As part of Westmeath Libraries' Celebration of Diversity we held two online parenting talks in early November with Sheelagh O'Grady: Supporting parents in raising a healthy and happy LGBTQI+ child was held on the 4th November and Parenting in a Multicultural Society was held on 10th November.
Our presenter on both evenings was Sheelagh O'Grady, who is a qualified Relationship & Parent Mentor. Sheelagh holds a Level 8, Higher Diploma in Relationship & Parent Mentoring from UCC. She practices as a Co-Creational therapist and is a member of two related professional bodies: the Irish Association of Relationship mentors (iarm.ie) and APA, Ayanay Psychological Accreditation (ayanay.co.uk). She is also currently studying for an MSc in Psychology.
Over the course of the two talks Sheelagh shared her insights and expertise with us, as well as hosting a Question and Answer session at the end of each workshop. Westmeath Libraries would like to thank Sheelagh for these talks, and we hope that all those who attended enjoyed them, and hopefully learned a few things.
In her talks Sheelagh emphasied the importance of "the self" and how all parenting starts with the self. Valuable advice, and not just for parenting.
Remember, your local library has a collection of books on parenting as well as many other topics. You can call in and browse the shelves, or search the online catalogue where we have access to over 12 million items.
One book in particular Sheelagh mentioned in relation to Parenting in a Multicultural Society is Uncomfortable conversations with a black man / Emmanuel Acho, which you can request from your local library (click here)
If you are interested in attending any of our library events please keep up to date by following us on social media. We also have a monthly enewsletter that you can subscribe to.
These talks are part of Westmeath Libraries' Celebration of Diversity, funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund.