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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, November 6, 2013 | 12 Youth Parent Survey shows raising teens is tough by Abigail Cukier Special to the Beaver We all may suspect raising children is difficult, but the recently released Halton Youth Parent Survey shows the role gets more challenging as children reach adolescence. The survey, developed and coordinated by the Our Kids Network, focuses on school climate, bullying and/or harassment, parenting challenges and parenting supports. It also measures five categories of Family Assets. All parents of Grades 7 and Grade 10 students in the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board were invited to participate. More than 1,700 parents completed the survey. The Family Assets were developed by the Search Institute. Assets are the interactions, values, skills and relationships that help families thrive. The more Family Assets a family has, the better off they are -- regardless of family income, parent education level, immigration status, relationship to child or living arrangement. Families are doing pretty well, but we still need to put some things in place to support them. We want to look at the family assets and help them build on the positive to make families stronger and more connected. Our Kids Network director Ellen DiBattista SKI & SNOWBOARD SWAP NOVEMBER 8, 9 & 10 · Fri 6-10, Sat 9-5, Sun 9-3 Location: Country Heritage Park (Gambrel Barn) off of Tremaine Rd., Milton ... just north of Glen Eden FREE ADMISSION & PARKING 2ND LARGEST SKI SWAP IN ONTARIO MILTON HEIGHTS RACING CLUB'S ANNUAL Amazing Deals on New & Used Equipment! Skis - Boards - Boots - Poles - Helmets - Goggles - Clothing - Bags - Adjustments Onsite FAMILY SEASON'S PASS DRAW NOVEMBER 10th at 3PM See Website for details (no purchase necessary) WIN A FREE BONUS FOR 2013: GLEN EDEN `BUY ONE - GET ONE FREE' LIFT TICKET COUPON WITH $250 MERCHANDISE... BUY MORE... GET MORE! THOUSANDS OF ITEMS! Check out miltonheights.com or SuperSkiSwap.com for more details 416-997-1290 *SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS Youths from families with more assets are more likely to do well in school, develop close relationships and participate in healthy activities. Family assets include openness, clear expectations, problem solving, enriching activities and supportive resources. Levels of certain family assets dropped between Grades 7 and Grade 10. The Adapting to Challenges category (which includes adaptability, problem solving, decision making and management of daily commitments) saw the largest decrease. Seventy-nine per cent of parents with children in Grade 7 demonstrated that asset, while 66 per cent with children in Grade 10 did so. "Families are doing pretty well, but we still need to put some things in place to support them," said Elena DiBattista, director of the Our Kids Network. "We want to look at the family assets and help them build on the positive to make families stronger and more connected." DiBattista says the survey results will help broaden the conversation among Halton service providers. The Our Kids Network includes: Halton Children's Aid Society; Regional Municipality of Halton; Halton Regional Police Services; Halton District School Board; Halton Catholic District School Board; ROCK Reach Out Centre for Kids, Halton Multicultural Council; and ErinoakKids Centre for Treatment and Development. These partners work together to provide leadership and financial support as well as share information and resources. "We will use these results as a tool, along with our other tools to add a layer of information for our service providers to make good decisions to support families as best they can," said DiBattista. For example, the survey found that parents want to access information from a number of sources, including the Internet, books and oneon-one. "The transition to adolescence can be a very challenging time and parents need a new set of tools. They have to think about new methods and ways to relate to their kids. We want to help minimize the drop in Family Assets during these ages." For survey results, see p.16 EVERY PERSON HAS A STORY TO TELL. THANKS TO YOU IT CAN BE TOLD. At Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, talented physicians like Dr. Mangesh Inamdar help care for patients in need of urgent care every day. Their expertise plus the life-saving equipment you help fund make it possible for their stories to continue. Each and every year, our hospital needs hundreds of pieces of new equipment that will improve the lives of all of us here in Oakville. Every piece is critical and every piece needs to be funded by our community. It all starts here ­ with your help. Please call 905.338.4642 to share your story or make a donation. www.oakvillehospitalfoundation.com DR. MANGESH INAMDAR OTMH PHYSICIAN