Category: Healthy Parenting

‘The stigma is winning’: Parents strain to juggle jobs and their kids’ mental health

April 6, 2022 Sharika Soukup

Alicia Lee learned early on that her child’s mental health disorder did not respect working hours. Supporting her 13-year-old son, who has been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and other conditions, involves therapy appointments, paperwork, case coordination, medication, and lots and lots of time on the phone. “I have to do all that…

Healthy Parenting

Parents told teen to ‘suck it up’ when he asked for mental health help before school shooting, police testify

April 5, 2022 Sharika Soukup

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Months before Ethan R. Crumbley was accused of opening fire on his classmates in the hallways of Oxford High School, killing four of them, he told a friend he was in the grips of a mental breakdown and needed help. When he told his parents, they rebuffed him, told him to…

Healthy Parenting

When parents get Medicaid, it can benefit the health of their kids too | Columnists

February 28, 2022 Sharika Soukup

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Maithreyi Gopalan, Penn State (THE CONVERSATION) The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Low-income parents who live in states that expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act are 4.7% more likely to say…

Healthy Parenting

On Parenting: Nurturing touch is a parenting superpower | Community

February 27, 2022 Sharika Soukup

Samantha Gray Contributed Photo A few parents and I were recently talking about the impact of nurturing touch with our children. Not just out of the blue — it was the subject of the parenting class we were in together. We talked about connecting with our children through the ages with hugs, fist bumps, roughhousing,…

Healthy Parenting

HSE encourage parents to book Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 as portal opens

February 25, 2022 Sharika Soukup

© Getty Images A child receiving a Covid vaccine Parents are now being encouraged by the HSE to book a Covid-19 vaccine online for all children aged five to 11 from today. From Sunday, 20 February 2022, your child can get an appointment for a number of clinics. Dr Lucy Jessop, Director of Public Health,…

Healthy Parenting

Young parents are breaking down ‘reactive’ VS ‘gentle’ parenting in viral TikTok trend

February 24, 2022 Sharika Soukup

TikTok parents are popularizing a more compassionate way to raise kids — and experts agree future generations will thank us for it. It’s called gentle parenting, and thanks to TikTok, it’s becoming a mainstream technique that more and more families are embracing. The term “gentle parenting” might give the impression that kids today are being…

Healthy Parenting

How to talk to your child about their mental health: Experts offer tips to parents and caregivers

February 23, 2022 Sharika Soukup

The Mental Health Project is a Seattle Times initiative focused on covering mental and behavioral health issues. It is funded by Ballmer Group, a national organization focused on economic mobility for children and families. The Seattle Times maintains editorial control over work produced by this team. It can feel extremely scary as a parent or…

Healthy Parenting

How to lower parental anxiety around decisions

February 22, 2022 Sharika Soukup

In the Before Times, I typically saw parents who were anxious about higher-stakes parenting stressors, such as coping with the effects of divorce. But since March 2020, we parents have been reminded every day that it is our job to keep our kids safe. While we were of course aware of this pre-coronavirus, our experiences…

Healthy Parenting