When I think of what concerns me most as a parent, there are two issues that come to mind. One is my son’s education: I want him to be happy at school and do well academically so that he will have many choices about what to do with his life.

The other is risky behaviour: I’m concerned about the consequences of poor decisions he might make when he is older. After all, when most of us look back at our youth, I’m sure we can remember some choices we made that could have had a bad outcome. Who among us didn’t get into a car with a friend who clearly had way too much to drink? I’ve always felt there is a fine line between getting away with risky behaviour and it causing serious trouble. For example, many young people will try drugs once or twice out of curiosity but then decide it’s not for them. For others, flirting with recreational use will lead to addiction.

Realizing these two issues are a concern for most parents, Montreal Families has decided to host a parenting workshop on September 18 that will address these topics.

Carolyn Melmed will give a talk about helping your child to be organized and to develop strong study skills. Melmed has more than 35 years of teaching experience and she’ll discuss how to motivate children and teach them to be disciplined, independent learners with strong communication skills. You will also learn how to help your child achieve higher grades, create an effective homework routine, avoid procrastination and master memorization.

Alissa Sklar, PhD, will be speaking about how to prevent your child from engaging in risky behaviours. Having worked in the field of adolescent risk prevention at McGill, Sklar will explain why talking to your kids at a young age lays the groundwork for good decision-making skills in their teen years. Parents will learn how to teach kids problem-solving skills and how to ensure your child feels comfortable talking to you about their friends and what’s happening at school. She will also discuss how risky behaviours have changed over the years and what you can do to help your child become resilient. You can check out her blog, Risk Within Reason, on our website, www.montrealfamilies.ca.

We are delighted to have Jamie Orchard, Global’s Senior Anchor/News Editor, as our MC and Moderator for the event.

We look forward to meeting you at the workshop!

When:   Sunday, September 18
Where: Hotel Ruby Foo’s, 7655 Decarie Blvd.
Time:    1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Cost:     $20 (plus tax) up to September 12, $25 (plus tax) after September 12.

You can register securely online HERE, using your credit card or by calling (514) 487-8881.

Seats are limited so register early!