Putting A Stop to Self-Harm
As parents, the first thing we want in the world is for our children to be safe. When they are babies, we strap them in car seats and research the best practices for care. When they are young children, we watch them ride a bicycle for the first time with a helmet, training wheels, and protective pads. It is our instinct to protect them, and
What Role Does Social Media Play in Behavior Issues?
Social media has an unavoidable impact on how we view ourselves. Excessive use of technology is often associated with a distorted worldview and less time devoted to healthy behaviors. Researchers have spent a lot of time analyzing the effect of social media on teen mental health but are just starting to take a look at the role social media plays in behavior issues. Online Socialization There are
A Guide For Parents: How To Help Your Teen With Mental Health Struggles
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health struggles in children and adolescents have reached an all-time high in the past year. Uncertainty around what the future will look like from everything to how kids go to school to how they are able to interact with their friends caused a spike in anxiety, and missing out on important life events such as prom, high school graduation,
Having Fun While Healing: Therapeutic Activities for Teens
The wonderful part of therapy is that it is not a “one size fits all” practice. And while the word therapy often conjures images of couches or circles of people sitting in meeting rooms, there are actually many ways for teens to engage in therapeutic activities. Therapy doesn’t always have to involve a therapist and an individual sitting together discussing the person’s personal issues. Have you
The Pandemic’s Affects on Mental Health In Teens
The negative impact the mental health crisis has had on teens has been growing steadily over the past decade, and these effects have been compounded by the pandemic. For the millions of American children that are struggling with developmental, behavioral, or emotional disorders, they rely on treatment that the pandemic has made it nearly impossible to receive. How the pandemic has had detrimental effects on teen
Explaining to Kids the Effects of Using Drugs and Alcohol
Teenagers may see themselves as almost adults but the reality is that adolescent brains are still developing during the adolescent years into young adulthood. The brain develops first with the cerebellum that controls physical activity, the amygdala which controls emotion, and the nucleus accumbens which controls motivation. As teens reach adulthood, the prefrontal cortex fully develops, which controls judgment and impulse control. This may explain why
Teaching Your Son About Mental Health
How many times have we heard: “don’t cry, be a man”, when a young boy is upset? Or “boys will be boys” when an adolescent acts out? These may not seem that harmless in the moment, but let’s think about what hearing that over and over again does to young men? They are taught from a very young age that they shouldn’t show emotions because
What To Do When Your Kid Is the Bully: How to Help Your Child
No parent wants to find out their child is being a bully. We parents spend so much time taking care of our children and trying to teach them right from wrong, and it can be painful to think of your child causing harm to other children. But bullying is also a serious issue for the bully themselves. Bullying may be an indicator that your child
Codependency in Parent-Child Relationships
When children are born they rely on their parents for everything from food to shelter to safety. Parents are the most important thing in a baby’s life, and while parents want their children to grow up to be independent, it’s not uncommon to still want to feel important in their life. But being an important part of their child’s life is very different from creating
How Challenges Allow for Growth and Confidence
Stepping outside of your comfort zone to try new and challenging things can be a scary endeavor, particularly for adolescents who fear failing in front of their peers. However, research indicates that failure can actually be a positive outcome for children because it allows them to push the boundaries of their capabilities and adopt a growth mindset that failure is just a crucial step on