World Mental Health Day’s purpose is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. It’s a day to talk about mental health and what more we need to do to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. Here are some activities for children to open the door to self care and caring for their own mental wellbeing throughout their lives. 1. Encourage…
Self-confidence plays a critical role in a student’s academic performance. Confident students are more likely to participate in class, ask questions, and engage in discussions, which enhances their understanding of the subject matter. They are not afraid to tackle challenging assignments or exams, believing in their ability to succeed. This positive mindset can lead to better grades and a more profound grasp of academic content. 1. Set realistic expectations. If the level of an assignment…
Counslr is a text-based mental health support application that provides unlimited access to live texting sessions with licensed professionals, 24/7/365. Users can access support on-demand within two minutes of opening the app, or by scheduled appointment. Through real-time texting, users enjoy one-on-one, private communication with a licensed counselor that can be conducted anytime, anywhere. Counslr was designed to help individuals deal with life’s day-to-day issues, empowering individuals to address concerns while they are “small” to…
A 2022 national survey of nearly 34,000 LGBTQ+ youth, ages 13-24, paints a clear, distressing picture of the trauma endured by LGBTQ+ students in America. Nearly three-quarters reported symptoms of anxiety, 58 percent reported symptoms of depression, and 45 percent said they had seriously considered committing suicide within the past year. However, the survey also shows that educators can make a very big difference. High school and college-aged LGBTQ+ youth who found their schools and…
While active shooter drills have become common practice across much of the country, some experts and parents worry they may do more harm than good, particularly if they involve simulation. One of those critics is Dr. David Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. He spoke to NPR’s Steve Inskeep about how high-intensity drills can harm students’ mental health, and shared what alternatives he would…
Many children have trouble paying attention in class at some point in their academic career. When this happens, especially with young students, it leaves parents wondering why their child can’t focus—and whether he or she could have a learning difficulty. It’s important to know that not every student who has a hard time focusing in school has a learning difficulty such as ADD or ADHD. In some cases, the concentration issues children have in school…
When your child is younger, you as a parent have a lot of control over his social life, selecting whom he should interact with, the length of the interaction and where the interaction takes place. That changes when your child reaches school age. Suddenly, these decisions about friendships— with whom to be friends, how much time to spend with a friend and how to spend that time together — are made largely on his own…
You may have never thought specifically about teaching your child about forgiveness, but it’s an essential social-emotional lesson we all must learn. Maybe you’ve apologized to your child only to have them stare back at you blankly, or maybe your child had a misunderstanding with their friend on the playground, and even after it had been resolved they refused to play with that friend. Maybe their brother accidentally pushed them and they still lashed out…
How good are parents at seeing their kids? We mean really seeing them for who they are — perceiving them, making sense of them, and responding to them in timely and effective ways. This is how your child comes to experience the emotional sensation not only of belonging and of feeling felt, but also of being known. Science suggests, and experience supports, that when parents show up for their kids and give them the opportunity…
Psychologists have long warned about overscheduling, which undermines children’s ability to develop non-academic skills that they’ll need in adulthood, from coping with setbacks to building strong relationships. Now a trio of economists say they’ve been able to calculate some of these psychological costs. In a new data analysis published in the February 2024 issue of the Economics of Education Review, three economists from the University of Georgia and the Federal Reserve Board found that students…
