Family Focus
Programs & Ideas | November 2021
No-Drama Discipline: 3-week series
In this short video, Dr. Dan Siegel explains what happens when we "flip our lids" and ways to help our kids manage big feelings.
Tuesdays: Nov 23- Dec. 7
6-7:30 PM. Virtual. Open to all.
Learn:
  • The important difference between discipline and punishment
  • How brains work and what happens when we "flip our lids" -- so we can respond to challenging behaviors in more positive ways, with less yelling and more connection
  • Strategies for more effective discipline and communication with our kids
  • Ways to support children's social and emotional development.
Grandparents Connect in Somersworth
2nd and 4th Tuesdays: 9:30-11 a.m.
Idlehurst School, Somersworth
Upcoming meeting dates: 11/23, 12/14
Did you know more than 23,000 NH children live in homes where a grandparent or relative is the head of household?

Our Grandparents Connect group is a friendly place to share stories and talk about the joys and challenges that come with raising grandkids. We also exchange information about local resources. It helps to know you are not alone, and this group offers a place to relax, listen, learn, and support one another. All grandparents and kinship caregivers are welcome.

Sign up here, or email Patrice if you have questions.
Listen to this podcast with the New Hampshire Children's Trust to hear three members of our Grandparents Connect group talk about why the group matters to them.
Do You Know How to Play?
Sometimes as adults it is hard to remember how to play and why it is such an important part of a young child's healthy development. We are partnering with the UNH Early Childhood Coaching Initiative to learn more about playing with our kids in ways that encourage creativity, curiosity and confidence. Coaches will be visiting our Family Morning Out playgroups to share ideas and strategies for happy, positive play with our children.
.
Family Morning Out Playgroups

  • Exeter: Thursdays, 9:30-11 am, Parks & Rec building, 32 Court St.
  • Somersworth: Fridays, 9:30-11 am, Idlehurst School, 46 Stackpole Rd.
  • Epping: Fridays,9:30-11 am, the SAU building, 213 Main St.
Singing "Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes" at Family Morning Out in Somersworth.

  • Free. In-person. No signup necessary.
  • For parents, grandparents and caregivers with children ages 0-4.
  • Playgroups meet only when schools are in session. No groups on 11/25 & 11/26.
Thanksgiving Dinner Delivered Nov. 25th
True Memorial Baptist Church is cooking Thanksgiving dinner and delivering it to people in the Farmington, Rochester, Somersworth and Dover areas!

If you would like a meal delivered or would like to request curbside pickup, please call (603) 332-3131 or email secretary@truememorial.org by November 19th.

You can also call (603) 332-3131 if you want to volunteer or donate food. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mobile Health Van Near You
Our Mobile Health Clinics are available to adults experiencing homelessness. This includes living in a shelter, outdoors, in a rooming house, winter rental or couch surfing with friends/family. Although we do not see children for care, we can facilitate and refer to other providers in our network.

We offer wraparound services to everyone we serve including counseling, medication-assisted SUD treatment, health insurance enrollment and referrals for dental care. Clinics are held in Dover, Rochester, Exeter, and Portsmouth each week. Mobile health clinic patients also have access to our health centers, Families First in Portsmouth and Goodwin Community Health in Somersworth. To hear our weekly clinic schedule, call 603-766-9220.
Were You or Your Child at Pease between 2004 and 2014?
If so, you are needed for the Pease Study -- and will get get up to $75 in gift cards if you complete it!

The study's goal is to learn the effect of PFAS chemicals on the health of people who were exposed through contaminated drinking water. 

Right now, there aren’t enough participants enrolled in the study, especially children. Please consider participating if any of these applies to you or your child between January 2004 and May 2014:
  • Children (ages 4-17) who attended day care at the Pease International Tradeport during those years;
  • Adults who worked at the Tradeport during those years;
  • Children who were born to and/or breastfed by a mother who worked at the Tradeport during those years.

Participation is safe and easy. Study participants will:
  • Call 603-846-6192 to enroll in the Pease Study
  • Learn the levels of PFAS in their body
  • Help their community—and country— better understand how PFAS exposure may lead to specific diseases
  • Adults get up to $50 in gift cards and children get up to $75 in gift cards for completing the study.)
Literacy Tip of the Month: Reading for Pleasure
Reading for pleasure not only helps kids become better readers, it makes them better at learning in general! And research shows that it has many more benefits than that.

When children get engrossed in books their brains react as if the events were happening in the real world. This impacts their empathy and decision-making. Connecting with the characters and stories in books helps children consider different perspectives and understand the feelings of others.

Support reading for pleasure by having books around your house, allowing kids to make their own reading choices, and carving out time for everyone to read and talk about their books together.