The Chat: Live Online Workshops
Welcome to The Chat
The world around us is changing, and the Seattle Children’s sponsored Great Conversations programs are all about changes in bodies, emotions, and relationships during puberty. You are in the right place.
We believe families are the best place for conversations about puberty, sex, and other growing-up topics. We also know it can be helpful to have expert resources along the journey.
We hope you will join us for this new adventure online, The Chat.
What is The Chat?
We’ve brought our 30 years of experience building our beloved programming, Heart to Heart, to the forefront of our new programming to meet the national standard of providing an online experience accessible to all genders.
When will we be back in-person? Our Great Conversations Team is working on a new version of our in-person classes that reflect the access and inclusion of our online programs. We hope to launch these in late 2022 or early 2023 when our venues become available for larger gatherings.
“Your workshops were super engaging for all of us and gave our family organized times and ways to discuss topics that, when broached by parents alone, were boring and awkward!”
The Basics
- The Chat is a series of 5 live, online workshops run by a sexual health expert and a person who can help with tech issues. Each Class is 35-45 minutes, followed by time to answer your questions – they can be anonymous if you like. Our 5-part series is the same content as our in-person class.
- The Chat is for 9 to 12-year-olds and a trusted grown-up who attend all 5 workshops together. All families, genders, and sexualities are welcome.
- Scholarship funds are available upon request.
What comes with the class?
- After registering, we will email you a Zoom link for the workshop series.
- Ahead of class, we will also email you a workbook. Please print it ahead of time or have it ready on a laptop or tablet, and you can follow along with the class.
- If you attend all 5 classes, we will mail you the book Will Puberty Last My Whole Life? written by Great Conversations’ co-founders Julie Metzger RN, MN, and Rob Lehman, MD. Families who register for a single workshop need to buy the book separately.
What will we talk about?
A Great Conversations instructor will provide medically accurate, age-appropriate content with warmth and humor that includes instruction, video, activities, and questions to help you have conversations with your child.
Beginning in September 2022, our workshop titles are changing to make things more transparent for families and match medical guidelines. Although much of the content is the same, we hope the titles and added elements reflect your family’s experience better.
- Is Puberty Weird?
- An introduction to the puberty experience for everybody, including topics like body odor, pimples, hair, growth, gender, voice.
- Body Basics
- A conversation for all genders on what most female bodies experience in puberty - breasts, periods, masturbation, self-concept.
- More Body Basics
- A conversation for all genders on what most male bodies experience in puberty - penises, testicles, erections, masturbation, self-concept.
- Crushes, Consent, and Other Conversations
- Our brains in puberty - how to deal with emotions, healthy conversations with family/friends, feelings for others.
- Our Sexual Selves
- Bodies, brains - bringing it all together - being sexual, sexual reproduction, healthy relationships, decision-making.
How do we register?
Click the Register button below and choose the date that best works for you. Additional content will be added over time, and classes will be repeated.
Scholarship Funds?
Scholarship funds are available for all Great Conversations programs. To inquire about scholarships, email greatconversations@parenttrust.org to talk to our registration team.
Additional Resources
See article, book, and website recommendations (including the books written by Great Conversations: Will Puberty Last My Whole Life? and This Is Me – A Journal For Girls).
You can get updates from Great Conversations’ programs and parent talks on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
