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What Is Social Competence in Teens? Why Is it Important?
by wpengine | Aug 6, 2019 | Empowerment, Mental Wellness, Positive Identity, Social Competencies, Teen Support
Humans are social beings. And so, the peer support system that our teens have around them is important. Yes, your kid may like being alone, playing video games, painting art, or perfecting their musical skill. But that doesn’t mean they won’t need social relationships later in life. Learning social competence as teens is just as important as any other skill, we would argue.
Values Matter: Using Your Values to Raise Caring, Responsible, Resilient Children
by wpengine | Aug 6, 2019 | Education, Empowerment, Mental Wellness, Mindfulness, Positive Identity, Positive Values, Social Competencies
Values are very important in parenting since they deeply influence all behaviors and attitudes and effect our decisions and relationships. For a value to be truly your own, you must act on it and your behavior must reflect it – not just verbally accept it or think that you should follow it.
Helping Children Cope With Grief
by wpengine | Aug 6, 2019 | Family Support, Mental Wellness, Parent Support, Suicide, Teen Support
Whether the loss is a grandparent, a parent, a classmate or even a beloved family pet, the grieving process can be difficult and every child will grieve in his own way. Parents, caregivers and educators wondering how they can help will find many answers to their questions in the following guide, which has been assembled with advice from several experts in the area of child and adolescent grief. You will find tips broken down into a range of ages and experiences, and information about what to say, who should say it, what to look out for and how to help.
Coping With A Parent’s Suicide
by wpengine | Aug 6, 2019 | Depression, Family Support, Mental Wellness, Suicide, Teen Support
When a parent dies, it’s always painful for a child. And a parent’s death by suicide—especially, research shows, a mother’s suicide—has an even more painful and potentially disturbing effect
How to Talk to Kids About Gun Violence
by wpengine | Aug 5, 2019 | Education, Gun Safety, Mass Shootings, Mental Wellness, Teen Support
Each time there’s a mass shooting—and it seems to be happening now more than ever—we find ourselves having trouble finding the words to explain to our children, yet again, why it happened, and why it continues to happen.
Talking to Children About the Shooting
by wpengine | Aug 5, 2019 | Education, Mass Shootings, Mental Wellness, Teen Support
The recent shooting has evoked many emotions—sadness, grief, helplessness, anxiety, and anger.
Children who are struggling with their thoughts and feelings about the stories and images of the
shooting may turn to trusted adults for help and guidance.
How to Talk to Kids About the Mass Shootings in El Paso and Dayton
by wpengine | Aug 5, 2019 | Education, Gun Safety, Mass Shootings, Mental Wellness, Teen Support
In the wake of the double tragedies, many parents are left grappling with how to explain such incomprehensible violence to their children.
Explaining the News to Our Kids
by PGM Production | Aug 5, 2019 | Anxiety, Education, Family Support, Gun Safety, Mass Shootings, Mental Wellness, Parent Support, Stress, Teen Support
Dramatic, disturbing news events can leave parents speechless. These age-based tips on how to talk to kids about the news—and listen, too—can help.
If it bleeds, it leads. The old newsroom adage about milking stories for sensationalism seems truer than ever today. And with technology doing the heavy lifting—sending updates, tweets, posts, and breaking news alerts directly to our kids’ phones—we parents are often playing catch-up. Whether it’s wall-to-wall coverage of the latest natural disaster, a horrific mass shooting, a suicide broadcast on social media, or a violent political rally, it’s nearly impossible to keep the news at bay until you’re able to figure out what to say. The bottom line is that elementary school-aged kids and some middle schoolers have trouble fully understanding news events. And though older teens are better able to understand current events, even they face challenges when it comes to sifting fact from opinion—or misinformation.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Chronic Stress in America
by PGM Production | May 8, 2019 | Family Support, Mental Wellness, Parent Support, Stress, Teen Support
Stress on steroids. That’s how life feels for many Americans today. Consider senseless shootings, a nasty political climate, catastrophic weather, increasing suicide rates. Factor in close-to-home stressors such as caring for a loved one; parenting a learning-disabled, autistic, depressed, or anxious child; managing your own chronic condition or addiction; looking for a job. Now layer in everyday annoyances — traffic, train delays, a nasty coworker, a long supermarket line after an even longer day. No wonder we feel overloaded, overwhelmed, out of control, and unsafe.
Developing Adolescent Identity
by wpengine | Sep 4, 2018 | Mental Wellness, Mindfulness, Positive Identity, Positive Values, Social Competencies, Teen Support
Among the profound and exciting changes taking place in adolescence is the process of self-discovery. Our teens are working to figure out who they are, making adolescent identity development a central feature of teen life. Young people’s identities are shaped by lots of factors — family, cultural and societal expectations, experiences with institutions like school and the media, and friends. Young people also take active steps and make choices that shape their identity. They select the environments and people they want to be around. They adjust their beliefs and behaviors based on feedback. And they reflect on all of this while working to figure out who they are.
Do Mindfulness Apps Work?
by PGM Production | Jun 19, 2018 | Mental Wellness, Stress
What does science say about mindfulness apps? Research began in earnest only about four years ago, and studies are indeed pointing to potential benefits for our stress, emotions, and relationships. The findings may not be as conclusive as app marketers would have you...
Tackling the Relentless Pressure to Succeed That’s Driving Girls to Despair
by PGM Production | Feb 28, 2018 | Education, Family Support, Mental Wellness, Stress
Be confident and speak up, and you can achieve great things, we tell our girls. You can play any sport, join any after-school club, volunteer for any cause and get the grades. In fact, girls are regularly outperforming boys in school and enrolling in higher numbers in college.
It’s a great time to be a girl — or is it? Because behind all these possibilities is a troubling development: Girls’ anxiety and depression are climbing and increasingly turning tragic.
Teenage Depression and Suicide Are Way Up — and So Is Smartphone Use
by PGM Production | Nov 19, 2017 | Depression, Mental Wellness, Suicide
In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless — classic symptoms of depression — surged 33 percent in large national surveys. Teen suicide attempts increased 23 percent. Even more troubling, the number of 13-to-18-year-olds who committed suicide jumped 31 percent.
Stressed Out Parents
by wpengine | Oct 31, 2017 | Anxiety, Mental Wellness, Parent Support, Stress, Teen Support, Time Management
On an almost daily basis, each of us encounters problems to be solved, questions to be answered decisions to be made, and a pile of things we would like to accomplish. In short, every day requires us to navigate through stress. As DiFranco would advise, we have to bend to what life brings, in order to avoid breaking.
How to Talk to Children About Difficult News
by PGM Production | Nov 6, 2015 | Anxiety, Family Support, Gun Safety, Mass Shootings, Mental Wellness, Parent Support, Stress, Teen Support
Our country is seeing a tragic trend with #massshootings, and it is affecting our youth. So how do you talk about scary and tragic news with your kids?
The American Psychological Association suggests that instead of shielding children from the dangers, violence or tragedies around us, adults should talk to kids about what is happening.
Eight Ways to Bring Mindfulness into Your Family
by PGM Production | Apr 6, 2015 | Anxiety, Mental Wellness, Stress
They can be some of the most frustrating and embarrassing child behaviors—temper tantrums, lashing out at others, impatience, and short attention spans. So what can you do about them? Research has found that having a sense of mindfulness, or the ability to be present and think before reacting, can provide children with the skills they need to better understand their feelings, to pay more attention and to make wiser decisions. The hidden benefit of practicing mindfulness with your family is that as parents you get to reap the benefits too. Here are eight easy ways to get started:
Teens Feeling Stressed, Many Not Managing It Well
by PGM Production | Feb 11, 2014 | Mental Wellness, Stress, Teen Support
59% of teens report that managing their time to balance all activities is a somewhat or very significant stressor; 26% report snapping at or being short with classmates or teammates when under stress; 40% say they neglected responsibilities at home because of stress;...
Mindfulness for Teens
by wpengine | Mar 14, 2013 | Mental Wellness, Mindfulness, Positive Identity, Teen Support