Terrie Hess Child Advocacy Center Parenting

Please share widely to ensure that no child goes hungry over the summer break from school lunches

Need easy ways to encourage children to love reading and learning? This will definitely help! https://www.readersarebuilt.org/ Kudos to the NC Early Childhood Foundation for putting this together and sharing

Readers Are Built | Power your Child's Literacy Journey! Reading isn’t learned only at school. Readers Are Built everywhere, everyday.

All children need to learn (and practice!) ways to calm themselves when they get upset. Telling a child "Calm down" doesn't tell them how. The children's session of this program promises to be a game-changer for families!

🧠💙 Strong families build strong communities!

Join the Dixonville Community Foundation for the first session of the Family Community Connection Program Mental Health Series on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

Enjoy dinner beginning at 5:30 PM while adults and youth participate in meaningful conversations focused on emotional wellness, healthy thinking, anger management, and positive decision-making.

✨ Adult Session: Reframing Negative Thoughts with Dr. Amity Pope
✨ Youth Session: Managing Anger / Healthy Decisions with Dr. Yolanda Byrd
📍 400 S. Long Street, Salisbury, NC
📲 Scan the QR code on the flyer to register or call 704-633-2818 for more information.

Let’s come together to support healthier minds, stronger families, and a more connected community.

Q: When is it NOT okay to offer a child a reward?
A: To Stop doing something bad (this is a bribe).
B: For doing something they already like doing.
Why?
Children are naturally motivated to learn and to feel good when they are being helpful and developing skills. Offering rewards at this point shifts the child's focus from feeling good about what they are doing to the payoff from someone else for doing it. This actually backfires; it is less likely that the child will continue to do what they used to enjoy doing.

Big Show: Rowan Wild, RPL Headquarters, East, South, and West, June 1 through June 4

Learn basic natural history and species adaptations with Rowan Wild! Questions? 704-216-8258.

Livingstone College sent representatives to Finland to learn what makes their childcare centers so good. Their secret? Children are outside 80% of every day, regardless of the weather! So much brain development happens naturally when children are encouraged to be curious, to explore, and to love learning, and it fosters a mindset of curiosity that can last a lifetime.

As I watch my son and his friend ride off on their mountain bikes in the pouring rain, I'm reminded of this powerful quote by Nicolette Sowder ().

Teaching kids to embrace every kind of weather is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.

Learning the run of a rainy day helps kids grow resilient, adaptable, and open to finding beauty anywhere!

Who would want to stay indoors when there are puddles to jump in, mud to squelch, and wind to blow our bad moods away?

Being pregnant, especially the first time, can be exciting but scary. Using substances adds a layer of complexity. The Suda Institute's SUN Clinic helps women manage addiction during pregnancy to assure a healthy childbirth and postpartum. You can help by bidding on a wonderful item up for grabs in their silent auction:

Suda Institute Virtual Auction By Suda Institute

Everyone feels angry at some point. It's normal, and signals a deeper need. How we handle it, and how we teach children to, matters. When you have a minute, this is a great read:

Five Steps to Help Kids Transform Anger Into a Force for Good With some help and awareness, children can channel anger into clarity, caring, and action.

There were times I'd be walking with my boys, thinking about whatever, when one of them would reach down to pick a w**d growing in the crack of the sidewalk. "Mommy, look at this beautiful flower!" And you know what? He was right, it was. Want to regain that childlike appreciation for beauty? Try this:

Jim Henson’s Wowsabout: Bringing Awe to Life Join Join the Greater Good Science Center, PBS Kids, and Jim Henson Studios for a special virtual screening and live conversation about awe.

Our children look to the grown ups in their lives to learn how to be in the world. If we yell and get testy when they don't do what we want, it shouldn't surprise us when they throw a little fit when we don't do what they want. Teach by example. It's okay to say "I'm frustrated right now so I'm going to step back and take a deep breath before I respond to you."

If you are tired of the yelling, the guilt, and the daily power struggles, I can help!

Join me for "Discipline Without Damage" and let me show you how to get your strong-willed child to listen without yelling, punishing, or losing your mind.

You’ll learn how to stay calm, set clear limits, and break the cycle that is not working.

📅Wednesday, April 22
🕘9am Pacific | 10am Mountain | 11am Central | 12pm Eastern
💻Live on Zoom

Comment DISCIPLINE to save your free spot 💛