Blog
Conflicting Resolution advice
There are times in all of our lives when we have to deal with difficult people. Maybe someone is upset and yelling at you, even though you didn’t cause the situation that upset them. Maybe they’re being rude and demanding. Whatever the case, it is always useful to have some strategies in mind to help with handling these situations. Check in with yourself Before you do anything or say anything, check in with yourself. Did you do something wrong or offensive? If so, perhaps an apology is in … Continued
Drinking while pregnant will lead to birth defects and lifelong issues
The holiday season just ended with fewer social gatherings and parties and increased isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic may lead some people to seek comfort in having an adult beverage. But if you are pregnant or perhaps are not even aware you are pregnant, one glass of wine today, could lead to a whole host of problems later. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is the result of a pregnant woman having one or more drinks during pregnancy. Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health’s FASD Clinic Supervisor Dr. Marysa … Continued
Parenting tips to balance work and the holidays
Relieving holiday stress During a normal year, parents start to feel tension and stress surrounding the holiday season. Presents need to be purchased, activities planned, Christmas cards sent and holiday gatherings need to be organized. And this year, families are dealing with added anxiety – should we get together with family due to the pandemic? If we do get together, how many should gather? The most enjoyable season of the year sometimes turns into a miserable experience – much of that misery is brought on by the expectations … Continued
Understanding inappropriate sexual behavior in teenagers
As a parent, after a long day at work, the kid’s homework is complete and they are in bed, you sit down to watch television. Grabbing your child’s phone, you do a check of text messages, apps and their internet browser. You are caught off guard when you see a sexually explicit image sent from the phone to another person. Panic suddenly sets in. Do you wake your child up and yell at them? Do you sit on the information until you can think clearly? Upon further investigation … Continued
Navigating the Unexpected: The Effects of COVID-19 on My Senior Year of College
My wonderful friends and family have been chanting these words to me for the past 12 weeks. I can honestly attest: senioritis is real- especially now. My senior year is turning out to be very different from how I envisioned it. I was supposed to take a few trips, all of which have been canceled. I was supposed to intern at a hospital, but now they can’t let me. I was supposed to sing with my university’s choir for Homecoming weekend, graduation and Christmas. Instead, I’m sitting at … Continued
Refilling A Teen’s Resiliency
In a recent blog post, C&A provided tips on how parents and teachers can build resiliency skills in younger children. But resiliency reaches far beyond just children. Teens who have been through traumatizing situations need help from parents and teachers as well, but in a slightly different way. Worn Out For parents of younger children, the goal is to begin building their child’s resiliency suitcase by carefully packing lessons and skills learned from past life experiences into a resource for later use. But as time goes on, those … Continued
Stark County College and Universities Unite for Mental Health
It’s been pushed time and time again. Words like COVID-19, lockdown, masks, pandemic and social distancing has been floating around on the internet and in the news for months. No wonder that amidst all of 2020’s craziness, depression and anxiety cases are rising significantly according to some newer studies. To help young people all across Stark County combat the challenges facing society these days, Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) will be sponsoring their second annual Collegiate Fair about Self Care and Mental Health at colleges and universities … Continued
Raising Resilient Children
You are about to embark on an incredibly complex but rewarding adventure- helping your child through the long journey of life. This journey you share together will shape the way your child thinks, behaves and interacts with the world around them, and it is crucial for them to be set up with the proper tools or skills to tackle whatever challenges may come their way. Since we’re using the “journey of life” analogy, let’s think about it this way. If you were going on a trip, you would … Continued
Celebrating Children’s Mental Health At School and At Home
New challenges are arising for students and parents as schools reopen this fall. With the challenges of COVID-19 still facing our world, mental health is a growing concern. In the past year, Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) has seen a 33% increase in clientele. This number is expected to grow this year as youth learn to deal with stress, anxiety and depression due to COVID-19 and systemic racism. Will children be allowed to interact with each other? Will they still feel lonely or excluded? To continue to … Continued
Preventing Self-harm
In an ideal world, a teenager will grow up living with their biological parents, is happy, self-regulated and living a care-free, stress-free lifestyle. But, as everyone knows, the world is not ideal. What pushes a child from being care-free and happy to self-harming and contemplating completing suicide? For parents, legal guardians and caregivers, there are often warning signs indicating your child may be entering into a dangerous situation. If your child has a change in clothing styles, friends, music or experiences mood swings or possibly noticing the child … Continued