Annual Conference 2025

Join us for a full day conference at the Clarion Hotel in Brandon led by Dr. Michael Cheng.

Dr. Michael Cheng is a child, youth and family psychiatrist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). He is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa. He is the co-founder of a mental health website, https://www.eMentalHealth.ca, and a recipient of the Order of Ontario. He is a post-pandemic parent of two, and has first-hand experience with the modern parenting challenge of keeping our kids off those darned devices. As a child psychiatrist, his approach focuses on (re)connecting children, youth and families to people and activities that bring purpose, belonging, meaning and hope, while addressing any (brain) barriers that might be getting in the way.

Join us for Growing Up Wired: The Impact of Screens on Childhood

Conference Topic: Screen Time in Children, Youth and Families: The Good, The Bad, the Ugly and What Professionals Can Do About It

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• List the elements for mental wellness, which include basic needs and higher needs (purpose, belonging, meaning and hope)
• List the elements for resiliency;
• Describe how modern society and screen time (such as video games and social media) can block mental wellness and resiliency in children, youth and families;
• Provide preventive guidance to families on how to prevent problematic technology use (PTU), and have a healthier relationship with technology;
• Identify problematic technology use (PTU) in children, youth and families;
• Provide strategies for helping a typical child, youth and family with problematic technology use (PTU);
• Identify when there may be other issues (including but not limited to depression, anxiety, neurodivergence, ADHD, autism spectrum, sensory processing, learning differences, complex trauma, self-regulation issues, executive function issues).
• Adapt interventions when faced with other issues (including but not limited to depression, anxiety, neurodivergence, ADHD, autism spectrum, sensory processing, learning differences, complex trauma, self-regulation issues and executive function challenges).

PRICING

• $250 early bird pricing (before April 15, 2025)
• $275 regular pricing

If you have not received a confirmation email for the conference within 24 hours, please contact Leandra at Leandra.lampertz@gov.mb.ca to confirm registration.

We are experiencing some difficulties with payment options at the moment. If you choose to use a credit card for registration, please contact Leandra via email. We will let you know when the technical difficulties have been resolved.