Good News - October 2020

32 OCTOBER 2020 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition PARENTING Right now, kids desperately need a strong village of parents, educators, friends and neighbors surrounding them. This pandemic has forced children to unexpectedly give up the joy of playing at their friends’ houses, participating in sports or visiting with a beloved grandpar- ent. From what felt like one mo- ment to the next, household living rooms were transformed into vir- tual classrooms, and dining room tableswere taken over by piles of worksheets and textbooks. Huge milestones for teens, such as graduating high school or attend- ing prom, were either cancelled or re-envisioned in light of social distancing guidelines. Without warning all of the difficult changes that happened this year can be easily considered trauma, and kids cannot heal from it on their own. The4KIDSEPICTher- apeuticApproach equips parents and caregivers to help kids process this kind of grief and frus- tration, whichmay be coming out in their behaviors. A therapeutic approach In 2016, 4KIDS created The EPICTherapeuticApproach as a practical tool to further the vision of providing hope for children in crisis. EPIC is an acronym that stands for the Emotional, Physi- cal, Intellectual and Character- based needs of kids. The foundational scripture for EPIC is Luke 2:52, where the Bible says that, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and with man.” While EPIC was cre- ated primarily to reach kids in fos- ter care, most of whom have experienced some form of trauma — any child can benefit from growing in these four areas. EPIC teaches parents and care- givers how to teach and guide kids using the power of a trust- based relationship. Tomake this valuable insight available to the community, 4KIDS hosts a monthly training free of charge to anyone inter- ested in learning the EPIC Ther- apeuticApproach. This training is jam-packedwithevidence-based practices, relevant examples and biblical content. As one adoptive parent shared, “Taking the EPIC Training reminded me how im- portant it is formy kids tobeheard and to be more forgiving with them.” For the foreseeable future, all EPICTrainings will occur virtu- ally over two days. To view up- coming dates and to register, visit 4KIDS.us/EPIC/Training. In addition to the full-length training, 4KIDSClinical Teamhas also made easy-to-use EPIC content available through various online resources. Over the last few months, they have created short, engaging videos that help parents and caregivers discover simple ways to apply EPIC into their family’s day-to-day lives. To get complete access to these videos, along with downloadable tip sheets and blog posts, visit 4KIDS.us/EPIC/ParentRe- sources.All of these incredible re- sources are free and created by 4KIDS’ team of trained and li- censed therapists, who are uniquely equipped to provide in- credible, professional insight on trauma through a Christian lens. Invest in kids With everything going on in ourworld, there’snobetter time to invest in yourself and redefine the way that you connect with kids. On top of equipping parents, EPIC can help anyone from a church youth leader to a devoted aunt forge healthy connections with kids and create a safe space for the next generation. Now more thanever, kids need trusted adults in their corner who can teach them how to be resilient in the faceof uncertainty. It is4KIDS’ desire that through EPIC, to- gether, we can bring hope, homes, andhealing tokidsevery- where. “Train up a child in the way heshouldgo; evenwhenhe isold he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 EPIC Tools to Raise Resilient Kids Daniela Bolla 4KIDS 4KIDS Rinchack family, photo by Claudia Isacc Photography