Date: Thursday, June 22, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Location: 215 Huron, 6^th floor

If you are thinking about single parenthood, have already decided to become a single parent by choice, or are already a single parent by choice, this session is for you! This facilitated session is an opportunity to create connections with others. Come to share and hear others’ stories. Discuss and explore feelings, information, and considerations related to single parenthood by choice.

Facilitator:
Jan Silverman is a health educator, fertility counsellor and group therapist. Jan has worked in the area for 30 years, including work with CReATe Fertility Clinic and Women’s College Hospital. Jan facilitates a monthly, in-person gathering for singles who are exploring single parenthood at Create Fertility Clinic. Everyone is welcome to attend, even if you are not a CReATe patient.

Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

Parents and caregivers want to do the best they can to ensure that the children and youth in their care are happy and safe. This workshop is for everyone who is interested in learning the concepts of helping to keep children and youth safe from harm (including physical, sexual, emotional harm, community violence, bullying, and technology assisted abuse and violence).

Participants will be updated on:

• the current trends in violence and abuse prevention (learning about offender grooming tactics, secrecy, what to say to kids, and how to get help);
• the assumptions that have been made about children/youth and safety;
• the mixed messages children/youth have received in the past (stranger danger, street proofing);
• appropriate messages for staff, parents and caregivers to give to children and youth;
• practical safety tips; and
• how to talk to children and youth about personal safety,
• how to build a positive healthy relationship with kids.

Facilitator: Boost Child & Youth Advocacy Centre

Registration required. University of Toronto students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are welcome. Partners and family members (including chosen family members) who are co-caregivers with U of T students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are also welcome to attend. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Friday, April 28, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The Webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

The last thing caregivers need is another item to add to the to-do list and another thing to feel guilty about. In this interactive session, we will consider the complex experience of caregiving and all the feelings that come with that. Together we will discuss and practice simple strategies that don’t take much time at all and that can be easily incorporated into everyday life. We will reframe self-care and affirm what participants are already doing to care for themselves while caring for others.

Facilitator:

For two decades, Rebecca Higgins has worked in community and social services in a variety of capacities. Since 2010, she has specialized in mental health education. Rebecca has designed and facilitated workshops and webinars for a wide range of groups, including library staff, helping professionals, security guards, customer service professionals, children, youth, educators, and parents.

Rebecca has served as a panelist and presenter at many conferences and has provided consultation support to various community mental health initiatives. She worked for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Canadian Mental Health Association in both Ottawa and Toronto before starting her own business in 2018.

Rebecca has a Master’s degree in Social Work and a BA in English. Her first book, a collection of short stories called The Colours of Birds, was published by Tightrope Books in 2018 and re-released by Iguana Books in 2020.

Find Rebecca at www.mentalhealthworkshopstoronto.com.

Registration required. University of Toronto students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are welcome. Partners and family members (including chosen family members) who are co-caregivers with U of T students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are also welcome to attend. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Friday, March 31, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

Join us for an informal information session for prospective parents led by experienced legal and mental health experts specializing in the field of fertility. During the session, we will discuss some of the following issues:

• Legal steps involved in growing a family through surrogacy
• Legal landscape for surrogacy in Canada (i.e., the laws pertaining to legal parentage of the child and reimbursement of the surrogate’s expenses)
• Pitfalls and trouble spots to keep in mind when considering surrogacy
• Emotional and social considerations of intended parent(s) embarking on surrogacy for family-building
• Factors that gestational surrogates need to consider when deciding on a match with intended parent(s)

Facilitators: Michelle Flowerday, LL.B. and Dr. Lila Z. Hakim, C.Psych

Michelle Flowerday, LL.B. is a fertility lawyer in Toronto, Ontario.  She is a passionate advocate for and works closely with couples facing infertility, with LGBTQIA people/couples wanting to start a family, with single people looking to grow a family alone, and with surrogates, and egg, sperm, and embryo donors assisting in the process.  Michelle’s expertise includes negotiating and drafting agreements related to surrogacy, co-parenting, egg, sperm, and embryo donations, making court applications for declarations of parentage, and advising on other legal issues related to third party reproduction.  Michelle works with clients in the Greater Toronto Area, across Canada, and internationally.  She speaks at conferences on the topic of fertility and surrogacy law and provides legal advice to fertility clinics and hospitals on laws related to contracts, consent, and compliance with Canadian assisted human reproduction laws and regulations.  Michelle is an Officer of the Board of Fertility Friends Foundation and a contributing member of fertility clinic ethics committees, the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, and the Law Society of Ontario.

Dr. Lila Z. Hakim, C.Psych. is a Registered Psychologist and conducts psychological assessment and treatment with adults and couples in private practice. She is a Partner of the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships (Toronto, Canada) where she supervises psychologists and graduate students, and is active in research with publications and presentations in the areas of infertility and psychotherapy research. She has served on the Executive Committee of the Counselling Special Interest Group of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society.

Registration required. University of Toronto students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are welcome. Partners and family members (including chosen family members) who are co-caregivers with U of T students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are also welcome to attend. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Monday, March 27, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

The workshop will focus on development of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and the Identification Placement Review Committee (IPRC) process. It will also look at how learning challenges identified in the IEP are addressed in the classroom, and provide a brief overview of the gifted program. Participants will come away with a better understanding of the language and process of Special Education in the TDSB.

Facilitator: TDSB Special Education Inclusion Consultant & Special Education Inclusion Coordinator

Registration required. University of Toronto students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are welcome. Partners and family members (including chosen family members) who are co-caregivers with U of T students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are also welcome to attend. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Monday, January 30, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

In this workshop, you will learn about your toddler’s (1-3 years old) sleep patterns. Healthy sleep habits will be discussed including:
• The importance of bedtime routine
• How to deal with frequent night waking
• How to cope with early morning risers
• How to encourage your toddler to sleep in their own bed.

Facilitator: Dr. Robyn Stremler, RN, PhD, Professor at Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Adjunct Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

Registration required. University of Toronto students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are welcome. Partners and family members (including chosen family members) who are co-caregivers with U of T students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are also welcome to attend. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Thursday, January 26, 2023
Time: 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

In this workshop, you will learn about your infant’s (0-12 months old) sleep patterns. Healthy sleep habits will be discussed including
• The importance of sleep for infants and parents
• Expected changes in sleep across the first year of life
• How to cope with frequent night waking

Facilitator: Dr. Robyn Stremler, RN, PhD, Professor at Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Adjunct Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

Registration required. University of Toronto students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are welcome. Partners and family members (including chosen family members) who are co-caregivers with U of T students, staff, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are also welcome to attend. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Friday, October 14, 2022
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

Join us for an opportunity to discover strategies and insights from current students with family responsibilities on how to adjust to university life. We will have a moderated panel of three students who will talk about their experiences of being a student-parent while pursuing either their undergraduate or graduate degrees.

* Life Management Series is Co-Curricular Record (CCR) approved. Students who complete four workshops over two academic years, will receive Co-Curricular Record recognition. CCR connects skills to involvement opportunities.

Registration required. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

A workshop series designed to empower students to find a better balance between being in school and caring for others.

How do I balance all the things I want or need to do for my studies, my family, and my own well-being? What strategies can I use to mitigate the impact of stress on my studies? How do I avoid or respond to burnout? Balancing family care and school is challenging, but there are strategies and supports that can help. Bring your questions, concerns, and your own life-hacks to this 1 hour interactive workshop.

Facilitator: Cristina Peter, Learning Strategist, EdD Student, Mom of 2

* * Life Management Series is Co-Curricular Record (CCR) approved. Students who complete four workshops over two academic years, will receive Co-Curricular Record recognition. CCR connects skills to involvement opportunities.

Registration required. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

Let’s celebrate Spring! Origami instructors will teach us how to fold bunnies, a flower basket, egg holders and more! Children are also welcome. The session will include breakout rooms to accommodate kids and complete beginners (~10 folds per model) and intermediate level.

All prospective, new, current U of T students and their partner/spouse are welcome, registration required. A joint event by APUS, UTFOLD and the Family Care Office.

If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.