JULY 2026
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, 7/8 at noon - Coalition meeting. Everyone is welcome to join us in person or online. See details/register. Catch up by reading June meeting minutes.
Tuesday, 7/21 at 1:00 PM - Operation Parent Webinar - From Vapes to Pouches: Helping Kids Avoid & Quit Nicotine. Register for free and you’ll get a link to the webinar when it’s over, in case you are not available for the live presentation.
Wednesday, July 29, 6:30 p.m. - Red, Hot & Blue Caring Community Concert presented by Webster United Church of Christ, with free-will offerings benefitting Webster Health & Education Network! Red, Hot and Blue is one of Upstate NY's top Americana bands! RHB was ”born” in Memphis and raised in Western New York, playing the music of Paul Thorn, JJ Cale and many more great songwriters. You’ll be toe tapping along and having a good ole’ time! Concessions open at 6:00 and music plays from 6:30 - 8:00 on the church lawn at 570 Klem Road. Check out the entire summer concert series. Register to receive a reminder or sign up to help out.
Webster Headlines
Happy birthday to these WHEN members celebrating in July:
Robin D., Katie K., Brian M., Audra W., and Ashley B.
WHEN’s steering committee is spending time this summer reviewing our Action Plan and brainstorming new ideas to meet our goals. If you are interested in joining this effort or would like to get involved with a new initiative, please join us, the more the merrier! Email Jen for more information.
WHEN is reaching out to current WHEN members and supporters who are connected to local businesses or organizations that would like to be added to our webpage highlighting partners. If you would like to be included, please send us an email.
Finding the Sweet Spot: Balancing Structure and Freedom This Summer
“Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, and communities that promote the health and well-being of children and families.” - ChildWelfare.gov
By WHEN member, Dana Buccieri, MEd
For many children, teens, and families the transition that summer brings with a sudden shift in routine and structure can feel like a welcome break! But, actually, most children and adolescents function best with a balance of predictability and freedom.
Transitions require the brain to shift expectations, routines, and behavioral demands. For young people with developing executive functioning skills (skills that involve planning, time management, and cognitive flexibility), transitions can be especially challenging.
According to the Boston Study Child Center, Experts in Mental Health, when structure decreases abruptly children may experience:
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Increased emotional dysregulation
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Difficulty initiating activities
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Sleep schedule disruption
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More conflict around screen time or expectations
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Reduced sense of knowing what comes next
While we do not want to recreate the school year at home, it may be important to your children and family to create enough structure that supports regulation, flexibility, and well-being. Try and create predictable points that help organize time without over-structuring every hour, often called “anchors in the day.”
Examples of anchors include:
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Consistent wake-up and bedtime ranges
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Regular mealtimes
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A predictable start of day routine
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Some daily responsibilities (chores, reading, practice, etc.)
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Built-in downtime and screen time windows
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Weekly family time
“In clinical practice, we often think about summer support as a combination of predictability (anchors and routines), flexibility (room for spontaneity and rest), and engagement (planned activities, interests, and connection). This balance tends to support both emotional well-being and functional independence.” – Supporting Children and Teens Through Summer Transitions: Balancing Flexibility and Structure, BCSC Admin, June 1, 2026
For those children and teens of a certain age, consider helping them find a job or a volunteer opportunity. The structure and responsibility it provides would allow for reinforcement of those developing executive functioning skills and take you, as their parent, out of the role of the sole supervisor of their time and energy!
Here are a few local sources that may provide opportunities to expand your child’s repertoire of skills:
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ROC Youth Employment Network -which places ages 14-20 into paid 6-week summer jobs. rocyouthemplyment.com
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For volunteering: Webster on the Web
And if all else fails, remember that summer goes fast.
Last July, we shared an article titled “Bring on the Boredom”, so don't forget that sprinklings of this too, are just fine! :)
Spotlight
We’d like to thank Barry Howard, our current Board of Directors President, for his ongoing support of WHEN. In addition to making the conference room at the Webster Chamber of Commerce available to us for our monthly coalition meetings and acting as Board President, he goes above and beyond to make sure WHEN is on solid footing and focused on meeting both our goals and obligations. Thank you for your dedication to our mission, Barry!
Upcoming Meetings
Our next meeting is Wednesday, July 8 at noon. Register here to receive details for both in-person and online options.
We meet in person AND online via Google Meet the second Wednesday of each month at noon. Many of us join during our lunch break. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. In fact, our goal is to have representation from all walks of life, to better meet the needs of the whole community.
Read last month's Coalition Meeting Minutes.
Quick Resources
Operation Parent has a catalog of webinars on a broad range of topics relevant to today’s parenting challenges. Be sure to check them out and bookmark them so you can have them at your fingertips when needed.