With a background in education and over twenty years of experience working directly with middle schoolers and their parents, Michelle believes early adolescence gets a bad rap and isn’t as daunting as it first seems. Parents come to Michelle’s events unsettled, nervous, and uncertain how to proceed through all the changes brought on by changing family dynamics, new social circumstances, communication rifts, and pressure to make the right decisions. Parents leave her talks feeling less stressed, more confident, and excited to apply her techniques with their kids.
Michelle talks to parents, teachers, and community organizations.
KEYNOTES FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS, CAREGIVERS, AND CARING ADULTS
The Adolescent Life Stage: For audiences that need less of a deep dive into the particulars of parenting, and more of a foundational understanding of what makes adolescents tick, Michelle offers a talk highlighting the most important concepts from all three of her books. This talk is designed for adults who work with young people such as social workers, librarians, teachers, coaches, researchers, youth leaders, and other groups who would benefit from a stronger understanding of the newest information on adolescent development and how to apply that to work in their field.
Turning Setbacks into Success: Based on her most recent book, 8 Setbacks That Can Make a Child a Success, Michelle’s talk covers eight archetypes of adolescent “failures” (e.g failure to connect with peers, failure to follow the rules, failure to take of their body, failure to show concern for others, failure to believe in themselves, and more). Parents will leave knowing what actions they and their child should each take responsibility for when faced with a setback, as well as a three-step response to a young person’s setback that ensures it won’t become the headline of their adolescence and instead, can be a launchpad for growth. This talk is appropriate for parents of children in 4th – 12th grade.
The Essential Parenting Conversations – and How to Have Them: “Nothing.” “I don’t know.” “Whatever.” Sound familiar? At the onset of adolescence, heart-to-heart talks are one of the first things that get sacrificed. This is especially frustrating because just as the world opens up to your child, they shut down to hearing what you have to say about it. The good news is, meaningful conversations and becoming independent don’t have to be at odds. Michelle guides parents of tweens and teens past their fears and challenges around covering “the important stuff” with their kids and into a confident enough position to have conversations in which their kids will actually engage. In addition to learning general dos and don’ts for communicating successfully with increasingly resistant adolescents, Michelle will share her BRIEF model for getting kids to open up around even the thorniest topics. Sample chapter topics from the book include Becoming Independent, Keeping Creativity Alive, Taking Care of Yourself, Living with Technology, and Responding to Criticism. This talk is most appropriate for parents and educators with children or students in 4th – 9th grade.
Based on the book, Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen.
A Middle School Makeover: Michelle reframes how we think about middle school. She offers simple explanations of the complicated factors that go into making middle school one of the most awkward, exciting, and important times in the lives of both kids and parents, with practical advice on how to make these years better for both. This talk is most appropriate for parents and educators with children or students in 3rd – 8th grade.
Based on her book, Middle School Makeover.
TALKS FOR STUDENTS
How to Be Less Stressed: Designed for students in middle or high school, this talk addresses the key pressures in an adolescent’s life and gives clear, practical advice on profound— yet micro—changes your students can make to effectively reduce their stress. Michelle’s student assemblies incorporate humor, research, and storytelling into 30-40 minutes of community building.
See Michelle in conversation with Caitlin McLennan of North Shore Country Day as they discuss her latest book at a Chicago Family Action Network event.
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