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Teens and Sleep (Summer 2023)
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I KNOW SLEEP IS ESSENTIAL FOR EVERYONE, BUT HOW DOES THAT LOOK DIFFERENT FOR A TEENAGER?
You are not alone if you get frustrated with why your teenager can have moments of seeming so cranky and tired. You are also not alone in wondering why it looks so different at this age and what adolescents really do need in terms of getting that rest. Check out some resources below to understand more about the facts of teens and sleep!
- Teens and Sleep - This overview gives insight into why teens have unique sleep challenges and some tips to help
- Teens and Sleep: Why You Need It and How to Get Enough - This scientific article delves into why sleep can be hard for teens and when to be concerned.
- How Much Sleep Do I Need? – This highlights how much sleep is necessary, why it is important, and how to get more sleep.
More Teen Sleep Resources!
- Why Teenagers Need More Sleep (And How Much) (SleepOpolis)
- Importance of Sleep for Teenagers (Weill Cornell Medicine)
- Sleep in Adolescents (Nationwide Children’s)
- How Much Sleep Do Teenagers Need? (The Sleep Doctor)
Thinking About On-Screen Violence (Summer 2023)
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ON-SCREEN VIOLENCE…EVEN IF IT’S NOT “REAL,” CAN IT STILL HAVE EFFECTS ON MY TEENAGER?
It’s no secret that television shows, movies, and music videos of today depict more violence than years ago. Ratings and their criteria have greatly changed over the decades, and the pandemic created conditions for more screen time than ever. With all of this comes the normalizing of violence that is generally atypical to our real lives. The bigger problem, however, is this normalization happening while a brain is still developing in childhood and adolescence. Check out the resource links below to get more insight into the potential impact of on-screen violence for young people.
(Institute of Digital Media and Child Development)
(American Academy of Pediatrics)
(Verywell Family)
(Lifespan)
(Turning Life On)
(Verywell Mind)
(Nemours Kids Health)
- TV Violence and Children(American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry)
Helping My Child Build & Maintain Healthy Relationships (Summer 2023)
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FRIENDSHIPS CAN BE SO HARD FOR TEENS…HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD?
We all understand the value of friendships, especially during middle and high school years. We also understand how hard it can be, especially for some teenagers, to navigate starting and maintaining those relationships. The resources below, including a recorded Diman forum, help provide some tools to best support you and your child in the friendship process.
- Helping My Child Build and Maintain Healthy Relationships – This virtual Diman Family Connection parent forum, led by the Katie Brown Educational Program, explores best practices!
- The Importance of Teen Friendships – While friendships are important at any age, learn more about the significant of forming healthy friendships as a teenager.
- My Child has No Friends: 10 Tips for Parents – Learn more about the importance of friendships, ways to help your teens make friends, and the connection of unhealthy relationships to risky behaviors.
- Helping Children Make Friends – This Harvard article discusses how to help practice relationship skills and balancing support versus hovering.
- 25 Tips to Help Your Teen Make Friends: It Doesn’t Have to Be Hard – Help your teenage child battle anxiety and loneliness with regards to building relationships with these simple suggestions.
- How to Help Your Child Rekindle Relationships at Any Age – Boston Children’s Hospital explores what friendship looks like at different ages and when to look for more support.
Typical Teen or Time to Worry (Summer 2023)
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HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS IS JUST REGULAR TEENAGE BEHAVIOR? WHERE DO I GET HELP IF IT’S NOT?
As parents, we all have questions about whether what our teenager is experiencing and displaying is normal or concerning. We question how much we should do to help relieve their difficult emotions vs. let them build resilience and independence. While there are no easy answers, there are certainly resources that can help!
- Typical Teen or Time to Worry? – Check out our recorded parent forum with Colette Potts from Response to Risk Research of Beth Israel Deaconess Center as she explores normal behaviors and atypical concerns…a very informative presentation! (And a special thank you to her for so much of the info in this newsletter!)
- MA Behavioral Health Help Line – This website gives more information on 24/7 assistance to connect you directly to clinical help, when and where you need it. Even if you’re not sure what kind of help or treatment you may need, they help guide you. It’s free, confidential, and no health insurance is required. There is also interpretation in 200+ languages.
- Handhold MA – Explore more guidance to help you through your child’s mental health journey. Learn more about how much to worry, what you can do, and who can help in a very user friendly format!
- SPACE – SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions and is a parent-based and evidence-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related problems.
- Response to Risk – Their mission is to advance the understanding of risk for psychosis and to help at-risk youth and their families. Aside from a wealth of resources, you can access free youth mental health and assessments to participate in consultation and studies with compensation.
The Effects of Hypersexualized Media & Porn (Summer 2023)
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CAN ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUALIZED IMAGES HAVE THAT BIG OF AN EFFECT ON MY CHILD?
Everyone in today’s society is bombarded with sexual images, including porn…and children are no exception to this exposure. Culture Reframed aims to help build young people’s resilience and resistance to hypersexualized media and porn by helping to support parents in this topic. Below are some of their shared resources on understanding the harmful effects, especially on the developing brain, as well as tools for adults to guide kids of all ages in this growth and understanding.
- Culture Reframed – Diman Adult Training – This parent and staff forum led by Dr. Gail Dines of Culture Reframed promises to engage you in understanding the epidemic of pornography and hypersexualized media.
- Culture Reframed Parents Program – This page provides an overview to different resources and supports available for learning more about supporting our young people with regard to hypersexualized media and porn
- Free Programs/Courses – Sign up for free education specific to speaking to your teens, speaking to your tweens, and further enrichment courses!
- The Talk: How Adults Can Promote Young People’s Healthy Relationships and Prevent Misogyny and Sexual Harassment – In partnership with Harvard, this article provides key findings and recommendations for addressing these difficult topics.
- Responding to Your Child Accessing Porn – This quick slide show program can help you keep a child-focused response in discussing this concern.
- Cyberbullying Research Center: Parent Tips – This organization provides parents quick-hit fact sheets, guides, and tips to deal with various issues of technology challenges for children.
Building Resilience (Summer 2023)
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RESILIENCE IS HARD! HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD BUILD THE NECESSARY SKILLS?
It is hard as parents to walk the line of protecting our teenagers and taking care of their needs, while also fostering independence and normalizing the range of human emotions. We cannot, nor should not, protect our children from stress and difficult feelings, but it is important to explore how to build the healthy resilience that they need to move forward in their own journeys. Read more below to explore ideas on fostering healthy skills to grow successfully into adulthood!
- How to Build “Old School” Resilience in a “New-Age” World - Check out our recorded parent forum with Taneyri DeJesus from Project Legacy X as she discusses various areas of building resilience in our youth, including developing healthy boundaries, tools to navigate complex emotions, and helping young people to self-advocate.
- Resilience: 5 Ways to Help Children and Teens Learn It – This Harvard article describes ways to build the ability to overcome stress and hardship through coping, which can be done at any age!
- Building Resilience in Children – The American Academy of Pediatrics describes the famous 7 C’s to develop strength, acquire skills to cope, and be prepared for any challenges of the future.
- Teach Your Teenager to Be Resilient – Learn about why resilience is important, what resilience looks like, and lots of tips to develop it effectively.
- Building Resilience – Put the bubble wrap aside for your children and explore how to build internal strength rather than creating an external shield!
- 10 Tips to Build Skills – Resilience can be learned, and these tips will help young adults learn how to “bounce back” and adapt in hard times.
Ideas for Engaging My Teen This Summer (Spring 2023)
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SUMMER BREAK IS ALMOST HERE!
While the warm weather and break from school may excite many of our teenage children, we also look for ways for them to be active and productive as well! Below are some different ideas to help your teenager be engaged in the summer ahead…
- Learn More About Local Summer Programming – Discover more about local activities, camps, free lunch in the parks, workshops/programs, educational opportunities, and overall summer safety tips
- Check Out Youth Employment Opportunities – Fall River Youth Connections is a great way to help youth find a job, including assistance with job applications, resume writing, interviewing and other work readiness skills!
- Start an Exercise/Gym Routine – for Free! – Planet Fitness offers teens between the ages of 14-19 the opportunity to work out in their gyms for free all summer long!
- Volunteer – Utilize the Volunteer SouthCoast website to check out local volunteer opportunities!
Parenting My Child with Suspected or Diagnosed Depression (Spring 2023)
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IS MY CHILD DEPRESSED? HOW CAN I HELP??
As adults, we can forget the stressors of adolescence, and our young people are struggling now more than ever with depression, suicide, and other mental health concerns. Below are some resources to help us educate ourselves on what depression may look like for teens, as well as some ways to support them through their difficult times.
- 5 Ways for Parents to Help Their Depressed Teens – It is natural for parents to feel frustrated and helpless, but you can learn ways to help your teen regain happiness through understanding more about their perspectives.
- Depression in Teens: How Parents Can Help – All teens can feel sad and moody, but other changes can indicate depression. Learn more about how to tell if your teen is depressed, why this might happen, and potential treatment options.
- Parent’s Guide to Teen Depression – Recognize the depression and suicide signs in teens, as well as the differences between teen and adult depression, while also discovering other important information about causes and how to communicate.
- What Not to Say to a Depressed Teenager (& What to Say Instead) - Sometimes it is known that parents will unknowingly say things that make their teens feel worse instead of better. Learn more about what can help and what can hurt (and why) in these difficult situations.
- On Our Sleeves: The Movement for Children’s Mental Health – Explore great How-To Guides and Mental Health Resources, as well as Home Conversation Starters.
NEED IMMEDIATE HELP? CALL OR TEXT 988!
More crisis resources can be found here!
Sexting Education & Prevention (Spring 2023)
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“SEXTING” IS SERIOUS!
With electronics being so accessible to youth today, sexting is a huge concern in today’s society. “Sexting” is using digital technology to send, receive, and/or share sexual messages, photos, or videos. This can be done through text messages, social media postings, and more. There can be very serious legal, mental, emotional, and overall negative future consequences for sexting, especially for our young people. It’s important for everyone to educate themselves on the facts of sexting!
- The Dangers of Sexting: What Parents Need to Know – Learn more about major concerns of sexting, its connection to pornography, and essential parent advice
- Learn about Sexting - Get insight on the reasons why young people may get involved in sexting, what the law says and the impact it can have on their digital wellbeing
- Teen Sexting: What Parents Need to Know - 1 in 4 teens receive sexually explicit texts; An expert explains what you can do to encourage your teens to be smart with their smartphones
- What Parents Need to Know about Sexting – More information about how and when to talk to your kids about sexting
- 11 Facts about Sexting – Learn more statistics about youth and sexting, as well as how to get involved in the movement to take action
- Sexting and Impacts on Young People – Read more about the specific risks and consequences for youth
- Sexting: Talking with Teenagers – Teenagers who understand the risks are able to make more responsible choices; Help protect teenagers by talking about responsible decisions, healthy relationships, and consent
Dealing with Stress! (Spring 2023)
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STRESS?!?!
Stress is definitely worth talking about and understanding! Like anxiety, not all stress is a bad thing…but long term stress can have significant impact on mental and physical health. It is so important to work on skills toward resilience while knowing we can recognize stress in our lives and how to manage it in a healthy way. Please check out the below resources to help families through the challenges around stress!
- Tips for Parents and Caregivers - Identify warning signs that your child may be struggling with their mental health and learn how to recognize when they need help
- Getting to Know Your Brain: Dealing with Stress – Watch this video about what stress and anxiety are, where they come from, and different ways of coping with them
- Stress vs Anxiety – Find out the differences between the two and how to cope!
- 10 Ways to Manage Everyday Stress (for Teens) – You can’t avoid stress, but you can work on ways to help you manage the regular stress
- Help Your Teen Cope with Stress - Review common causes of teenage stress and how you can help them manage it
- Ready to Snap? Tips for Stressed Out Parents – Check out these tips to help you keep your cool when it really counts
Supporting My Child with Anxiety (Spring 2023)
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SUPPORTING MY CHILD WITH ANXIETY
There is a normal and healthy amount of anxiety we should all experience in life, but when anxiety becomes overwhelming for our children, it can make us feel helpless in supporting them. Please check out the below resources to help families through the challenges surrounding anxiety in our children!
- Whole Child Counseling Printable Resources for Anxiety – includes apps to help with anxiety, book suggestions for youth and adults, and a free subscriber resource library
- WorryWiseKids.org – numerous resources to identify and support anxiety, understand causes and treatments, as well as great parent “Do’s and Don’ts” to work with your child best
- Child Mind Institute: Anxiety – includes quick guide to anxiety in children, why childhood anxiety often goes undetected and its consequences, as well as videos and information on different types of anxiety
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – information specific to anxiety in children, as well as Parents Medication Guides
- Hope + Wellness – 24 Resources for Children and Teens with Anxiety and Their Families
Social Emotional Learning in the Home (Spring 2023)
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WHAT IS SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL)?
According to CASEL, the experts on Social Emotional Learning, “SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.”
WHY IS SEL IMPORTANT?
When we strengthen the areas of Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationships Skills, & Responsible Decision-Making for our young people, research repeatedly demonstrates it has a positive impact on a wide range of outcomes, including academic performance, healthy relationships, mental wellness, and more. The more we encourage this development in our school, community, and homes, the stronger our young people will become!
LEARN MORE
- SEL 101 (video)
- Social and Emotional Learning: Strategies for Parents
- 10 Ways Parents Can Bring Social-Emotional Learning Home
- SEL for Parents (video)
- How to Teach Social-Emotional Learning at Home
Vaping Education & Prevention (Winter 2023)
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Did you know that 1 vape pod equals 20 cigarettes? While cigarettes may seem to be less of a concern today, vaping has proven to be an addictive product with the same dangers. There is even greater concern for young people who are vaping because their developing brains (that keep developing until their mid-20’s!) make them more prone to addiction. Please see the below resources that include information on vaping dangers, prevention, and quitting.
INFORMATION
- Diman Direction Parent/Guardian Forum: Vaping 101 (2/15/23)
- Facts and Information about Vaping – various brochures and fact sheets
to help you gather more information on vaping
VIDEOS
- Vapes and Cigarettes: Get the Facts
- “Bad Taste” Facts. No Filter
- “Confusion” Get Outraged! Vaping Campaign for Parents
- Get the Facts about Quitting Smoking and E-Cigarettes
HOW TO QUIT
Community Resources (Winter 2023)
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The Greater Fall River area offers many supports for families in our community, and we want to make sure you have quick access at your fingertips! Please see the information below for important resources.
- Greater Fall River Community Resource video – short video regarding where to access local and state support, as well as helpful apps
- Greater Fall River Community Resource Guide - up-to-date information on emergency services, counseling services, basic needs, disability services, job training, homelessness support, legal services, and much more (also available in Portuguese and Spanish)
- Fall River Food Pantries/Soup Kitchens - up-to-date information on local food access for 7 days/week
- Fuel Assistance for Heat – heat assistance (can also call 1-800-632-8175)
- Rent or Mortgage Help – housing help
- Mass 211 (also accessed 24/7 by calling 2-1-1) - access to various Massachusetts resources and supports, including food banks, after school care, utility assistance, transportation, etc.
- The Family Resource Center - single point of entry to access community-based, culturally competent family support services (45 Rock Street, Fall River)
- Internet and Computer Assistance – help for paying for internet or a computer
- Behavioral Health Help Line – helps families navigate the behavioral health system and access treatment, including mobile crisis services (can call or text at 833-773-2445)
- Need to Talk? You Matter – emergency resources, including confidential 24/7 hotline information
- Updated COVID SNAP Benefits – information regarding upcoming DTA changes, as well as tips on how to get the most from SNAP
Balancing Screen Time (Winter 2023)
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As parents/guardians, we recognize that our children live in a different world than we were raised in with regard to screen time, especially social media. It can be stressful to find a balance of healthy communication in society today. Please review the documents below with different ideas and perspectives on how to balance screen time with children of all ages (and ourselves!)
- Parent Zone: Risks to be Aware of on TikTok
- NetSmartz: Digital Safety Lessons
- Balanced Screen Time Spotlight – article compilation
Keeping Kids Safe and Secure Online (U.S. Attorney General)
