What is the Parent Club?
The Children’s Trust has partnered with local parenting experts and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) to offer FREE, countywide workshops on relevant topics about raising children that are successful, healthy, and happy. At each 60-minute workshop, caregivers may receive free child care for children 3-12 years old, a snack, and entry into a raffle drawing with the completion of a short post-workshop survey.
Workshops are available in English, Spanish, and Creole, during flexible hours, including afternoon, evening and weekends, as well as in convenient locations. The goal of the Parent Club is to maximize reach to large groups of parents who could benefit from the parenting information that is based on the latest research.
Please note: We are following the CDC, Florida Department of Health, and social distancing guidelines when scheduling live Parent Club workshops.
Available Workshops
Workshops do not need to be attended in sequential order and parents may attend one or all the topics offered. Each workshop lasts approximately 60 minutes. They are designed to be an interactive brief introduction to effective parenting strategies to try at home. Below is the list of workshop topics and descriptions listed by children's age group:
- Up to 12 Years
Positive Parenting
In this workshop, parents are introduced to the five key principles of positive parenting that form the basis of Triple P. These principles are:
- Ensuring a safe engaging environment
- Creating a positive learning environment
- Using assertive discipline
- Having reasonable expectations
- Looking after yourself as a parent
Raising Confident, Competent Children
In this workshop, parents are introduced to six core building blocks for children to become confident and successful at school and beyond. These competencies are:
- Showing respect to others
- Being considerate
- Having good communication and social skills
- Having healthy self-esteem
- Being a good problem solver
- Becoming independent
Raising Resilient Children
In this workshop, parents are introduced to six core building blocks for children to manage their feelings and become resilient in dealing with life stress. These competencies are:
- Recognizing and accepting feelings
- Expressing feelings appropriately
- Building a positive outlook
- Developing coping skills
- Dealing with negative feelings
- Dealing with stressful life events
The Building Blocks of Positive Parenting
In this workshop, parents are introduced to the five key principles of positive parenting that form the basis of Positive Parenting. These are:
- Daily play-time with your child
- Letting your child lead the play
- Catching your child being good
- Letting go of the little things
- Having reasonable expectations
The Building Blocks of Good Behavior
In this workshop, parents are introduced to the six core building blocks of calm and effective child behavior management for children to become confident and successful at school and beyond. These are:
- Using clear directives that work
- Acknowledging and praising good listening
- Using calm, effective consequences
- Following through consistently, every time
- Using directives only when necessary
- Using directives across settings
The Building Blocks of Child Development
In this workshop, parents are introduced to five core areas for child development and when to seek additional support. These are:
- Learning and Problem Solving
- Social and Emotional Development (Friends and Feelings)
- Speech and Language Development (Talking and Understanding)
- Physical Development (Motor Skills)
- Learn the Signs and Act Early!
Ready Set Go! Food & Meals
The Ready, Set, Go Miami! and The Children’s Trust – Parent Club initiative invites families and caregivers of young children of all abilities to engage in activities that promote and develop healthy early literacy skills in daily life. During the Food and Meals Station, we aim to achieve the following:
- Read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, conduct a read along with you, and summarize the story.
- Explore cooking while developing fine motor skills.
These activities will help caregivers build vocabulary with their child(ren), explore beginning concepts of reading, and increase children’s attention to an activity.
Ready Set Go! Exploring Nature
The Ready, Set, Go Miami! and The Children’s Trust – Parent Club initiative invites families and caregivers of young children of all abilities to engage in activities that promote and develop healthy early literacy skills in daily life. During the Exploring Nature Station, we aim to achieve the following:
- Help parents encourage their children to learn about science, math and other skills by exploring the growth and development from a seed to a plant.
- Motivate families to explore the outdoors and to use it as a teachable moment.
Ready Set Go! Music & Movement
The Ready, Set, Go Miami! and The Children’s Trust – Parent Club initiative invites families and caregivers of young children of all abilities to engage in activities that promote and develop healthy early literacy skills in daily life. During the Music & Movement Station, we aim to achieve the following:
- Explore the theme of love in families, communities and nature through storytelling, song, movement, and rhythm using the book “One Love” by Cadella Marley and the song, “One Love” by Bob Marley.
Ready Set Go! The Community Around Us
The Ready, Set, Go Miami! and The Children’s Trust – Parent Club initiative invites families and caregivers of young children of all abilities to engage in activities that promote and develop healthy early literacy skills in daily life. During the Community Around us Station, we aim to achieve the following:
- Help parents with ideas on how to engage their children in identifying the parts of their surrounding community such as community members, services and locations.
- Activities to encourage learning new words, conversational skills, print awareness, and comprehension.
Ready Set Go! Storytelling
The Ready, Set, Go Miami! and The Children’s Trust – Parent Club initiative invites families and caregivers of young children of all abilities to engage in activities that promote and develop healthy early literacy skills in daily life. During the Storytelling Station, we aim to achieve the following:
- Teach families how to engage in shared reading experiences with their child(ren) throughout different activities.
- Enhance storytelling and teachable moments throughout the day, with or without a book.
- Provide ideas on how parents can support their child’s comprehension and participation skills, expand vocabulary, and interest in books, identify different foods, enhance listening skills, and understand the life cycle of a butterfly.
- Teenagers up to 16 Years
Raising Responsible Teenagers
In this workshop, parents are introduced to the six key elements of teenagers becoming responsible and specific ideas about how to teach and encourage each of the following skills:
- Taking part in family decision-making
- Being respectful and considerate
- Getting involved in family activities
- Developing a healthy lifestyle
- Being reliable
- Being assertive
Raising Competent Teenagers
In this workshop, parents are introduced to six aspects of teenagers becoming confident and successful in school and the community. Parents are given specific ideas to teach and encourage the following:
- Developing self-discipline
- Establishing good routines
- Getting involved in school activities
- Being a good problem solver
- Following school rules
- Having supportive friends
Getting Teenagers Connected
In this workshop, parents are introduced to different aspects of teaching their teenagers to develop supportive friendships and become engaged in appropriate social and recreational groups and activities in the wider community. Parents are given specific ideas about teaching their teenagers the following skills:
- Being confident
- Being socially skilled
- Planning ahead
- Meeting commitments
- Keeping in contact
- Taking care of others
Parenting Teens: Survival Tips
In this workshop, parents are introduced to the five core tips for parenting teens with confidence and success. These are:
- Getting to know your teen
- Managing parent stress
- Building your relationship with your teen
- Setting clear expectations
- Giving consequences that fit
- Children of All Ages
Improving Emotional Health
In this workshop, parents are introduced to the seven key elements to become emotionally healthy. Ideas about how to teach and encourage emotional health:
- Recognize emotions
- Express our feelings
- Recognize the problems
- Focus on solutions
- Promote positive relationships
- Maintain a balanced life
- Learn to relax
Parenting During the Pandemic
In this workshop, parents are introduced to the five key principles of Parenting During a Pandemic. These principles are:
- Handling your child’s emotions
- Working from home and home schooling
- Time management
- Resources for building a creative learning environment
- Creating a schedule
Let’s Talk Tech
This Workshop is for parents or caregivers interested in promoting healthy technology and media habits in children of all ages, toddlers to teens. Parents are introduced to the five key principles of Let's Talk Tech that help form healthy media use. These principles are:
- Tech-Knowledge-y
- Create Rules and Routines
- Keep your Child Safe
- Develop a Family Media Plan
- Take Breaks and Connect!
- Request a Workshop
If you couldn’t find a convenient time or location in the workshop calendar and would like to host a workshop topic or series for a group of 15 or more parents, click here to submit a workshop request form. You will be contacted within 2 business days from your submission by the designated partner agency.
Please be aware that certain requirements apply and not all requests to host a workshop will be granted. Below are some of the requirements but other restrictions may apply.
Room accommodations:
- Seating, for the number of parents expected which must exceed 15, must be provided.
- Layout must allow for connecting a laptop, projector, and/or speaker, as well as set up of a projector screen facing the audience.
Parents must agree to:
- register online
- stay for the full 60-minute workshop
- complete a brief post workshop survey
More Programs
Click here for additional Trust-funded programs.
Contact
For questions about The Children’s Trust Parent Club, email parentclub@thechildrenstrust.org.
