s newsletter, so stay tuned!
Webster Headlines
The hunt is ON!
Join our self-guided, family-friendly scavenger hunt sponsored by WHEN and Webster Parks and Recreation that will take you to some of Webster’s “hidden gems”! You can participate any time between 3/1 and 3/17. It will likely take a couple of hours to visit all the stops and you can do them all in one outing or break them up to fit your schedule. Once you have unscrambled the secret password, submit it online for a chance to win fabulous prizes, including free swimming lessons from the Webster Aquatic Center, an Amazon gift card from WHEN, and a gift certificate from Webster Parks and Recreation, just to name a few of the goodies in our “pot of gold”! Start here.
Strong Family Relationships are Protective
Building and maintaining strong and positive family relationships is not automatic. Solid family relationships require effort. Families need time to communicate and connect with one another. An article in RaisingChildren.Net.Au says, “Positive family relationships help children feel secure and loved, which gives them confidence to explore their world, try new things and learn. It makes it easier for families to solve problems, resolve conflict and respect differences of opinion and gives children the skills they need to build healthy relationships of their own.”
Even teenagers value family relationships, including with their parents. An article from the Center for Parent and Teen Communication states, “Adolescents want to know their parents' opinions about substance use and healthy sexuality and value those opinions more than they do that of their friends. “Whaaaat?!?,” you ask. Yes, we’ve seen this time and again both in real-life examples from across the country as well as what we’ve learned from long-term scientific research. We are our adolescents' most valuable and desired teachers. Us. Not peers. Not the media. Us.”
Just like all relationships we nurture and build, family relationships require our personal investment of:
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time together
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positive interactions
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one-on-one time between family members
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healthy communication where family members feel heard and listened to
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reflective listening
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praise and appreciation
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showing interest in each other's activities
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and having fun together.
Thrive Global states ways to build healthy family relationships include: sharing meals, exchanging stories, reading stories, regular fun activities, making decisions together, setting time aside for your partner, and respect for one another.
Children look to their parents and caregivers for how to be a healthy, happy person in today’s world. This does not mean we need to be perfect. The Center for Parent and Teen Communication article points out that, “More than anything, our children want us to be well and happy. Children and adolescents are most secure when they know their parents are okay. So you want to know how to best influence your child? Show them a healthy, responsible adult.”
WHEN promotes factors that protect kids from the risk of developing substance use disorders. Strong, healthy relationships (both with family and friends) is one protective factor. So go out and have some fun with your family – maybe even hunt for Clovers and Clues! – and talk, and laugh, and strengthen bonds that will support the people most important to you throughout their lives.
Upcoming Meetings
We meet online via Google Meet the second Wednesday of each month at noon. Many of us join during our lunch break. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. In fact, our goal is to have representation from all walks of life, to better meet the needs of the whole community.
Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 9 at noon. Simply register here to receive the meeting link, or email Janine Sanger, Executive Director for more information.
Spotlight
Some people embody service and community and we are fortunate to count many of them among our members. Stacie Peters stands out as a community member always willing to roll up her sleeves to make a positive difference in the lives of those around her. Stacie is a long-time member of WHEN and, along with her son, Griffin, has made many valuable contributions to our work. At the same time, she has revived WC PTSA (Webster Central Parent Teacher Student Association) activities at Schroeder High School, bringing much-appreciated positivity and support to students, staff, and families there. She has even taken a turn in the role of Webster Central PTSA Co-President, which is a true labor of love that never receives adequate recognition. Because she actively volunteers for both WHEN and WC PTSA, we are uniquely positioned to participate in partnerships and collaborations that benefit both. WHEN's participation at WC PTSA's upcoming Community Arts Day is a perfect example, and we are so excited to meet the community in person with unique give-aways and family friendly activities at this annual event that was sorely missed during the pandemic.
Join us in thanking Stacie for her tireless contributions to Webster kids & families, her can-do spirit, and imaginative suggestions that continue to make the lives around her a bit brighter.
Reminders
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If you are a member of WHEN but haven’t yet shared your reason for joining, please take a moment to do that now, so we can share it on social media to let the community know who we are and what we do.
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If you are a parent of a WCSD student and looking for ways to grow your network of caring parents, consider volunteering with Webster Central PTSA next school year. They are recruiting now for many positions that are open for the fall. It’s a great way to stay connected to parents, teachers, administrators and current issues affecting your kids. Email CentralPTSA@websterptsa.org for more information about a posted position or to find out how to connect with the team at your school.
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View past issues of this newsletter under the Current News dropdown menu on our website.