Lesson Tag: feelings

Even before the Pandemic, mental health disorders were the most common diseases of childhood (https://childmind.org/2015-childrens-mental-health-report/). Due to the dramatic increase in children and teens entering hospital emergency departments, some are declaring a pediatric mental health emergency. Whether your child is doing fine and you want to prevent future mental health issues, or your child just doesn’t seem like their usual self or has actually declared suicidal thoughts, you can help. 

Mental health is our emotional, psychological and social well-being, according to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Parents with Mental Health Literacy recognize that their own mental health affects their children’s well-being and that children’s behavior is sometimes a call for help. Mental health literacy is the ability to prevent, recognize and cope with mental health conditions. Participants in this class will be able to:

• Identify and apply relationship strategies and everyday habits that support good mental health in children and teens 
• Recognize the impact of parents’ mental health on the family
• Recognize and respond to signs in children and teens that more support is needed

A better relationship with your child starts with emotional intelligence. 

Emotional intelligence increases children's self-worth and cooperation, it improves communication and strengthens the parent-child connection. Family conflict decreases with strong emotional intelligence and it impacts all of your child's future relationships. 

Many educators assume that gifted students are more capable than their peers of handling social emotional challenges. That is not always the case. Gifted students can also struggle with anxiety, depression, and social difficulties. Families can help their children by strengthening social emotional skills. 

After this class educators will be able to:

• Understand the relationship between parents’ social emotional health and children’s.
• Help youth address mental health and trauma
• Use mindfulness to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression
• Give youth the skills to make and keep friends

Human beings are built to reflect each other’s emotions. When children display intense feelings and behaviors, our brains naturally reflect those. We start to feel stressed, angry, fearful, or overwhelmed, just like our kids. The most helpful thing we can do is to develop a brain calming practice and make it part of our daily routine. Participants in this class will be able to:

• Recognize how strongly the way you handle stress affects your child’s behavior
• Apply specific brain calming strategies to stay calm and think clearly during challenging times
• Learn four different techniques to calm the brain to begin to pick the one that will work for you

Many parents and educators assume that gifted students are more capable than their peers of handling social emotional challenges. That is not always the case. Gifted students actually struggle with anxiety, depression, and social difficulties at higher rates. Families can help their children by strengthening social emotional skills at home. Participants will gain practical skills in supporting the social emotional health of their gifted children.

When youth understand how their brain works and what they can do to strengthen brain health, their social emotional well-being and motivation to learn increases. In this session, you will learn about how stress affects different parts of the brain. You will understand the relationship between brain functions and how well we can manage emotions, which affects both academics and overall well-being.