SPEAKER BRINGS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS PARENT OF NINE TO CONFERENCE

Teens from the interACT group acting out a skit. The group will present a keynote presentation at the parenting conference March 5.

Richard Eyre brings personal experience as the parent of nine children to the second annual Bridging the Gap parenting conference.

The conference, presented by Cape Girardeau and Jackson public schools, will be held March 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

Eyre, who will make the morning keynote address, said, "Anything that we can make work within the complex chaos of our oversized family is sure to be workable anywhere."

Eyre and his wife Linda have authored four books on parenting: "Teaching Children Responsibility," "Teaching Children Joy," "Teaching Children Sensitivity," and "Teaching Children Values."

The Eyres believe that parenting advice is too often negatively phrased and reduces parenting to a form of reacting. They teach the opposite approach and call it parenting by objective -- deciding what you want to give to children and going about it in a positive way.

Richard Eyre is a Harvard-educated author, lecturer, management consultant, director of the White House Conference on Parents and Children, and a member of the President's Advisory Panel on Financing Education.

The afternoon keynote of the conference will be by a group called interACT: Teen-to-Teen Theater, high-school drama performers from Columbia. They act out situations designed to spark conversations between parents and teens.

During interACT's first year last year, they played 41 performances. The 1993-94 season started in July, and they have already presented 30 performances, and another 30 are booked.

"The 2,555 teens, parents and other adult caregivers who experienced interACT during its first season were ecstatic about its educational and entertainment value in reducing high-risk behavior in teenagers and enhancing parent-child communication," wrote Rick J. Plummer, coordinator of the group.

"Our evaluation tools consistently indicate that interACT is truly effective in promoting healthy family communication, delivering medically accurate information, and fostering responsible decision-making.

Last year the first parenting conference attracted more than 400 people, far exceeding goals of its organizers, said Becky Kies, one of the conference co-chairmen.

Kies said this year the conference has expanded; parents have been invited from throughout the Bootheel and Southern Illinois. As a result, the conference was moved to the larger Show Me Center.

In addition to the two keynote presentations, parents may attend a number of other workshops, including ones on grief and loss, overcoming fears, sibling rivalry, teens and legal issues, and preschool creative arts.

"The conference is focused at parents, but anyone can attend," Kies said. "We are looking for practical things, not too theoretical. We want to deal with practical solutions to everyday problems."

Kies said some of the topics were suggested by participants at last year's conference.

Added to the conference is a resource area for parents. Agencies that provide services to youths will have information available.

Also, a bibliography will be available with related titles available at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

Kerrye Foley, another of the co-chairmen, said representatives from Southeast Missouri State University have joined in the planning. "We expect more involvement in the future," she said.

Last year the conference was free. This year registration is free, but a $5 fee covers the cost of a box lunch.

"Corporate sponsors from both Cape Girardeau and Jackson provide funds to make registration free," Kies said.

Organizers are asking for registrations by Wednesday. For more information, call 651-5081, 335-4647 or 243-7778.