Blog

It takes a village to raise a child (an old African proverb). This means that a child needs both the immediate and extended family to overcome adverse traumatic experiences to heal long term. Unfortunately, traditional trauma treatment often only includes the individual child. And if you do mobilize, the extended family, you are often unsure what their role is or how to actively incorporate them into trauma treatment. DATE: Wednesday, June 29 TIME: 12 - 1 pm EST COST: Free with REGISTRATION...

By Christian Caron, Photo: Cheriss May/The New York Times, The New York Times, April 12, 2022 The worsening state of mental health among children has prompted an influential group of experts to recommend for the first time screening all children ages 8 to 18 for anxiety, one of the most common mental health disorders of childhood . A draft of the new guidelines, which is open to public comment , will most likely be finalized later this year. It was issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Preventive...

By Positive Parenting Newsfeed contributors: Cyndy McGrath, Supervising Producer; Milvionne Chery; Field Producer; Roque Correa, Editor and Videographer , April 8, 2020 Please click here to access the video in English and Spanish. GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire)—It’s a startling number. Nearly half of the kids in the U.S. experience one or more types of childhood trauma by the time they are 17. Trauma can get under the skin and make kids more susceptible to illness. Death…divorce…...

By Paula Span, Photographs by Todd Heisler, The New York Times, April 12, 2022 This is not what Ida Adams thought life would be like at 62. She had planned to continue working as a housekeeper at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore until she turned 65. After retiring, she and her husband, Andre, also 62, thought they might travel a little — “get up and go whenever we felt like it.” She didn’t expect to be hustling a seventh-grader off to school each weekday. But in January 2021, Ms. Adams’s...

Mistakes Research shows that children with a growth mindset – the belief that intelligence is not fixed and that they can work hard and practice to improve – understand mistakes as opportunities to learn. In your visits, you can try taking a simple mistake – like closing the computer when you still need it, or dropping a bandage on the floor – and model for children how they can grow from that experience. You may say something like, “Whoops, now I know to keep it on the table next time” or...

By Andrea Michelson, Photo: Crystal Cox/Business Insider, April 7, 2022 Even as certain indicators of the pandemic, like hospital admissions and mask requirements, have declined or disappeared, the mental toll of the pandemic continues to pose a public health crisis. People from nearly every age group and profession — children , parents , college students , and frontline workers — have struggled with their mental health over the past two-plus years. Those with preexisting physical and/or...

It has escaped no one’s attention that there is a major military conflict going on in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine. Turn on the Evening News, listen to the radio, or scroll through your social media news feed, and you'll see evidence of gross atrocities, senseless violence and doomsayers suggesting that this is the start of a world war. In the midst of all of this, how do you guard against fear and anxiety and protect your own mental health as well as that of your children? I...

By Renee Menart, Photo: Rob Marmion/Shutterstock, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, April 1, 2022 Children’s books centered on characters involved in the justice system can support kids with incarcerated parents and offer a compassionate window into this experience for broad young audiences. Incarceration is harmful not only to people held in confinement but to the health of their children , who, for example, may experience post-traumatic stress from witnessing a parent’s arrest or...

By Matt Bruenig, Cavan Images/Getty Images, The New York Times, April 9, 2022 In some European countries, parents can choose between sending their children to heavily subsidized day care or receiving a stipend from the government to take care of them at home. In most parts of America, parents of babies and toddlers have neither option. The United States is a global outlier among developed countries for its lack of government support for child care. That’s why it’s notable that New York State...

While fewer children and youth have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, the COVID-19 pandemic has still had a major impact on their lives. Though typically resilient to everyday stressors, children and youth are dealing with new challenges due to COVID-19 , like social distancing, changes to their routines, and a lost sense of security and safety, making them especially vulnerable to feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed. For some children, these challenges are exacerbated by the...

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022 THE PALACE AT SOMERSET PARK 333 DAVIDSON AVENUE FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ 08873 Click here to register Join us at the 2022 Early Relational Health (ERH) Summit to hear from national experts and learn how foundational relationships between young children and their caregivers impact physical health, child development, social well-being, and resilience. This summit is designed to bring together forward-thinking pediatric healthcare professionals, early childcare providers,...

Note: A CDC update provided a link to a new page on the CDC website on Creating Positive Childhood Experiences. It includes sections on "What are ACEs" and "Everyone has a role to play" (parents and caregivers, coworkers, and everyone) in creating safe and healthy conditions for all children, including community programs and policies. It includes a 3-minute video and Resources section. Healthy and happy childhoods start now. Learn how you can help! Children and families thrive when they have...