The virtual learning series, Living Well Wednesday, is set to kick off the 2023 Fall Series in October. This program is offered by K-State Research and Extension Family and Consumer Science Agents and Specialists from across the state. This year’s fall series will focus on topics of interest to parents and individuals who work with youth. Topics will help those around kids recognize warning signs of dangerous behavior and risk factors.

The fall series kicks off on October 4^th with “It’s Not So Kool to JUUL”. Guest presenter Donna Gerstner with Livewell Finney County Health Coalition in Garden City says vaping is the newest epidemic among young, stating further that 25% of Kansas High School students currently vape or have vaped. Discussion on the dangers of vaping, preventative measures, and helpful ways to identify smoking devices will help prepare parents to talk to their kids about this new epidemic and reduce the chance that their child will partake in this dangerous and addicting activity.

For the second session on November 1^st, Erin Tynon, Pottawatomie County Family and Consumer Science Agent, and guest speaker Christine Perez, a licensed clinical professional counselor, will present “Teen Stress and Anxiety: How Worried do Parents Need to be?”. This session will examine the current state of teen mental health and help parents decipher what stress is normal in teenagers versus when to seek professional help. By preparing what to say and do when teens talk about their stressors, parents will know how to talk about these tricky topics and when to seek professional help.

The last session on December 6^th is “Rapid Development of Baby Brains and Why It Matters”. Presenters Bradford Wiles, K-State Research and Extension Child Development Specialist, and Family and Consumer Science Agents Tristen Cope and Monique Koerner will discuss how impactful early years in a child’s life are on the outcome of their entire future. In this session, participants will see why positive early childhood experiences are critical for babies, how stress and trauma impact brain development at a young age, and what they can do to provide protective factors for healthy brain development in babies.

All three sessions will be at 12:10 – 1 p.m. on Zoom. To register, visit www.ksre.k-state.edu/fcs/livingwellwed/. All sessions will be recorded for later viewing. Recordings will be posted on the Living Well Wednesday Website and are assessible through the  link previously referenced. For more information, contact Cassidy Lutz at [email protected] or by calling 620-625-8620.