Date: Monday, March 20, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

This workshop is intended for student caregivers. All of us have 24-hours in a day. How can they be optimized? 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. Students with family care responsibilities who find ways to manage time effectively can be more productive and have a sense of balance. Whether your life is predictable or unpredictable, there are ways of effectively using time to balance your competing priorities. This one-hour interactive workshop helps student parents to create realistic goals for their family and academic lives. We’ll share our best tips and tricks, and come prepared to share your own! As a student with If you attended our Stress and Time Management sessions last semester, you are more than welcome to attend and hear the content again- this is a replication of last semester’s 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. U of T students are welcome. 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 3, 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 third-party reproduction, including donated eggs, sperm, or embryos
• Known or anonymous donation arrangements
• Boundaries for involvement by the donor in the life of the child
• Feelings about biological connection

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: Wednesday, October 26, 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 academic life and caring for others.

All of us have 24-hours in a day. How can they be optimized? Time-related stress is a fact of life in university and family care. Students with family care responsibilities who find ways to manage time effectively can be more productive and have a sense of balance. They also find it easier to focus on their families and enjoy relaxing time. Whether your life is predictable or unpredictable, there are ways of effectively using time to balance your competing priorities. This one-hour interactive workshop helps student parents to create realistic goals for their family and academic lives.

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. U of T students welcome. 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: Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Time: 2:30 – 3:30 pm
Location: The Zoom link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

Transitioning from diapers to underwear can be overwhelming and a big step for both parents and children. This workshop discusses strategies to set your children up for success on this new endeavor in life. The course focuses on signs of cognitive and behavioural readiness, and when and how to start.
With potty training, there is no one size fits all approach. This workshop unpacks the various methods, and how to choose the best one for your family.

Facilitator: Nadine is a behavioural therapist who has over 10 years of experience working with children ranging in all types of abilities. Her experience includes performing ongoing assessments, identifying target behaviors, developing and implementing treatment plans, conducting parent workshops, and extensive documentation of clients’ progress. She not only works one-on-one with children but closely with parents to aid in reaching their children’s goals as well.
Nadine works with parents on providing them support, guidance, and customized solutions to empower and foster independence in children to reach their goals when learning to use the potty.
Nadine is personable, hard-working, passionate about her clients and their families and is committed to providing them quality service that satisfies their expectations and enhances their experience.

Registration required. University of Toronto students, staff, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and their partners are welcome. 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, November 24th, 2021
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

Being a mom is, in a word, HARD! Of course, there is so much joy in the relationship you have with your children. And, trying to keep our kids emotionally stable and able to navigate life as they grow, all while making sure the basics of life are provided can make motherhood an extremely exhausting role. The amount of information moms carry can lead to overwhelm, frustration and loneliness – especially if you consider yourself the primary parent.

What if you could get a handle on the way you parent, and enlist help along the way?

Come join us for this lunch hour webinar where you will learn 1) about the typically gendered roles in parenting and the impact it has now and in the future, 2) what successful co-parenting can look like, and 3) the ways to mitigate the challenge in being the mother you want to be. You will walk away with a list of methods that you can implement and help your mental, physical and emotional well being right away.

Facilitator: Tara Rhodes is a certified life and leadership coach, speaker and trainer, dedicated to helping people gain clarity on the life that they want to live, and developing healthy habits to make it a reality. She firmly believes that life is too short to live a life that makes you unhappy and is on a mission to free her clients from guilt, imposter syndrome and unworthiness so that they can share their gifts and dreams with others. A wife, and mom to two lively boys, she actively practices what she preaches to maintain a healthy balance and presence in her day-to-day. Find out more at www.tararhodes.ca.

Registration required. Current University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and their partners are welcome. 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: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

This informative and encouraging presentation focuses on adolescent development (how understanding adolescent development can make you a better parent), parenting strategies (the three things teenagers need most from their parents), and the job description for the job of teenager (the four “key developmental tasks” of adolescence). It explains why the teen years can be such a challenging time for both parents and teens alike — and how parents can respond that challenge in a way that strengthens, not weakens, their connection to their teen. It also discusses the important role that parents can play in supporting adolescent mental health throughout the teen years and beyond—and what that means in practical terms (how parents can apply this information to their everyday lives, starting right now).

Facilitator: Ann Douglas sparks conversations that matter about parenting and mental health. She is a frequent contributor to CBC Radio and a bestselling parenting book author. Ann is the creator of The Mother of All Book series and the author, most recently, of Happy Parents, Happy Kids and Parenting Through the Storm. A passionate and inspiring speaker, Ann delivers keynote addresses and leads small-group workshops at health, parenting, and education conferences across the country.

Registration required. Current University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and their partners are welcome

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

Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

Transitioning from diapers to underwear can be overwhelming and a big step for both parents and children. This workshop discusses strategies to set your children up for success on this new endeavor in life. The course focuses on signs of cognitive and behavioural readiness, and when and how to start.

With potty training, there is no one size fits all approach. This course unpacks the various methods, and how to choose the best one for your family.

Facilitator: Nadine is a behavioural therapist who has over 10 years of experience working with children ranging in all types of abilities. Her experience includes performing ongoing assessments, identifying target behaviors, developing and implementing treatment plans, conducting parent workshops, and extensive documentation of clients’ progress. She not only works one-on-one with children but closely with parents to aid in reaching their children’s goals as well.

Nadine works with New Mummy Co parents on potty training, providing them support, guidance, and customized solutions to empower and foster independence in children to reach their goals.

Nadine is personable, hard-working, passionate about her clients and their families and is committed to providing them quality service that satisfies their expectations and enhances their experience.

Registration required. Current University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and their partners are welcome. 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: Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

This interactive workshop is presented as “Part II” to the introductory workshop hosted in Fall 2020. It will begin with a brief overview of language relating to gender and sexuality diversity and a summary of self-determination and affirmation in connection with gender expansive parenting and caring. It will then explore common questions asked by some parents and carers of young people as it relates to gender and sexuality diversity.

Facilitator: Rebecca Hooton (she/her) is a queer settler from Montreal. Working both onsite at The 519 and facilitating Inclusion training sessions gives her a broad understanding of the issues facing Queer and Trans communities, especially during this time. Her approach to community work is informed by her community organizing and training in theatrical collective creation. She is committed to ever-deepening understandings of intersectional feminism, anti-racist praxis, and healing justice.

Registration required. Current University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and their partners are welcome. 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, September 24, 2020
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to each session’s start time.

This interactive workshop will describe what sexual and gender diversity means and the various ways these diversities may express themselves in children, youth and families. This session will also introduce a gender-affirmation model of care (gender expansive parenting and caring).

As an overview, the workshop will:

• Deepen your understanding of what sexual and gender diversity is and the various ways it may express in children and youth, and specifically within 2SLGBTQIA families;
• Deepen your understanding of affirmation as a framework to better support and celebrate children, youth and families with sexual and gender diversity;
• Build confidence in how best to speak to other human beings (younger and older) about 2SLGBTQIA children, youth and families – especially if you are part of a cisnormative and heteronormative family; and
• Explore gender expansive parenting as a way to promote engagement, productivity and health/well-being for everyone

Facilitator: Ms. Ashley McGhee, The 519

Registration required. All current staff, faculty, students and their partners are welcome. 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.

Teaching Children, Tweens, and Teens Consent – with Dr. Nadine Thornhill

In partnership with the Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre at UofT, we developed a three part webinar series where you will hear from Dr. Nadine Thornhill, an educator specializing in child and adolescent sexuality. For over a decade, Nadine has been helping folks have honest, open conversations with their kids and teens about bodies, relationships, and more.

The series covers: Teaching Children About Consent, Teaching Tweens About Consent, Teaching Teens About Consent. Watch the Teaching Children, Tweens, and Teens Consent webinars.