Friday, April 26, 2013
The YMCA of Montclair will host an event to encourage kids to get active on April 27.
The YMCA of Montclair is celebrating Healthy Kids Day with a free community event for kids and families in town on Saturday. Kids are invited to play hula hoop games at Hillside Elementary School, located at 54 Orange Road, between 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday. This event is geared towards children seven years old and above and their families. There will be prizes awarded for participation in each game, healthy snacks available and free take home hula hoops for all children who attend. Parents can also learn more about local health and wellness community supporters and YMCA of Montclair summer camps at the event. More than 1,900 YMCAs across the country will be taking part in Healthy Kids Day, which is meant to kick start physical activity and …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Validate children's feelings and talk about safety.
Friday's tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn., has left many parents asking how to handle discussing events like this with children. Kristina Silvestry, MA, Counselor and Director of Berkeley Heights, NJ-based Peace of Mind Counseling and Wellness Center, said it's very important that first and foremost children feel safe. "Find out what they've heard and then really validate their feelings," said Silvestry. Silvestry advises against making dismissive statements such as "Everything's going to be fine." "You never want them to feel that they're wrong for feeling what they're feeling," she said. "You have to give them time and let them process it. Let them ask questions and parents can pull upon things like their faith or other …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Roseland family directly impacted by shooting in Newtown, Conn.
Dennis and Conni Murray, longtime residents of Roseland, learned about Friday’s massacre in Newtown, Conn. the same way most Americans did -- on the news. Only the Murrays were one of several hundred people who attended Sandy Hook Elementary School’s fourth grade holiday show Thursday, the night before alleged gunman Adam Lanza took the lives of 20 children and six adults at the school as well as his own. The Murrays had traveled to Newtown to see their grandson, 10-year-old Brendan, perform at a local high school. “We met the principal who was killed,” Conni Murray said, “and the vice principal who was shot.” Dennis Murray learned about the unfolding tragedy around 9:45 a.m. Friday when he received a CNN alert on his cell phone about a…
