Trauma-Informed Parenting

By Rachel Daem, CNN, June 29, 2022 When Justine Larson's son came out as transgender at age 11, she didn't know how to react. Despite being supportive of LGBTQ communities, Larson struggled to accept that her child, assigned female at birth, would have a different life than she imagined. "We didn't give it as much attention as maybe we should have," she said of her and her husband's response. Their child "basically got pretty depressed and even was having some suicidal thoughts." Feeling...

By Lisa Deaderick, The San Diego Union-Tribune, June 12, 2022 Experts with the American Psychological Association and the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress offer guidance on how to help children and teens with their mental health after exposure to events of mass violence, like the latest string of mass shootings in the U.S. The most recent string of mass shootings across the country — from a grocery store in New York , a church in California and an elementary school in Texas , to a...

American Psychological Association, Updated July 6, 2022 The pandemic pushed stress to historic highs. Here are healthy ways for children and teens to cope. In the short term, stress can push a child to practice for her piano recital or inspire a teen to study when he’d rather be out with friends. But c hronic stress —for example, from unrelenting pandemic-related pressures, social unrest, or violence—is different. Left unchecked, long-term stress can contribute to a long list of physical...

These videos from Mount Sinai Parenting Center offer parents information on topics like sleep, safety, and development timed to coincide with each pediatric well visit. This video series was designed to help families find early moments of connection and strengthen discussions with providers at each primary care visit. Parents can access the videos here . Parents can also text SPARKS to 1-844-650-1210 to sign up to receive the videos by text. Pediatricians can access training on how to...

The Perspectives on Early Relational Health Series , a suite of videos from the Center for the Study of Social Policy, includes four sessions during which experts share their perspectives on the importance of foundational early relationships. Each session is between 15 and 25 minutes long, and the presenters include parents, pediatricians, researchers, providers, and other experts. The goal of the series to inspire new insights and support for the movement to promote early relationships so...

Children begin very early in life taking in spoken and unspoken messages about race; it permeates nearly every aspect of life—in the books read to them and those they read, the movies they watch, the music they listen to, the conversations around them, and the relationships and interactions they observe. A resource developed by EmbraceRace seeks to equip parents and caregivers with useful tips they can use to help guide and shape their child's education and perception of race. 16 Ways to...

If you're worried about your child's risk for suicide , you are not alone. In 2021, emergency departments across the U.S. noted a sharp rise in 12-to-17-year-olds needing treatment for suicidal thoughts or actions. And in a recent federal survey , more than 4 in 10 high school students reported feeling "persistently sad or hopeless," while 1 in 5 said they'd thought about suicide. Grief , isolation and fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are possible causes. But experts say the pressures...

Parents and families have a powerful role in supporting children’s learning, health, and well-being at home and at school. When parents are engaged in their children’s school activities and initiatives, children get better grades, choose healthier behaviors, and have better social skills. Students who have parents involved in their school lives also are more likely to avoid unhealthy behaviors and they are less likely to be emotionally distressed. Positive relationships and coping skills...

Executive function and self-regulation (EF/SR) skills provide critical supports for learning and development, and while we aren’t born with these skills, we are born with the potential to develop them through interactions and practice. Our activities guide offers a variety of age-appropriate activities and games to support and strengthen various components of EF/SR in children. Each chapter contains activities suitable for a different age group, ranging from 6-18 months to adolescents. The...

By Christina Caron, Image by Rachel Levit Ruiz, The New York Times, June 16, 2022 The editor of a new book of essays shares how Black men can attend to their mental health while growing their families. This year Father’s Day will fall on June 19, or Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the United States after the Civil War. And for Michael D. Hannon, an associate professor of counseling at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., that...

By Sophie J. Balk, MD, FAAP, HealthyChildren.org Many parents know that very loud noise can hurt kids' hearing. With more kids and teens using personal listening devices like headphones and earbuds for music, videos and classes, it's especially important to be aware of sound that's too loud. It's also important to know that too-noisy environments can have harmful effects that go beyond hearing. Read on to learn more. [ Please click here to continue reading about the effects of environmental...

The California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project offers a series of free, evidence-based video and print resources that caregivers and educators can use to teach their kids critical mental health and coping skills. The project was born of an innovative partnership between the state of California and the Child Mind Institute. Please click here to learn more and access the resources! Also available in Spanish!