Forum offers help for parents
Marshall Allen
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Raising a middle-school child is a challenge
for most parents, but thanks to the Community Prevention Council, they
aren’t alone.
The Community Prevention Council is holding a Pre-teen Survival
Parenting Forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, at the Roger Barkley Community
Center, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Canada Flintridge. The council is made
up of Foothill area youth organizations who meet monthly to discuss youth
issues.
Thursday’s forum will feature La Canada High 7/8 Principal Gaylene van
Zijll and the school’s 7/8 counselors. The group will offer advice to
help make life better for parents and teens.
One of the main tips she gives parents is to talk to their kids every
day, Van Zijll said.
“The kids desperately want to be close to their parents, but they
don’t want to be grilled,” she said.
Also, she suggests that parents give kids their own space that can’t
be violated without permission. She gave her three children their room,
where, as long as it wasn’t unhealthy, shehad to knock before entering.
If they don’t have their own space, “that’s when they startrebellious
activity,” she said.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Community Prevention Council parenting forum.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday.
WHERE: Roger Barkley Community Center, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La
Canada Flintridge.
COST: Free.