Parenting Archives - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)
How Inequality Messes With Teenagers’ Minds
November 3, 2024 | NWI
This essay combines personal reflection with data about the impact that economic inequality has on the mental health and well being of young people.
Resiliencia: Latino Children Overcoming Climate Challenges
November 3, 2024 | NWI
Hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts, and natural disasters – not only are they a common occurrence, but a warming planet is making them more intense. Latino families, especially the children, are particularly vulnerable to climate-related events. This short video explores strategies for building children’s resilience in the face of climate challenges.
State Policies Linked to Reduced Child Maltreatment and Neglect
November 2, 2024 | NWI
New research finds that state child tax credits, higher minimum wage, access to contraception and broader eligibility for food stamps are linked to reduced maltreatment and neglect of children under age 3.
What Foster and Adoptive Parents Need to Know About Child Trauma
July 28, 2024 | NWI
Early childhood trauma affects kids on a physiological level, and can cause behaviors ranging from detachment to clinginess to violent outbursts. Foster and adoptive parents are often unaware of just how tough it might be – emotionally and financially – to raise a child with a trauma background. This article explores how some caregivers have managed.
Teenage Boys are Underrepresented in Mental Health Services
June 16, 2024 | NWI
Teenage boys are drowning in just as much of the depression and anxiety that’s been well documented in girls. Experts warn that many young men struggling with their mental health are left undetected and without the help they need.
Recognizing and Responding to Child Anxiety
February 3, 2024 | NWI
Anxiety and depression among young people has increased since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, doubling according to some estimates. But it’s not always easy to distinguish potentially problematic anxiety from normal, everyday worries. This brief discusses how to know when anxiety becomes a serious concern, and how to respond.
Kinship Navigator Programs in Child Welfare
October 30, 2023 | NWI
Kinship Navigator programs support the ongoing stabilization of kinship families by helping caregivers learn about and access resources that meet their evolving needs and those of the children they are raising. This report discusses the evidence for positive impacts from these programs, and envisions their future.
What’s the Best Way to Praise Children?
September 24, 2023 | NWI
Research shows that calling kids gifted and talented isn’t the best way to praise them. Certain types of praise can inadvertently stunt a child’s performance. This blog and video describe how to praise children in a way that helps them develop a growth mindset.
‘Anti-Dopamine Parenting’ Can Curb Children’s Cravings
July 23, 2023 | NWI
Parents are constantly being told they have to limit how much junk food their children can eat or how long they allow them to use their devices. This can be a struggle, but neuroscientists now know what’s happening in a child’s brain that drives this overconsumption, and what parents can do to counteract the cravings that lead children to overconsume.
Therapists’ Views on Helping Suicidal Teens
May 22, 2023 | NWI
This article describes how therapists respond when teens are suicidal and when parents are considering tough questions such as: At what point do you take your child to the hospital? What if they refuse to go? If they have attempted suicide, do you consider residential care in a facility, where children live for weeks or months at a time? What else can you do to protect them?