Protecting Your Child’s Mental Health

All children are sad, anxious, irritable, or angry at times. Occasionally, they may find it challenging to keep agreements, focus on tasks, or interact with others. In most cases, these are just typical phases in their development. However, these behaviors may indicate a more serious problem. Without attention, mental health conditions can prevent children from reaching their full potential. Whether you want to prevent future issues, your child just doesn’t seem like their usual self, or you have significant concerns, the good news is that you can help.

Whether your child is doing fine and you want to prevent future mental health issues, or they just don't seem like their usual self, or they have actually declared concerning thoughts, you can help. Learn relationship strategies and everyday habits that support good mental health in teens and recognize red flags that indicate more help is needed.

Everyone encounters stress and it can actually be good for our bodies and brains—if we know how to cope with it. Learn a variety of techniques to reduce your stress, in the moment and over the long term.

One in three children will experience an anxiety disorder before adulthood. Unless treated, childhood anxiety doesn’t just go away, and many will grow up to be anxious adults. If you’re wondering what to say to your anxious child to help them, or if you’re simply curious what symptoms of child anxiety look like, this workshop is for you.

Starting at 12 years old, your teen’s brain is in a process of intense physical, cognitive and social development. They are becoming more aware of themselves and forming identity – recognizing and deciding who they really are. As their brain changes and struggles to adapt to their social environment, they may sometimes be moody, anxious and irritable. If you notice them becoming withdrawn, lacking energy, changing eating or sleeping habits, not enjoying things they used to, even fighting or getting into trouble with peers and adults, they might be experiencing depression.

Kids grieve differently than adults, but they experience the same wide range of strong emotions that adults feel. While there is no one size fits all approach, there are strategies and tips you can use to help your child cope. In this interactive workshop, you'll connect with a Peace At Home expert to get answers to your questions about this tough issue.

Child and adolescent therapists tend to differ widely in their approaches to including parents in treatment. However, it’s helpful when you understand your child's goals in therapy, adjust parenting approaches based on your child's challenges and recognize when your child is making progress. Join this workshop for more clarity on how you can help your child reach their treatment goals.

Evaluate your personal and family practices and learn how to make some much-needed changes to how you respond to stress.

If you feel like you don’t have the bandwidth to be the parent you really want to be, you are not alone. Join us to discuss parental burnout and what you can do about it.

Mindful parenting is not some new scientific discovery. Rather, it is an inner practice that can be simply embedded in our daily life and is waiting for you to discover.

Teen development can be confusing and inspiring, sometimes at the same time. One moment your teen is making perfect sense and you are feeling optimistic about the way they are maturing. The next moment they seem swamped with emotion and dramatic in ways you just don’t understand. We will discuss some of your big questions.

It has been said that perfectionism is a trait that makes life an endless report card on accomplishments or appearances. Join us to discover how perfectionism can affect you and your children, and strategies that you can use to reduce it within your family. The tendency toward perfectionism has increased significantly among young people over the past 30 years. It can be associated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders and even suicide. The needs to feel accepted and to be cared about tend to drive perfectionism and without treatment, may get worse over time.

Adjusting to a new school, new friends, new childcare, new family structure through divorce or other family changes can be both positive and daunting at the same time. Guiding children through these experiences while we are having feelings at the same time can be a challenge. It helps to keep in mind that processing change actually strengthens resilience. Trying to protect your child from having to make changes all the time really isn’t helpful. So what does help? Kids who are new to change need a little extra support to recognize and address emotions as well as strategies to solve problems and feel at ease. Let’s talk together to gain an overview of the common stresses associated with major points of transition in family life like entering kindergarten, graduating from high school, even “boomerang” adult children returning home, and more. You’ll have a chance to understand your own reactions to change as well as those of your child so that you can gracefully and lovingly offer support during these exciting and sometimes challenging times.

Parents are reeling from recent acts of violence and now thinking about Texas families who lost young ones attending school where they should be safe. You may be feeling overwhelmed with fear, sinking into despair, totally disconnected as losses mount up, or shifting among all of these sensations. At the same time, you may be finding it nearly impossible to drop your child off at school but want to protect them from fear. Coming together with others and sharing our experiences is one piece of repairing these emotional injuries.

Understanding the roots of our discipline practices may be important in understanding why we choose certain practices and how they affect our children. During this workshop we’ll consider the role of slavery in shaping beliefs about discipline and practices assumed to be "cultural." We’ll also look at research about the kind of discipline that is helpful and affirming to kids and increases cooperation.