Cultivating joy as a family
The pandemic has been hard on families. There has been so much loss, so much hardship, so much stress, and so much change. What makes it even harder is that there is so much uncertainty about when and how it will end; our lives, and the lives of our children, are going to be disrupted for the foreseeable future.
There is so much we cannot control in all of this that it’s easy to lose sight of what we can control. One thing we absolutely can do is cultivate small moments of joy in each and every day. It doesn’t have to be a lot, or anything fancy or complicated. That’s the thing about joy: it can be very simple.
Child...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 9, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Advancing maternal justice on both sides of the Atlantic
Positive pregnancy and birthing experiences go beyond merely having a healthy mother and baby — so, too, does maternal justice, a term that encompasses broad goals.
Affordable, timely, high-quality, equitable, and dignified care during and after pregnancy is essential for all birthing people. Maternal justice is a model of culturally sensitive care that aims to dismantle inequities in maternity care and maximize maternal health and well-being. It rests on human rights and requires us to chip away at racism entrenched in health systems.
How do race and ethnicity affect pregnancy and birth?
Globally, Black, indigenous, and...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 8, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Isioma D. Okolo, MBChB, MRCOG, DTMH Tags: Adolescent health Health care disparities Parenting Pregnancy Women's Health Source Type: blogs
Podcast: Large Family Beset by Schizophrenia
In today’s show, Gabe talks with Robert Kolker, author of the New York Times bestselling — and Oprah’s book club pick — book Hidden Valley Road. This non-fiction biography is the true story of a mid-century American family besieged by schizophrenia. Of their 12 children, 6 struggled with the severe mental disorder.
Join us for the incredible story of the family who became science’s greatest hope in the quest to understand schizophrenia.
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Guest information for ‘Robert Kolker- Large Family Schizophrenia’ Podcast Episode
Robert Kolker is the author of Hidden ...
Source: World of Psychology - October 8, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: The Psych Central Podcast Tags: Family General Interview Schizophrenia The Psych Central Show Source Type: blogs
As family well-being declines, so does children ’s behavior
The COVID-19 pandemic is bad not only for our physical health, but our mental health as well. It has killed thousands of people and disrupted our lives in terrible ways. So it’s not surprising that a recent survey finds that parents in the US are having a hard time.
Researchers did a national survey in June of 2020 of more than 1,000 parents with children under the age of 18, asking questions about mental health, insurance coverage, food security, child care, and use of health care. They found that compared to before March of 2020,
27% reported worsening mental health for themselves
17% reported worsening behavioral hea...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 6, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Behavioral Health Children's Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Sick child this school year? Planning for the inevitable during a pandemic
Children get sick; it’s part of life. They catch colds, they get fevers, they throw up and get diarrhea. Most of the time, it’s nothing at all. But this year, as we struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic, every sniffle will be complicated.
The problem is, the symptoms of COVID-19 can be not just mild, but similar to the symptoms of all the common illnesses kids get all the time. Symptoms can include
fever, even a mild one
cough (that you don’t have another clear reason for)
breathing difficulty
sore throat or runny nose (that you don’t have another clear reason for)
loss of taste or smell
headache (if with other s...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Cold and Flu Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Source Type: blogs
Managing the new normal: Actively help your family weather the pandemic
When the pandemic first began earlier this year, it seemed like if we could just hunker down until perhaps summer, things would get better and we’d be able to get back to life as usual (or at least something similar to life as usual). We were in survival mode: we cut corners and made do, broke some parenting rules, and otherwise made choices we would never usually make. Because that’s what you do when you are in survival mode.
It’s now very clear that the pandemic is here for at least this school year, and survival mode is taking on a whole new meaning. It’s time to make new habits and routines specifically for the...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 25, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Behavioral Health Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Dispatch from the Land of the Eighty-five Percent
So. I suppose we have some catching up to do.Schuyler and I are in Virginia. Where we live.Well, that ' s partially true. Schuyler lives here half the time, splitting her time from month to month with her mother, who now lives in Michigan. It ' s not complicated on paper, as divorce rarely is, but in practice it ' s probably going to be fraught with unforeseen peril, as divorce almost always is. I have Schuyler here with me for one more week, and then my month without her begins. I think we can all predict how well I ' ll take that, but there it is. The price of change. Perhaps it ' s the fee for exchanging the predictable...
Source: Schuyler's Monster: The Blog - September 12, 2020 Category: Disability Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Passive-Aggressive Texts And Polygraph Machines: The Week ’s Best Psychology Links
Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web
When it comes to text messages, a single full stop can be loaded with meaning. A simple “OK”, for example, might be fine by itself — but suddenly takes on a passive-aggressive tone when it becomes “OK.” Danny Hensel explores why this is the case at NPR.
Some people who have been infected with Covid-19 continue to have physical symptoms for months — and this can take its toll on their mental health. Recent research has suggested that between one third and one half of Covid “long-haulers” may experience mental health pro...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - September 11, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Weekly links Source Type: blogs
5 takeaways for returning to school
School districts in the United States are in a period of profound uncertainty, which will likely persist throughout the 2020–2021 school year. Many agree that remote teaching in spring 2020 was piecemeal and sub-optimal. Now, despite a stated universal commitment to full-time, in-person, high-caliber education, many states have rising rates of COVID-19, and teachers and parents share deep health concerns. Already we have witnessed a rapid and seismic transition from the beginning of this summer — in June, many schools planned to open full-time for in-person learning — to near-universal adoption of hybrid or remote te...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 11, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Alan Geller, MPH, RN Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Source Type: blogs
Limiting COVID chaos during the school year
Child: “Will I go back to school this fall?
Parent: “I’m not sure yet.”
Child: “Do you know when we’ll find out?”
Parent: “I also don’t know that yet.”
Child: “Will school be the same for the whole year?”
Parent: “I don’t know that either.”
Sound familiar? If the only thing you do know is that plans are in flux, you’re not alone. School plans seem to be changing frequently — before the school year even has started in some places! With so much uncertainty, how can families limit the potential chaos that may unfold from last-minute decisions and changes? Below are four tips that may help.
De...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 8, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jacqueline Sperling, PhD Tags: Children's Health Mental Health Parenting Source Type: blogs
Federal Aid Creates Central ‐Planning Power
This study argues that Congress should repeal all federal aid-to-state programs for many reasons, including that aid comes with costly strings attached that destroy local democracy.Richard Epstein and Mario Loyolanoted about aid programs: “When Americans vote in state and local elections, they think they are voting on state and local policies. But often they are just deciding which local officials get to implement the dictates of distant and insulated federal bureaucrats, whom even Congress can’t control.”I came across a table (p. 82) in New Jersey ’s budget that lists the $15 billion the state received in 2020 fro...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 4, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Chris Edwards Source Type: blogs
Perspectives on motive
The objective was to eventually re-plant the seedling into a more suitable location so the squirrels could have a preferable home, since the ash trees were having difficulties on account of those naughty bugs.All motives assigned, and with good intention. I have trained for over 33 years for moments like this.The spring and summer moved on - and we continued to use our yard as a combined entertainment, learning, and leisure venue in this pandemic context, and we dutifully watered and nurtured our seedling and watched it sprout a couple of new leaves. Everything was going perfectly, or so we thought.I am uncerta...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - September 3, 2020 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT practice parenting philosophy Source Type: blogs
How to help your child get the sleep they need
This year, back-to-school plans are still a work in progress, and some (perhaps many) children will be learning from home because of the pandemic. As tempting as it might be to let the summer sleep schedules stay in place, it’s important that children have a regular routine — and that they are sleeping during the dark hours and awake during the light ones, as our bodies do best that way. So while a child whose trip to school is just a walk to the kitchen table might be able to sleep a bit later than one who has to catch an early bus, no child should be spending all morning in bed.
Sleep is crucial for all of us, and th...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - August 31, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Parenting Sleep Source Type: blogs
The Parent ’s Balancing Act: Using the Word ‘ No ’
Among many other things, parenthood inherently carries a significant responsibility for guiding the child’s unruly behavior into positive outlets. This is important not only for the child to become a functional and productive adult in society, but also to engage the child’s potential to find success and fulfillment. It is no small order for parents to find a way to allow their child to develop freely and independently, while also helping them adhere to societal expectations and develop a sense of morals and ethics that will ensure fewer barriers of resistance in life.
One way parents must accomplish this is to strike t...
Source: World of Psychology - August 29, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Bonnie McClure Tags: Children and Teens Parenting Boundaries Child Development Positive Psychology Source Type: blogs
Playing With My Autistic Son
At 57, I’m finally the mother I wanted to be. Read about it here, in my latest blogpost for Psychology Today. (Source: Susan's Blog)
Source: Susan's Blog - August 29, 2020 Category: Child Development Authors: Susan Senator Tags: Uncategorized autism autism in adulthood parenting playfulness psychology Source Type: blogs
