A leading expert on childhood trauma who trains crisis response teams across North America is coming to School District 43 to talk about how children are affected by social media and how to parent them through it.
Kevin Cameron, who has been a consultant and expert in traumatic incidents ranging from the Columbine school shooting to last year's Sandy Hook school shooting will be speaking next Thursday, Sept. 26 at Westwood Community Church.
The event is from 7-9 p.m. and is the first of a series of three events being presented by School District 43, the Ministry of Education and other partners in the district's Safe Schools Task Force.
Summit middle school principal, Cindi Seddon, said the presentation will be an opportunity for parents to learn more about social media and the influence it is having on young people, as well as strategies to manage it.
"He'll be speaking on parenting in the 21st century and why family is the only sure defense to protect children," said Seddon, who is an expert on bullying and a member of the Safe School's Task Force.
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Some of the topics might be difficult, with Cameron speaking about strategies for supporting children that developed through his experience with high profile suicides and violent incidents. But Seddon said his advice will help parents deal with important issues arising out of kids' social media use, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and the internet generally.
Cameron, who is a director with the Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response, helped develop the Traumatic Event Systems (TES) Model, on behalf of the Albertan government in the wake of the Columbine school shooting in 1999.
He is a trained marital and family therapist and registered social worker with years of experience working with high-risk children and their families. Currently, he is working with an anti-gang program in the Surrey School District.
Westwood Community Church is located at 1294 Johnson St., Coquitlam and there is no charge to attend.
