1 Month Check-in!
Can you believe it has been one month since school has been back in session? The time is flying. For this month's counselor's corner, I wanted to briefly update you on what the kids have been learning when I go into their classroom for social-emotional learning, and, share some parent resources from the "Critical Issues Facing Children and Adolescents" conference I recently was able to attend.
This first month, we began learning and/or reviewing mindfulness. Mindfulness is a big "first step" in learning to communicate with others, regulate emotions, solve problems, set goals, etc. Initially, we practiced mindfulness of our breath and how our breathing has an effect on our bodies and minds. We learned and practiced "belly breathing" to help regulate our breathing and mindfully notice the effects of deep breathing. We also learned and practiced a "grounding technique" where students learned how to bring themselves back to the present moment with their 5 senses. For more information and research on mindfulness you can refer to this link.
Now for some resources to share!
In regards to youth mental health, many were asking, "what can we do to help?" I will outline the recommendations by Dr. CJ Powers at the University of Utah below that help answer that question for parents and families (that I know most already work hard to practice):
Value Mental Health: be a good role model and care for your mental health, put effort into creating safe and stable environments, be a voice for mental health in the community.
Understand Mental Health: support your child through challenges, learn to recognize signs of problematic distress, encourage/support healthy peer relationships.
Monitor and Access: Develop positive relationships (have fun with your children!), ensure regular check-ups with health professionals, talk about mental health regularly.
Improve Skill: Communicate and value ALL emotions (this can help), build skill in providing emotional support/validation, build skill in creating and maintaining appropriate limits, educate self on current best practices for social media/electronics. A very good website to help is: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
Some other general parent-friendly website that can help with with a variety of youth mental health and parenting topics are:
As educators, we are also working on honing our skills to assist youth with mental and emotional health so you are not alone. It takes a village, and together we can make a HUGE difference.
