How to Help Teens Put Less Pressure on Themselves
This is a really tough time for teens. I know what you’re thinking—the teen years have always been tough. Youth mental health is in crisis. What’s been going on? Read more ›
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7 Ways Parents Can Help Kids Persist at Tasks They Resist
Children will avoid expending energy on tasks for all sorts of reasons, whether they think they’re boring, irrelevant or frustrating, or they want to protect their ego or feel pressure to perform. Although it can be easy to engage in a battle of wills, here are seven more productive ways that caregivers can help children overcome their own resistance and accomplish hard things. Read more ›
Parents Who Raise Resilient, Socially Intelligent Kids Do These 5 Things
Kids, especially teens and tweens, sometimes need validation that what they are thinking and feeling is normal and okay. In fact, psychologists believe that validation is one of the most powerful parenting tools, and yet it is often left out of traditional behavioral parent training programs. Read more ›
Giving Up On A Perfect Recovery Actually Helped Me Heal From My Eating Disorder
More than a decade of my life, from my early teens to early 20s, was largely defined by my obsessive food and body rituals. I counted calories so closely that I eventually stopped needing to track them, running a list in my mind as I measured out tiny portions. I refused to visit friends in other cities, worried about when and how I would exercise. I starved myself most of the day and ate mindlessly at night, beat myself up for it, then started the cycle all over again the next day. Read more ›
When Not Paying Attention in Class Isn’t What It Seems
High school junior Nick Belsaguy pulled a lot of all-nighters in December. He was in his backyard woodshop, crafting laser-engraved cutting boards until 4 a.m.
“(Woodworking) lets me go from the start of ideas in my mind then to a complete finished product,” the 16-year-old entrepreneur said. “I just love seeing that.”
That passion and focus rarely gets tapped at school, though. Nick said he sometimes rushes through classwork so he can use class time to respond to client inquiries or create laser designs on school software. Read more ›
Do Masks in School Affect Kids’ Speech and Social Skills?
Some parents express worry that masks might interfere with children’s ability to learn or to socialize. Other parents fear that unmasking will lead to more COVID-19 cases.
Amid the debate, a small but growing body of research is offering hints that masks do not have a significant impact on speech or social skills. Read more ›
10 Tips for Building Resilience in Children and Teens
We tend to idealize childhood as a carefree time, but youth alone offers no shield against the emotional hurts, challenges, and traumas many children face. Children can be asked to deal with problems ranging from adapting to a new classroom or online schooling to bullying by peers or even struggles at home. Add to that the uncertainties that are part of growing up in a complex world, and childhood can be anything but carefree. The ability to thrive despite these challenges arises from the skills of resilience. Read more ›
Connecting With Your Preteen
Staying connected as kids approach the teen years and become more independent may become a challenge for parents, but it’s as important as ever — if not more so now. Read more ›
How to Talk to Your Kids About the Situation in Ukraine
written by Liza Bennigson, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications
Last night, my daughter snuck upstairs to say (another) goodnight as I was curled up on the couch, watching the news. While I did manage to quickly hide my secret chocolate stash under a throw blanket, I didn’t pause the TV in time to prevent her from the jarring sight of families desperately fleeing a bombed out apartment building in Ukraine. She looked at me, panic-stricken. “Are we in a war?” she asked. She’s nine, and I didn’t know what to say. Read more ›
How to Talk to Kids About Gender
Discussing gender can help kids feel more confident in themselves and supported by their parents and caregivers, says Dr. Christy Olezeski, director of Yale’s pediatric gender program, which helps people ages three to 25 who are grappling with questions about their gender. Read more ›
