After the keynote speaker, there will be breakout sessions on specific topics.
By: Mary Genson | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published March 11, 2026
BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Bloomfield Hills Schools parents are invited to a workshop titled “Raising Healthy Children and Teenagers” 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14. The workshop will be held at North Hills Middle School, 3456 Lahser Road, and will feature keynote speaker Brooke Bendix, a licensed clinical social worker and the founder of Therapyology.
Last year, Bloomfield Hills Schools held a parent workshop at the high school level.
“I think what we realized is that a lot of parents are looking for help, resources and community around these topics, and by expanding it to the elementary and middle school, we reach a broader audience,” Bloomfield Hills High School principal Dan Hartley said.
Bendix has spent her career of over 18 years working with children, teens and parents. She said the main topic she will be covering is “building confident kids.”
She understands that she will be talking with parents who have kids of different ages, and her speech will help parents define what confidence means and where it comes from.
“When parents have a better understanding of what confidence is and how they can model that behavior, they’re able to adjust and modify their parenting so that they are building confident kids that grow into more confident adults,” Bendix said.
She hopes parents leave the workshop with an understanding that “success is failure.” She said that in order to grow into successful adults, it is important to learn about failure and what it looks like.
“My takeaway for parents is that they need to understand what failure looks like, so that we can see growth,” Bendix said.
After the keynote address, parents will have the opportunity to attend three breakout sessions that cover different topics, choosing the ones that are more relevant to their family: “Parent Tips for Healthy Eating and Mental Wellness in Teens,” “The Teen Brain Under Stress: What Parents Need to Know,” “Communication and Boundary Setting With Teens” and “‘Dumb Phones’ and Smart Choices: Proactive Steps for Families.”
The workshop will wrap up with a student panel at noon. During this panel, members of the student leadership class will answer questions from parents to provide the student perspective to certain topics.
“So much of school is social and emotional as well as academic, so I think by supporting the whole child, we are going to see healthier, happier kids, and healthier, happier kids are better equipped to excel academically and achieve the goals that they want to beyond our walls,” Hartley said.
There will be child care at the workshop for parents with children preschool age through grade 5. They must be potty-trained and from a current BHS family. For more information on the workshop, visit bloomfield.org/our-commitment/health-and-wellness/parent-workshop.