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 ›
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 ›
Simple interactions between you and your children help build children’s brains foundation for all future learning. Vroom is a set of tools and resources designed to inspire families to turn everyday moments into “brain building moments” by layering activities that are essential to healthy brain development onto existing routines. Read more ›
There’s a picture that went viral early in the pandemic that became a symbol of how hard emergency remote schooling was for the youngest students. The image showed a 5-year-old student sitting at a small desk in his family’s kitchen, facing a laptop computer. He’s holding a pencil in one hand, pulling up the neck of his T-shirt with his other hand to wipe tears away from his eyes. Read more ›
It’s important to support the mental health of all children—before, during and after challenges arise — and to support parents’ and caregivers’ mental health too. Read more ›
Everybody has those inner gremlins talking to them, bringing up the worst thoughts, second-guessing their instincts and being generally unkind.
Where exactly do those critical voices come from? And why are they so mean? It’s negative self-talk, and no one is exempt from it. Read more ›
School districts across the U.S. say they are seeing a surge of student misbehavior in the return to in-person learning, after months of closures and disruptions due to the pandemic.
Schools have seen an increase in both minor incidents, like students talking in class, and more serious issues, such as fights and gun possession. Read more ›
Movies offer our children an engaging way to learn about important principles.
Big Life Journal’s Entertainment Holiday Pack, has family movie suggestions that will allow your child to witness stories of perseverance, personal growth, kindness, compassion, and friendship. Read more ›
Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected. What we think can affect how we feel and act. And what we do can affect how we think and feel. Changing one can help change the others. We can use this fact to help ourselves feel better and live the way we want to live. Read more ›
What is mindfulness, really, and does it even make a difference?
Listen in to this Voices of Compassion podcast episode as we talk with Jennifer Salomon, Occupational Therapist at CHC, about the physiology of mindfulness and practical ways to be more present (even for skeptics). Because “as soon as we tune in and recognize that we’re not being mindful, we’re already being mindful.” Read more ›
