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In a world that values immediate gratification and ease, it can be challenging to teach kids how to tolerate these feelings without intentional practice.

No parent wants to make things worse for their child, and certainly not when they’re already struggling with mental health symptoms, but explaining what is causing a child’s inner havoc and distress or outer symptoms can be a relief. It can separate the child from the symptoms.

When our children ask us the big questions, such as “Why?” or “What are we going to do?” after a flood, earthquake or hurricane has destroyed their home, community or disrupted daily life, adults can get stuck thinking that they must provide an explanation for the unexplainable.

The start of the school year means new routines, classmates, and teachers. While returning to school brings anticipation and excitement, many students struggle with worries and fears beyond what’s considered the first-day jitters.

As parents we don’t like or want to see our children struggling. But worries, fears and anxieties are a natural part of life, and we have to understand that children go through these processes just like adults do. But as parents and caregivers, we should also be in tune with the degree, severity, frequency, and nature of our children’s fears and worries and know when a child might need some help.

In a world where technology seamlessly integrates into our daily lives, how does one raise a safe, healthy child given these omnipresent social media influences?

When anxiety disrupts a child’s everyday life, the first thing most parents focus on is finding a good therapist for their child or teen to work with. Once parents secure that coveted afternoon slot with an anxiety specialist, they breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Experts Mona Potter, MD and Kathryn Boger, PhD, ABPP recently partnered with ADAA to host an insightful Q&A webinar addressing strategies for parenting children with anxiety and OCD. This blog to addresses the most common themes that emerged from the questions asked during the webinar.

In collaboration with The Reach Institute, Dr. Wallace explains how parents can decrease the impact of anxiety on children and teens to help them function their best and find more joy in their lives.

Shame is “just” a feeling, but it can become very big and very painful. If it feels very big, it doesn’t mean there is something even worse about you, but rather that there are layers to it. We can make it smaller and more manageable by talking about it and listening to it. When you understand it and the feeling is smaller, it will be easier for you to work with it.  

The headlines and the CDC report are indeed alarming, but they should serve as a wakeup call to all of us. Yes, we should think seriously about why we are seeing a steep decline in the mental health of teenage girls, but we have to come together now as parents, family, friends, educators, clinicians, providers, and as a society to support, enhance and establish more preventive measures for our youth.