Michelle Icard
Speaker, educator, and author
Heidi Stevens
Chicago-based writer and Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health
Eight Setbacks That Can Make a Child a Success (Event 1 of 2)
BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY of Eight Setbacks at the event, while supplies last. Book sale and signing, too. No registration required.
Every child messes up, sometimes in ways that seem sure to wreck their futures: a bad report card, poor sportsmanship, underaged drinking. These are tough moments for parent and child alike, often complicated by the fear that the misstep is also an indictment of our parenting. But what each of these “fails” has in common for our kids is the precious silver lining of a chance for character building and developing more grit—if we help them process their mistake well.
An invaluable playbook for anxious parents everywhere, Eight Setbacks That Can Make a Child a Success by parenting expert Michelle Icard (FAN ’22), offers specific and unexpected advice about what to say, what not to say, and what to do to help children in eight categories of tense situations. Distilled from Icard’s decades of experience working with tweens, teenagers, and families, she underscores that there is always a chance for a child gain new and stronger decision-making skills, and for the parent-child relationship to strengthen.
Icard is the author of Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen (2021) and Middle School Makeover (2014). She has a degree in education and has worked with parents, children, and teachers for more than 20 years. A writer for the Today show parenting team, NBC News Learn, CNN Science and Wellness, and the Washington Post, Icard’s work has also been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Redbook, Time, and People.
Icard will be in conversation with Heidi Stevens, Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health. Prior to joining TMW, Stevens worked at the Chicago Tribune for 23 years, where she wrote a daily column called “Balancing Act.” She maintains a weekly nationally syndicated column. Stevens also serves as a FAN board member.
This event is suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded but not live streamed and will be available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- The Alliance for Early Childhood
- The Avery Coonley School
- Baker Demonstration School
- Barrington D220
- Beacon Academy
- Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
- Brickton Montessori School
- Catherine Cook School
- Chiaravalle Montessori School
- Chicago Jewish Day School
- Compass Health Center
- Countryside Day School
- The Cove School
- Evanston Scholars
- Evanston Township High School D202
- The Family Institute at Northwestern University
- Family Service Center
- Foundation 65
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- Francis W. Parker School
- Glencoe D35
- Gorton Center
- Grayslake Community High School D127
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Bluff D65
- Lake Forest Academy
- Lake Forest Community High School D115
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools
- Latin School of Chicago
- Leo Catholic High School
- Loyola Academy
- Lycée Français de Chicago
- Magnetar Capital
- Mindful Psychology Associates PC
- Morgan Park Academy
- Near North Montessori School
- New Trier High School D203
- New Trier Parents’ Association
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Pope John XXIII School
- Rebel Human
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Resurrection College Prep High School
- Rogers Park Montessori School
- Roycemore School
- Sacred Heart Schools
- St. Bernard’s School
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- Science & Arts Academy
- Stevenson High School D125
- University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
- Wilmette Public Library
- Winnetka D36
- Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
- Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.)