This fall, Riverside Medical Center is offering several classes for youths.
The schedule includes two separate classes for girls and boys about the changes that take place during puberty, as well as the Safe Sitter class.
To register for any of the classes, call Central Scheduling at 715-258-1119.
The hospital offers classes about puberty, attended together by parents and their children, as a way to address this topic in a safe and yet relaxing and setting. Health-care professionals teach the classes.
At RMC, they believe that boys and girls who have honest and open dialogue with their parents about puberty – and its associated physical and emotional issues – are more likely to grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults.
• “Especially for girls: What’s happening to me?” is a workshop for mothers and their daughters (ages 9 to 12). It will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 1 at the hospital’s Maasch Education Center. The education center is located in the 902 building, 800 Riverside Drive.
The fee is $20 for each mother/daughter pair.
Beckie Crisman, a registered nurse at RMC, is one of the instructors. “The beauty of our class,” she said, “is that we have the mothers and daughters together talking about these sensitive issues. We also talk about self esteem, body image and communication. And, we have several types of activities, so altogether, it is a very fun morning.”
• “Especially for boys: What’s happening to me?” is a workshop for fathers and their sons (ages 9 to 12). It will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 12 at the Maasch Education Center.
The fee is $20 for each father/son pair.
Dean Sondrol, who is a physical therapist at RMC, teaches the class.
A father who attended a recent class said, “Thank you for opening the lines of communication and making an uncomfortable subject so fun and enjoyable.”
The hospital’s Safe Sitter classes are among its most successful ones. During the past decade, RMC has trained hundreds of Safe Sitters.
RMC’s auxiliary sponsors the program, allowing the hospital to continue offering the class without having to increase the registration fee.
Safe Sitter is part of a national organization that is devoted to safe babysitting.
• Safe Sitter will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Maasch Education Center.
Boys and girls, ages 11 to 13, learn injury prevention and treatment, CPR, the management of problem behavior and about the business side of babysitting.
Students must be 11 years old by the first day of the course and must attend both days. The fee is $25.