For the month of April, GPS partnered with both R.E.A.L. Discussion and Dr. Lisa Damour for weekly parent speaker sessions. The purpose of the series was to help parents gain information that would provide insight into their teen and help them navigate their challenges with grace and guidance.
The series featured:
Making R.E.A.L. Conversation Easier For Digital Natives
Does it feel as if your daughter has two conversational modes: venting or withdrawal? This Lunch-and-Learn workshop shared common challenges Gen-Z girls face when conversing live and in-person—and research-backed solutions for breaking through to them.
R.E.A.L. Conversation, Neuroscience, and Parenting
Sometimes, it’s not you—it’s her brain! This evening workshop dove into the neuroscience behind a Gen-Z daughter’s communication habits and taught proven strategies for directing in-person conversations to be safe, authentic, and focused.
How to Have R.E.A.L., Hard Conversations with Your Adolescent
Do you wish hard conversations with your daughter could be … easier? This Lunch-and-Learn workshop offered frameworks to use when discussing choices, boundaries, world events, or self-awareness.
Dr. Lisa Damour: The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents
In partnership with McCallie, Dr. Damour spoke to parents and teachers about responding to intense emotions from adolescents, gender differences (and similarities) in the expression of emotions, when to worry about a teen’s emotional health, and how to help teens manage stress and anxiety—and learn to grow from it. She also shared her expertise on the central importance of being a steady force in a teen’s life and how to determine the difference between what is uncomfortable for a child vs. what is unmanageable.