GRG of Brevard January 2017 Newsletter

Supporting Relative Caregiver Families of Brevard County, FL January 2017

Support Group Meetings We have some great speakers for January support group meetings Friday Jan 6 – North Brevard Indian River City United Methodist Church, 1355 Cheney Hwy. Titusville 9:30–11:00 am (This meeting is always the first Friday of each month)

A Word of Gratitude!

Each year GRG of Brevard has a holiday event for grandparents and children.

The children have a chance to interact with Santa and get some early Christmas presents. A heartfelt thank you to the following organizations and individuals for their generous donation of toys, and their time, and for helping us make the party a success and GRG of Brevard was able to provide Christmas for over 300 children this year! 

KIDS WITH CHRISTMAS

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TOYS FOR TOTS

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RON JON’S

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PATTRA BOLLINGER

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BON WORTH

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CENTRAL BREVAD SHARING CENTER

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SHERRIFF WAYNE IVEY & THE BREVARD COUNTY SHERRIFF’S OFFICE

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Tuesday Jan 10 – Cocoa Beach Riverside Presbyterian Church 3400 N. Atlantic Ave. Cocoa Beach 9:30–11:00 am (This meeting is always the second Tuesday of each month) Thursday Jan 12 – Club Esteem Club Esteem 3316 Monroe Street, Melbourne 10:00 – 11:30 am (This meeting is always the second Thursday of each month) Tuesday Jan 17 – Central Brevard GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd, Rockledge 9:30 -11 am (This meeting is always the third Tuesday of each month) Wednesday, Jan 18 – South Brevard Memaw’s Restaurant, 4916 Babcock Blvd, Palm Bay 6:00–7:30pm (Dinner is available at member's expense) (This meeting is always the third Wednesday of each month)

All of the dedicated volunteers!

SOMETIMES WE ALL NEED A LITTLE INSPIRATION This issue is dedicated to reminding you why you choose, every day, to continue to love and nurture the children who need you. If you have a story to tell, please send it and we will include it in a future issue.

Thursday, Jan 26 – Melbourne Beach Side Memaw’s Restaurant, Indian Harbour Beach, 9:30–11:30 am (Breakfast is available at member's expense) (This meeting is always the last Thursday of each month)

The IRS allows up to $13,170 credit for each child. To apply for this credit, you will need to complete IRS Form 8839 and attach to your tax form 1040 or 1040NR. For more detailed information, go to www.irs.gov and find instructions for completing IRS Form 8839. Need information? 321-631-7776 Page 1

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County, FL www.grg-brevard.org Phone: 321-631-7776 Email: grg.brevard@gmail.com

KIDS & THE POST HOLIDAY LET DOWN For children, the holidays are the most exciting and wonderful time of the year. That’s not surprising when you consider all the awesome things that are part of the holiday. It’s easy to see why kids, and for that matter, adults, can experience some major post-holiday letdown once the festivities are all over.

TIPS FOR PREVENTING POST-HOLIDAY LET DOWN:  Schedule some quiet activities during get-together’s. Setting aside some quiet time can not only help prevent holiday stress in kids, but it can help ease the transition to the more quiet time that will come after the holiday hubbub dies down.  Limit the treats. Instead of going full-speed ahead to an abrupt stop and suddenly declaring that treats are off-limits once the holidays are over, exercise moderation when it comes to how much sugar and rich foods you and your children eat  Take the emphasis off material things. Share a few wanted gifts under the tree and still balance it out with charitable works and spirituality.  Set a post-holiday tradition. Try setting up some fun postholiday traditions, such as making each family member’s favorite dinner for each night of the week after the holidays .  Make some new decorations. One great way to make the celebratory feeling last longer into the New Year is by coming up with some wonderful winter decorations.  Spend some family time together. Grab some board games, go for a walk, or make some treats together and settle in for a favorite family-friendly movie.  Ease the transition back to school. To make the switch back to early morning routines and books and rules easier, try to keep kids to consistent bedtimes and good sleep habits.

E-NEWSLETTER Are you interested in receiving an online version of our newsletter rather than a printed version? Please send an email to grg.brevard@gmail.com and include your name, email address and mailing address to insure we update your record accordingly! If there are topics you would like to see covered in the newsletter, please ask.

Thank you for helping us save on printing costs so that more of each dollar can benefit children and families. We are looking for sponsors for the printing of the newsletter if you are interested or know of someone please contact the office.

Mary Ann Sterling, Executive Director GRG of Brevard 123 Barton Blvd. Ste 102 Rockledge, FL 32955 (321) 631-7776 (o) (321) 868-8004 (c) (321) 631-7776 fax email: grg.brevard@gmail.com

January 2017

DCF SEEKS TO GIVE GRG OF BREVARD MONTHLY ASSISTANCE Katie Guemple, Family Safety Operation Manager, with the Protective Division of DCF will be spending the last Monday of every month to assist our members with issues they may have with DCF. Other agencies will possibly come with her; Brevard Cares, IMPOWER, DCF Economic Self-Sufficiency Division, David Chioma and others.

Please take advantage of this gesture being made by Katie and DCF. Call if you are interested in sharing your concerns.

321-631-7776 Our first meeting will be held January 30th, 2017 at the GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd. Rockledge, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

PARENTING CLASSES Meet with Cliff Valentine on January 11th at 10:30 am in the GRG of Brevard Office for the next Parenting Class.

T.A.R.G.E.T. TRAINING Starting in April 2017!

Last year’s TARGET training conference was a great success; with over 60 caregiver’s in attendance.

For those new to GRG of Brevard TARGET is a six-week training course that covers the latest information from community and state experts on topics ranging from financial stability and legal assistance to parenting autistic children.

This training includes the following sessions:  Legal Issues  DCF - Protective Investigative Division  DCF - Economic Self-Sufficiency Division --ACCESS  Early Learning Coalition - Child Care  Mental Health Counseling Information for Children  Parenting Skills  Coping Skills  Resources - Brevard Cares, Children's Home Society, Brevard Cares, Devereux, Brevard Family Partnership, Eckerd's Kids - KinderKonsulting, Sheriff's Dept.  Bright Star - Grief Counseling for Children More information in the upcoming support group meetings, website and newsletters.

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Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County, FL www.grg-brevard.org Phone: 321-631-7776 Email: grg.brevard@gmail.com

January 2017

PARENTING AGAIN

Parenting Tip: Positive Reinforcement

Grandparents as Parents - A Survival Guide for Raising a Second Family, Sylvie de Toledo and Deborah Edler Brown, The Guilford Press, New York, Second Edition

HealthyPlace.com, NewKidsCenter.com

"Sometimes the call comes at night, sometimes on a bright morning. It may be your child, the police, or child protective services. 'Mama, I've messed up...,' "We're sorry. There has been an accident,'.'Mrs. Smith, we have your grandchild. Can you take him?' Sometimes you make the call yourself - reporting your own child to the authorities in a desperate attempt to protect your grandchild from abuse or neglect. Often the change is gradual. At first your grandchild is with you for a day, then four days, a month, and then two months as the parents slowly lose control of their lives. You start out baby-sitting. You think the arrangement is temporary. You put off buying a crib or moving to a bigger apartment. Then you get a collect call from jail -or no call at all.

But whether the arrival is slow or sudden, at some point it dawns on you: You are no longer watching your grandchildren, you are raising them. Take the grand out of grandparent; you are parenting again, and your life will never be the same."

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard Co., FL, Inc. was started 20+ years ago to assist grandparents in this transition. We hope that our efforts have assisted some of you and ask that you join in participating in our activities to make it easier for other who are joining us in raising their grandchildren.

BULLYING - What it is and why kids bully If your grandchild is being bullied at school we have information that might assist you in dealing with the issue. Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, and repeated.

There are several forms of bullying - all are hurtful  Physical - using physical force to harm another Pushing, shoving, hitting, kicking Stealing or damaging someone's property Hazing a member of a team or group  Verbal - using language to hurt others Making intimidating or threatening remarks Taunting, insulting or embarrassing others  Social - hurting another's social standing Spreading rumors, lies, or gossip Purposely harming another's self-esteem or reputation Excluding someone from a group  Cyberbullying - using technology to cause harm Posting hurtful or embarrassing messages or pictures Sending harassing or threatening text messages If you are interested in more information on bullying please call 321-631-7776

Instead of punishing children to improve behavior, using positive reinforcement boosts a child’s self-esteem and contributes to character development. Additionally, positive reinforcement also serves as a preventative measure for misbehavior. Similarly, it promotes good behavior because a children will seek praise instead of thinking they will get in trouble for misbehaving.

Positive reinforcement is an effective method for developing or changing behavior. In general, good behavior at home and school tends to be ignored. Positive reinforcement allows children to become confident, self-reliant and independent. It also helps children feel pleasant about the choices they make, and motivates them to continue with the behavior that brings them rewards. Positive reinforcement is important in every child’s life. Staying positive throughout the day will help children overcome difficult moments in life.

Why Should We Use Positive Reinforcement?

Children look forward to doing things that gives them a sense of self-worth and validity.

How to Use Positive Reinforcement for Children?  Deliver praise when you are near your child and when the behavior you are praising is taking place.  Use sincere, enthusiastic tone of voice.  Use nonverbal reinforcement. Smile, hug your child, high five them or pat them on the back.  Be specific: when praising your child say exactly what behavior you approve of.  Often, children need attention; even negative attention is better than no attention at all. Giving frequent praise can avoid the need for children to act out inappropriately to get parental attention.

Save the Date Generations United is thrilled to announce plans for the 5th National GrandRally: Building a Community of Hope on May 10th 2017, in Washington, DC. Learn more: https://grandrally2017.org/about/

Go it ALONE or Join OTHERS

Why not get CONNECTED?

Support Groups provide advocacy, resources and great friendships.

GRG of Brevard holds support groups throughout the county at 6 locations days and evenings.

Improve your outlook one step at a time by using the resources provided by GRG Sharing with others is a great way to learn new ways to help you on your journey to raising a successful grandchild!

Parenting classes provide tools for coping with the stress of parenting again.

Get HELP! GRG of Brevard is an ACCESS provider; we can assist with your application for TANF, Food Stamps, and Medicaid.

Visit on your computer, grg-brevard.org smartphone or tablet

HELP THE GRANDPARENTS AND CHILDREN OF GRG OF BREVARD BECOME A MEMBER AND/OR FRIEND Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County FL, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

All gifts are deductible on corporate, foundation and individual tax returns to the extent provided by state and federal laws.

Members of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County, FL, Inc. receive our newsletter and invitations to events where they can meet others in similar situations Name Date:

I am raising children who are not my own I am their: [ ] Grandparent [ ] Aunt / Uncle

Address:

[ ] Sister / Brother [ ] Other (please specify)

City/State:

[ ] I am not in this situation but I want to join GRG of Brevard because I am interested in what you do.

Zip: Phone: Email: [ ] Annual Membership $20 per family or $10 per caregiver [ ] Annual Corporate Membership $500 I want to be a friend of the GRG of Brevard and enclose an additional donation of: [ ] $25

[ ] $50 [ ] $75 [ ] $100 Other: $

Please make your check payable to: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard

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