Talking to Students About Suicide
Suicide can be a very difficult topic to discuss. Teachers often feel helpless to prevent student suicide, but they probably underestimate the impact of their words on their students. Honest and caring conversations about suicide can save lives. Not only can students in emotional pain benefit from these talks, but their peers can begin to recognize warning signs among their friends and gain the courage to act.Read More
Creating a Crisis Safety Plan With Your Child
Are you a planner? As a parent or caregiver, what if there was a way to plan for more than just the monumental moments in life? However, there may be unforeseen moments throughout our children’s lives that lead up to these milestones, and we want to ensure that your child reaches these milestones safely. It is important to help your child develop a crisis safety plan for moments when life may feel a bit too heavy to handle on their own.Read More
Parenting Tips for Suicide Prevention
Suicide is and has been for the last decade, the second leading cause of death for adolescents in the United States. The reasons why suicide occurs are often not well understood, leaving family and friends wondering what could have been done differently. Here are some things you can do as a parent to help your child if there is a concern about suicidal thoughts or actions.Read More
Suicide Warning Signs
People who are thinking of ending their life often exhibit one or more warning signs, either through what they say or what they do. There usually is not one clear reason for why someone may feel suicidal or that suicide is the only answer to their problems. Suicide is preventable and knowing the warning signs allows us to help those around us who may be feeling hopeless.Read More
Using the 5 Senses to Support Your Child’s Mental Health
There are many ways children tell us how they feel and it is not always through words. As we enter another school year, parents, caregivers, teachers, and others need to be aware of the different ways children communicate. One way to “hear” what a child is nonverbally communicating is by analyzing the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.Read More
Last Minute To-Do's Before Back-to-School
Summer vacation will soon be over and the new school year will begin. There are many ways to help get your family off to a great start in the new school year by scheduling doctor appointments early, creating a routine, getting organized, and building a partnership with your child's teacher.Read More
5 Tips to Tackle the Back-to-School Season
Back-to-school season is always a time of nerves, adjustment, and -- let’s be honest -- straight chaos. It is a time of getting back into routine and preparing for the year ahead. Now, we find ourselves also trying to navigate what a (somewhat) post-pandemic world looks like in our schools. Check out these five tips to help families tackle back-to-school season with their children.Read More
End of Summer – Slump or Frenzy?
Summer is slowly coming to an end. Many families are experiencing a mixture of feelings, both positive and negative. Some of the positives are a desire for normalcy while some of the negatives are continuing to worry about the impact of COVID-19. No matter how you are feeling as summer draws to an end, remember, your most important job is to teach your children to be successful adults.Read More
The “Why” Behind Your Child’s Behaviors
When you see or experience a child or teen acting out, what is often your first thought? For most, that first reactionary thought is not one of empathy nor is it thinking about the deeper meaning behind the behavior. If you take a step back and search to understand why a child may be having a certain “undesirable” attitude or outburst, it can solve the problem in a faster, friendlier, and less stressful way.Read More
Busting Your Child’s Summer Boredom
For parents of school-aged children, the phrase “I’m bored” can crop up in the middle of summer. Trying to fill your child’s time may add stress or anxiety to your already busy schedule. Check out these four tips on how to help bridge your child's boredom.Read More
