Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nutured Heart Approach

By Howard Glasser and Jennifer Easely

Transforming the Difficult Child brings to life a new way of shifting intense children to a solid life of success. The Nurtured Heart Approach puts a refreshing spin on both parenting and teaching and reveals new techniques and strategies that create thoroughly positive behaviors.

The Nurtured Heart Approach® is a set of core methodologies originally developed for working with the most difficult children. It has become a powerful way of bringing inner wealth to all children while facilitating parenting and classroom success. It has a proven, transformative impact on every child, including those with behavioral diagnosis such as ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Reactive Attachment Disorder – almost always without the need for medications or long-term treatment.

Order today on Amazon.

Learn more at www.difficultchild.com.

Community Empowerment Series: Internet Safety and Cyberbullying

Leading Cyber Expert Theresa Payton will be coming to St. Johns County on Saturday, April 27th!

In the final session of the 2013 Community Empowerment Series, Theresa Payton will be discussing Internet safety, cyberbullying, cell phone safety, sexting, online identity theft and all aspects of digital security.

Whether you are 8 or 80, if you have a computer or cell phone, you should absolutely plan on attending this event if you live in North Florida - it is a FREE event to the public.  Presented by the St. Johns Education Foundation and Communities in Schools of St. Johns County, it is sponsored by The St. Augustine Record, First Coast News, Microsoft, Walmart, Blue Cross Blue Shield, AT&T, Herbie Wiles Insurance and many others. 

Where:  Nease High School
When:  Saturday, April 27th
Time:  Doors open at 9am (Event starts at 10:00 -noon)
Meet and greet Theresa Payton from noon until 1pm.

Sheriff Shoar will be introducing Theresa Payton and his team of Internet Safety Crime Unit will be there to answer community questions.

Books-A-Million will also be there selling Theresa Payton's new book, Protecting Your Internet Identity. 

Online registration is recommended.

For more information visit www.communityempowermentseries.com.

WAKE UP: STUDY REVEALS 75% OF TEENS REPORT INCREASED KNOWLEDGE FROM PRESCRIPTION DRUG PREVENTION PROGRAM

Orlando, FL ( April 3, 2013 ) – Results released this week by the independent research firm Touchstone Research Institute , reveal s the 2012 t een prescription drug abuse pilot program, WAKE UP!, to be a success . Compared to a benchmark survey of approximately 3,800 students conducted prior to the program launch, data shows that more than 75 percent of all respondents were significantly more aware of the dangers of misusing and abusing prescription drugs.

According to the U.S Office of National Drug Control Policy, most teens initially get prescription pills from family and friends, including straight from home medicine cabinets. Prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic in the United States. More than one - third of those abusing prescription drugs in the U.S. are between the ages of 12 - 17. Deaths from prescription drug overdoses h ave become the second leading cause of accidental deaths nationwide, and the leading cause in as many as 15 states.

WAKE UP! , established by The Pain Truth, a Florida 501(c)(3), was implemented in to five pilot schools , thanks in part to a grant from Millennium Laboratories, three in San Diego, CA, and two in Tampa Bay , FL. T he objective of the in - school prescription drug educational program i s to raise awareness, increase knowledge, and change perceptions co ncerning the misuse and abuse of controlled prescription medications among high school students , providing students with knowledge to make better decisions and prevent first use. WAKE UP! us es multi - media, social marketing and other tactics that are familiar and appealing to teens, but WAKE UP! program developers believe the real motivating force is the science - based facts presented to the students.

 Read the complete press release here.

Visit www.wakeupnow.org for more information.

Community Empowerment Series II: Dr. Michele Borba

Michele signing books.

Dr. Michele Borba, Parenting and Bullying Prevention Expert, was featured at the Community Empowerment Series in St. Johns County on Saturday, March 9th, 2013.

It was a full house with parents, students, teachers, guidance counselors, principals, deans, therapists, kids that started anti-bullying programs and residents that wants to make a difference in our community.

If you didn’t know about bullying and how it effects children before this seminar, you certainly learned about it coming out of it.  Many were brought to tears hearing about the story of the young boy that hung himself.  Though many of us know that these are not isolated stories when children are teased and harassed relentlessly both online and off.

Dr. Borba opens her lecture by asking everyone to introduce themselves to the people around them.  Yes, let’s get to know our neighbors and be nice!

Dr. Borba would frequently ask the audience to stop, and take a minute to write down exactly what she just said and what it means to them.  What are they going to learn from this–how will they implement this into their life.  (Honestly, everyone was busy taking notes, but it was nice for her to take a break for a few seconds so we could catch up on our notes)  She is like a walking talking encyclopedia.

Bullying has been found to happen in four major hot spots at schools:

1. Cafeteria
2. Hallways
3. Bathrooms
4. Playground

Michele talking about bullying prevention.

As a matter of fact, over 43% of children fear going to the bathroom at school for fear of being bullied.  Every 7 minutes a child is bullied on a playground.

Dr. Borba recommends you speak with your kids about a P.L.A.N.:

P:  Pal up always have a friend with you
L:  Let an adult know if you are being bullied
A:  Avoid those hotspots
N:  Notice your surroundings, stay alert

If you see someone being teased or bullied or you are the victim, it is important to stay C.A.L.M. according to Dr. Borba:

C:  Calm down
A:  Assert – be assertive
L:  Look at  the bully eye to eye (Dr. Borba’s tip is to loo at the color of their eye’s)
M:  Mean it 

After her almost 2 hour speech, she took time to speak with students and the audience and signed books for people.

St. Augustine is anxious to have her back again next year!

Watch a preview here.

Community Empowerment Series: Session Three Internet Safety

St. Augustine, Fla.— St. Johns County is privileged to be featuring experts speaking on topics that empower us to keep our kids safe through the Community Empowerment Series. The final of three free sessions will be held on Saturday, April 27^th in the auditorium at Nease High School, and features nationally known internet security expert Theresa Payton.

Payton will talk about Internet Safety. This includes topics such as cyber-bullying, children’s identity theft, technology’s role in kids’ lives and sexting.  This final session of the Community Empowerment Series is especially crucial due to its effect on all ages.~ No one is immune to cyber-crimes and identity theft.

This is a free event, however interested attendees are strongly encouraged to register online to reserve a seat. Parents, students of all ages, grandparents, school counselors, educators and anyone who wants to make our community a safer place for kids will benefit from attending the series.

For more online registration, sponsorship opportunities and more information visit www.communityempowermentseries.com. A special thanks to The St. Augustine Record and First Coast News WTLV for sponsoring this series.