With a goal of helping parents better understand their children, the administrators of Walnut Valley Unified School District recently held the first Parent Symposium at Diamond Bar High School.

Over 800 parents of students ranging from pre-K to 12th grade attended the event held on Sept. 23.

 “We noticed that we needed to bring parents on board,” Castle Rock Elementary School principal Dr. Resma Byrne said. “We can do so much at school, but parents were also looking for ways to connect with their kids so we just decided to try this and see how the outcome is.”

The symposium featured Dr. Michelle Borba, an internationally recognized educational psychologist, as the main speaker along with a number of parenting workshops.

During the main event, Borba discussed how to raise empathetic kids.

She stated that parents need to set a good example for their children and that the overuse of technology is a major factor in creating less compassionate people.

“I think it’s a lot of the stuff we already know, but it was so good to hear someone talk about it [since] it reminds us to talk about kindness to our children and the importance of empathy,” a mother said. “We always focus on the academics, but it’s really the soft skills and life skills that the kids learn about.”

The symposium offered 21 parenting workshops presented by WVUSD teachers and staff members. Parents were able to attend up to two classes depending on what they wanted to learn.

Popular workshops included topics on academic success, internet safety, technology, welcoming newcomers to school, building a positive home environment and understanding emotional health in children.

“I learned some really good strategies especially for parenting,” another mother said. “There was some good information on helping our children to be successful, how to be a more kind parent and there are some mistakes I noticed that I have made that I can now pay attention to and be better.”

One workshop called “Preparing for college while maintaining your sanity” discussed how parents should choose the right classes and school for their child.

Another workshop,“Controlling Technology, Before Technology Controls us,” taught parents to utilize technology and social media in a safe and useful way rather than being controlled by it.

On the way out of the symposium, parents were greeted with city organization booths including the Diamond Bar Library, city of Diamond Bar and city of Walnut to help further their knowledge and be more involved with the community.