What do you say to a child when yet another act of wild violence dominates the news? How do we help them make sense of the strange and troubling scenes, and so many people saying “never again” even as nothing much seems to change? Working Toward a Positive, Strong,...
It’s one of our very favorite quotes from writer Anne Lamott: We all need to disconnect from time to time, to be fully present to ourselves and to others. It’s a simple form of self-care. It’s even more important for kids, especially when that unplugged time is given...
Two new studies have added to the mountain of evidence for the negative impact of social media on kids’ health and well-being. One, in Psychology of Popular Media, showed that limiting social media led emotionally distressed kids to feel better about their appearance...
Most of us understand that there’s no one single cause of the current youth mental health crisis. Still, it was hard not to cheer a little inside over the news that Seattle Public Schools has filed suit against Facebook, TikTok, and other big social media companies,...
We’ve noticed that our granddaughter has reached the age where friendship skills are very important. She’s been asking us questions about friendships, conflicts, boys and girls, and other things that come along with developing a social self. As many parents know,...
One of the problems with screen time is that it comes at the expense of activities kids need to be engaging in for healthy physical, cognitive, and emotional development – most vitally free play (physical and imaginative alike), face-to-face communication, and sleep....