New free webinar series: Supporting Your Child’s Well-Being
At School Mental Health Ontario (SMH-ON), we recognize that you play a vital role in supporting your child’s mental health and well-being. That’s why we’re excited to share a new opportunity designed with parents and caregivers in mind.
Starting this March, we are launching a free four-part webinar series through our By Your Side Learning Hub. Each session focuses on important mental health and substance use health topics that families across Ontario have told us they want more support with. Our goal? To give you clear, research-informed and practical guidance you can use at home.
What you can expect
Each webinar is led by subject matter experts who understand the needs of families. They’ll break down the key facts, offer simple strategies and answer the questions that matter most to you. You can even submit your questions ahead of time.
Here’s what’s coming up:
Conversations about balanced device use
March 5
How to help your child build better habits for balanced device use, and how to talk with your child about online safety.
Speaker: Matthew Johnson, MediaSmarts
Bio: Matthew Johnson is the Director of Education for MediaSmarts, Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy. He is the author of many of MediaSmarts’ lessons, parent materials and interactive resources and is the architect of MediaSmarts’ Use, Understand, Engage: Digital Literacy Framework for Canadian K-12 Schools. He has served on expert panels convened by the Canadian Pediatric Society, the Sexual Information and Education Council of Canada and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, among others.
Conversations about vaping
April 10
What parents need to know about vaping, and how to have open conversations with your child.
Speaker: Dr. Trisha Tulloch, CAMH Intrepid Lab
Bio: coming soon
Conversations about body image
May 7
Understanding the pressures children face today, and how to nurture confidence and a healthy sense of self.
Speaker: Ary Maharaj, National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC)
Bio: Ary Maharaj (he/him) is a registered psychotherapist who currently works in community education at the National Eating Disorder Information Centre, coordinating health promotion initiatives aimed at preventing eating disorders. He is immensely passionate about grounding his mental health work in cultural humility, recognizing the impact of systemic injustices on mental health while creating spaces that allow for healing and transformation.
Conversations about anxiety
June 5
How to help your child manage anxiety, how to know when anxiety is becoming problematic and how to seek support if needed.
Speaker information coming soon.
Why join?
- It’s completely free.
- It’s designed for real life. No jargon, no judgment, just helpful ideas you can try at home.
- It’s interactive. Experts will answer parent/caregiver questions in each session.
- It’s flexible. Attend one, attend all –whatever works for your family.
Save your spot
Sessions run from March to June.
Registration is free and open now
Spaces fill quickly, so we encourage you to register early for the sessions you’re most interested in.
Please pass this information on to a parent or caregiver who might find the webinar series helpful.
We’re here, by your side
Parenting is easier when we navigate it together. We hope these conversations help you feel more confident and comfortable in navigating these mental health and substance use health topics with your child.
If you have a topic you’d like to see covered in future webinars, we’d love to hear from you.
Please reach out to Gillian Gray at ggray@smho-smso.ca if you have any questions, or for more information.