Parenting Mercer Island workshops are on tap this fall

YouthMatters Advisory Group is on the way.

By Andy Nystrom • September 26, 2025 10:30 am
At left, Mercer Island High School student Sophie Hill speaks to the crowd at the MI Healthy Youth Forum on Jan. 31, 2024, at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. Also pictured are students Savanna Rousell, Julius Perez and Connor Wood along with Michelle Ritter, Mercer Island Healthy Youth Initiative project coordinator. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo
At left, Mercer Island High School student Sophie Hill speaks to the crowd at the MI Healthy Youth Forum on Jan. 31, 2024, at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. Also pictured are students Savanna Rousell, Julius Perez and Connor Wood along with Michelle Ritter, Mercer Island Healthy Youth Initiative project coordinator. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo

Mercer Island Youth and Family Services (YFS) prevention programs coordinator Michelle Ritter said that parents, just like their kids, are under pressure these days.

That’s where YFS and the MI Healthy Youth Initiative come into play by lending a hand with their in-person, interactive Parenting Mercer Island PARENT LAB workshops for parents/caregivers of local elementary, middle and high school students.

This fall’s discussion-based programs, which feature the Parenting Mercer Island website tools and are facilitated by YFS counselors and staff, will touch upon: Fostering Your Child’s Autonomy, Confidence and Resilience (Sept. 23 and 29); Big Picture Parenting: Knowing and Teaching Your Values (Oct. 14 and 20); and Parenting in the Digital Age (Nov. 5 and 12). These free gatherings are supported by a King County Best Starts for Kids grant titled Positive Family Connections. For specific grades, times and locations, visit www.mihealthyyouth.com.

Parents also participated in this series last year as the facilitators delved into such topics as supporting a child or teen with stress and anxiety; connection and communication; guidance and discipline for skill building; everyday parenting challenges; and important conversations with your adolescent and teen.

“For parents, it was really beneficial for them to see other members of the community sitting down and talking thoughtfully about how hard parenting is. And once you feel like you’re not alone, that helps take a lot of the stress off,” Ritter said about last year’s teaching-learning programs.

Approximately 20 parents attended the initial Sept. 23 event this time out.

Ritter gave a rundown about what the programs entail: They’ll discuss how it’s important for parents to have a strong connection with their kids while giving them some autonomy and not micromanaging them; they’ll ask parents to hone in on what values they wish to pass on to their kids and reflect on how they’re doing in that area; and they’ll talk to parents about challenges, fears and behavior management in the digital media realm.

“The goal of all of the programs is really to help parents be more confident in their parenting. And also just to recognize that they’re not the only ones that are going through some of these experiences. Sometimes parenting can be pretty isolating,” Ritter said.

Added Corinne Alef, the lead YFS facilitator who created the discussion format and teamed up with Ritter to design the series: “Parenting doesn’t come with a rulebook, and none of us have it all figured out. PARENT LAB gives us a chance to learn together, reflect and support each other along the way. We’re all just trying to do our best for our kids, and sometimes that feels overwhelming. PARENT LAB is a space where we can show up as we are, learn a little, laugh a little, and head home with new hope and ideas.”

Also in the YFS and MI Healthy Youth Initiative sphere, they’re giving middle school and high school students a chance to elevate their voices by launching the new YouthMatters Advisory Group this fall.

For those students who wish to engage in discussions about Island youth’s ideas, issues and concerns, applications are due by Oct. 8 at www.mihealthyyouth.com/youthmatters. The YFS staff facilitated meetings will occur three to five times during the school year.

“Working with Derek Franklin, our administrator, we really decided we needed to have more youth voice in the work that we do,” said Ritter, adding that they’re looking for a diverse group of students who are involved in athletics, cultural groups, affinity groups, leadership and more. “We’ve had really great student participation from our Healthy Youth Forums. And we’re hoping to increase that visibility and allow the student voice to happen throughout the year.”