David Hartley, Author at Washington County HBHMWCRI

Pediatricians call for annual depression screening for all teens

Half of America’s depressed teens are reaching adulthood without being diagnosed. The American Association of Pediatrics has released new guidelines urging annual depression evaluations for ALL teens.

Only half of depressed youth are diagnosed before they reach adulthood, making the problem and treatment that much harder. In response, in February, the American Academy of Pediatrics call for annual, universal depression screening for all youth over the ages of 12, NPR (National Public Radio) reported.

The screening, Dr. Rachel Zuckerbrot told NPR, could be done during a well-patient visit, a sports’ physical or during another office visit. It could also be a questionnaire.

“Teenagers are often more honest when they’re not looking somebody in the face who’s asking questions,” she said. Zuckerbrot helped write the new guidelines.

The suggested questionnaires contain a range of questions. For instance, ‘Over the past two weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems: feeling down, depressed or hopeless? Or, little interest or pleasure in doing things?’

The new recommendations also call for families with a depressed teen to restrict the young person’s access to lethal means of harm.

BAM! Online games & quizzes on the Body and Mind for 9-12 year-olds, from the CDC

CDC has a new website on nutrition and health that looks like Saturday morning TV, but it’s interactive, educational, and doesn’t advertise sugared cereals!

Hey kids!

BAM! Body and Mind will tell you everything you need to know about all the stuff that matters. Whether it’s nutrition, physical activity, stress, safety, or diseases, the CDC (the nation’s Center for Disease Control) has you covered! They designed this site specifically for you — kids 9–12 years old — and even have some awesome games and quizzes to test your skills!

Parents and teachers, BAM! has something for you too. Browse the site to see what kids are learning about. Take a look at the Teacher’s Corner to see how BAM! topics can be incorporated into classroom activities.

The CDC promises that the site will be regularly updated, so you can keep returning.

Childhood obesity nearly doubles among 2-5 year olds

Despite hopeful claims to the contrary, childhood obesity continues to rise, particularly among Black and Latino youth and 2-5 year olds

A 17-year analysis of childhood obesity newly published in Pediatrics reveals that 1 in 7 American children are already obese by the age of 5. That’s up from 1 in 11 children.

The overall increase in obese and severely-obese children rose from 14% in 1999 to 18.5% in 2015-16. Meaning nearly 1 in 5 children between the ages of 2-19 are considerably overweight.

The report contradicts hopes that obesity was falling among youth. At best, the analysis suggests, the numbers are holding steady.

White and Asian-American children have significantly lower rates of obesity than do African-American children, Hispanic children, or children of other races.

Melinda Sothern, director of behavioral and community health sciences at Louisiana State University, suggested to NPR (National Public Radio) that trend may be the result of a “perfect storm” of stress, which, when combined with a “lack of access to healthy foods and opportunities for outdoor play,” can affect biology on a genetic level.

Click here for last month’s NPR summary of the analysis.

Visit our Healthy Eating, Healthy Activity, and 5-2-1-0 pages too for ideas on how to promote positive physical behaviors.

Help your child through embarrassment? Remember how YOU felt!

You’ve been there; now it’s time to help your child through those embarrassing episodes

Wow, those were embarrassing moments. Getting the answer wrong in front of the class. Dropping the ball in a game. Burping – or more – during a personal encounter. Missing a measure – or two – during a concert solo. Finding a tear in your clothes after you already arrived in school.

And those were the – comparatively – easy ones.

Can you remember how you felt? That you wanted to disappear…or maybe that you wanted to lash out at whatever or whomever embarrassed you.

Child Mind Institute takes on the topic with its usual common sense advice:

Model good behavior in front of your child (if not everywhere). Don’t obsess about how you could have avoided the embarrassment; stay calm and don’t get flustered; and – if it was someone else who was embarrassed, don’t tease or make fun, in front of or behind their back.
Take your child’s feelings seriously. The incident may seem small to you but this is a good time to remember how you felt when you were a child; it’s never small.
But don’t overreact either. He or she doesn’t need you to get angry or promise to intervene, but to be there.
Praise positive skills. And when your child was resilient, handled the situation calmly and sensibly, tell them so. “That was brave of you to finish your solo without wavering. I’m proud of the way you handled it.”

Read CMI’s entire article on helping your child cope with embarrassment. You’ll find a lot more worth reading on the organization’s website.

Bullied to Death: when cyberbullying becomes the last straw

Online capacity has made bullying more dangerous than ever. Even fatal.

National Patch reporter Beth Dalbey tells a tragic and horrifying story of three girls who killed themselves rather than face a constant torrent of bullying.

Dalbey writes, “Cyberbullying — that’s when mean kids target victims online — is less common but more difficult to confront, according to two federal agencies. Relentless online bullying often occurs at night, when victims already feel isolated. And many of them are not yet equipped to cope, social worker Caroline Fenkel explains. “It has to do with neuropsychology: The frontal lobes of adolescent and teen brains — where reasoning and emotions are managed — aren’t fully developed.

“Bullies tend to act with little consideration or regard for how severely their victims may react.”

Dalbey follows the stories, and last moments, of three girls. “Rosalie hanged herself. Mallory’s parents found her dead in their home. Brandy shot herself in front of her family. These girls and others decided they would rather die than endure another moment of torment.”

(Photo: 12-year-old Mallory Grossman was a cheerleader, gymnast and raised money so children with cancer could go to summer camp. Bullies started targeting her in October 2016 with the usual: dirty looks and name calling. Then they increased to Instagram, Snapchat, and text messages. She killed herself the following June.)

What’s a parent to do?

“The CDC says when bullying happens, kids suffer, even if they just witness the horrible acts,” Dalbey points out. “Talking about bullying at home helps, experts say, and the earlier these conversations begin, the better.”

“Getting kids to engage might not be easy, but it’s important,” adds social worker Caroline Fenkel. “Parents should be clear: Bullying hurts and has long-lasting consequences, even suicide.

“This is about changing the status quo, and essentially saying that if you are going to act out and say something mean about that kid, you need to know he might struggle and may end up acting impulsively, and you have to live with that on your conscience.”

Parents also need to have frank conversations with kids when they get their first smartphones and social media accounts — something “most parents are very hands-off about,” NoBully.org’s Nicholas Carlisle notes.

“It’s important to have conversations about the amount of screen time they have, so there’s agreement on how much they interact, as well as how to get help if they feel threatened online or if they’re suffering.”

February ’18 Newsletter

Every month Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds & Director Susan Orban likes to connect you with current articles, events, and resources to help you keep your family healthy and informed!

10 ways to help your child with learning challenges (and others, too) cope with grade school stresses

Blow off steam, create a “can do” mantra, celebrate victories, and more

Grade school in most of our minds is still a place of innocence, curiosity, excitement, and emotional and physical safety.

But – points out Understood, a coalition that focuses on children with learning issues – the grade school years can also be full of stressful challenges.

Understood offers 10 commonsense and matter-of-fact stress-busters that might make sense for all parents and children.

Among our favorites:

1 Help her figure out how she’s feeling.
Mention you’ve noticed something has been bothering her. Help her put a name on what it might be. “Are you feeling scared about reading out loud in Ms. Smith’s class?” Simply talking about feelings can be a relief.

2 Help her prepare for new things.
If your child is going to start a new activity, such as karate, visit ahead of time. Let her meet the lady at the front desk, check out the bathroom, and see the dojo. Ask the teacher to describe what she’ll do the first day of class. If the new activity seems familiar, your child won’t feel nearly as much anxiety about participating.

3 Celebrate even the smallest victories.
Most kids feel some stress when facing a new challenge. Watch for opportunities to praise accomplishments. It could be as simple as finishing three word problems without getting up. Knowing what success feels like may help her feel less overwhelmed and panicked when facing bigger challenges.

4 Help her create a “can do” mantra.
Suggest phrases she can repeat when facing stressful situations. “I am not afraid to try” or “I can do this” are two good examples. These thoughts will crowd out negative talk (“I’m too stupid to do this!”). Repeating the words over and over can be soothing.

5 Blow off steam!
Stress can build up like steam in a locomotive. Make exercise a part of everyday life for her and the whole family. Sign up for a membership at your local Y and go together. Show her how to jump rope, sing out loud or dance to her favorite song between homework assignments.

Visit the Understood website for issues affecting learning-challenged children.

Read the complete list of 10 ways to help your grade schooler reduce stress.

Egg burritos, yogurt parfaits, fresh fruit, and waffles

What nutritionist/parents feed their kids for breakfast

You might wish your parents had been nutritionists after reading writer Caroline Bologna’s recent article for Parenting magazine. Bologna asked nutritionists who are also parents what they serve their children for breakfast.

For some, the standby is scrambled eggs.

“My youngest daughter prefers egg burritos, which we make with organic flour tortillas, scrambled eggs and shredded cheese,” reported Rick Hall, a dietitian at Arizona State University. “My wife keeps already cleaned-and-cut fruit in the refrigerator ready-to-go for the kids to eat; so fruit often makes it into our breakfast as a side dish.”

“Cereals are fast and easy,” noted dietitian Maya Feller for the article. “I look for ones that are 5 grams of sugar or less per serving. We will top them with seasonal fruit and/or nuts and seeds to boost the nutrient content. We like muesli because, although calorically dense, both of my kids are active and exceed 60 minutes of physical activity daily.

Other popular entries were smoothies, yogurt parfaits, and waffles.

Now we’re hungry, too!

Connect with the entire breakfast list on the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds website.

10 nutritionists talk about the snacks they take to work, from soup to nuts (literally).

Children & Mindfulness: part of the school day?

Educators are increasingly recognizing the need for social and emotional awareness

Given the increased challenges that children face these days, more and more educators around the nation are recognizing that social/emotional programming must be part of a school’s DNA.

Rhode Island is part of that trend, NBC 10 News reporter Barbara Morse Silva explained recently. She described the curriculum at Charles Fortes Elementary Elementary School in Providence, where children are engaged in “mindfulness exercises”.

“During half hour sessions, which take place two days a week, they are instructed to stay in the moment, breathe and feel,” Silva reported.

“Feel calm and comfortable and kind of just let everything go for a few minutes,” said Shannon Smith, a school integrative specialist for the Center for Resilience in Providence. “And just notice what’s happening around them.”

Read Silva’s account, including comments by students, teachers, and The Center for Resilience, which works with many schools, teachers, and community members.

5-year study of half-million teens links cell phone use with depression

Overuse of cellphones may lead to loneliness and thoughts of suicide among teens

Caseloads at 93 university counseling centers jumped a remarkable 30% between 2009-2010 from the previous five years, with high schools reporting major increases as well. Two studies of more than a half million adolescents ages 12-18 find a major increase in depression and thoughts of suicide.

The change happens to match the rapid availability and use of cell phones and other screen time, notes a recent research paper published in Clinical Psychological Science.

The study points a finger at the growing popularity of social media.

NPR (National Public Radio) interviewed Jean Twenge, one of the adolescent study’s authors. Her research, NPR reported, “found that teens who spend five or more hours per day on their devices are 71 percent more likely to have one risk factor for suicide. And that’s regardless of the content consumed. Whether teens are watching cat videos or looking at something more serious, the amount of screen time — not the specific content — goes hand in hand with the higher instances of depression.”

“At two hours a day there was only a slightly elevated risk,” Twenge said in a second NPR story. “And then three hours a day and beyond is where you saw the more pronounced increase in those who had at least one suicide risk factor.”

Adolescents in the 2010s spent more time on electronic communication and less time on in-person interaction than any previous generation. The paper notes that humans, as a species, traditionally required close, mostly continuous face-to-face contact with others. Lack of such could lead to both loneliness and thoughts of suicide.

Reduced screen time is a key focus of HBHM’s 5-2-1-0 initiative.

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Need a fun activity for your kids or students? Playworks has the ultimate “database”

Leafy greens keep your brain sharp

10 ways to help your child with learning challenges (and others, too) cope with grade school stresses

Egg burritos, yogurt parfaits, fresh fruit, and waffles