The coronavirus pandemic has been difficult for everyone. Parents have lost jobs, families have had to quarantine and children have been cut off from their friends. Internet usage has spiked, and for many teens, it is causing underlying mental health issues to increase. What actions can parents take to help mitigate the negative impacts and support their teens?
Praise from trusted adults helps children feel good about themselves and motivates them to accomplish things. And while it can feel great for them, knowing your own strengths and feeling a sense of fulfillment and achievement is pretty great too! There can be some pitfalls to the use of praise, but with a few slight changes or new additions to your collection, you might just see a whole lot of individual, internal growth from the littles in your life!
Open dialogue about sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior by adults is an important tool of institutional abuse prevention. Educating your foster child about healthy boundaries with other adults in their life ensures that they are able to recognize potentially dangerous behaviors and situations easily and quickly.
For more than 60 years, the Community Child Guidance Clinic has helped children grow up happy and healthy by providing mental health and special education services for families across central Connecticut. We must continue to build upon the unmatched quality and breadth of care we provide and the passion and dedication of our talented staff. Following the direction laid out in our newest strategic plan, we will continue our journey and keep working towards these goals.
As a kid, we’re taught to consider breakfast the most important meal of our day. Whether or not we all follow this advice...well that is a whole other story. However, once again science comes to the rescue to help us understand why this age-old guidance is actually very prudent...
I remember being in elementary school and being bullied. Kids were commenting on my weight, my clothes, my friends. I remember the moment...
After months of quarantine, Connecticut’s summer schools are reopening their doors, day camps and other programs are starting up, and families are beginning to venture out to restaurants, beaches, picnics, and parties. While care still needs to be taken and recommendations followed, we have learned a lot and can now begin using that knowledge to help our children enjoy summer activities.
Nearly 700,000 children are victims of sexual abuse in the U.S. every year, and because of current nationwide lockdowns, vulnerable children are limited from getting the help they might otherwise receive, particularly from mandated reporters in schools and extracurricular programs. Mental Health Month presents an opportunity to raise awareness and show child abuse victims that they are supported, especially when they are isolated and alone during quarantine.
This is an unsettling time for all of us. With so many life changes and future unknowns, we work to manage and cope with numerous emotions. As teachers continue to support learning needs, and keep students academically engaged, it’s so important for parents and children to...
I know these scenes - the joy and the frustration - because I was homeschooled, too. However, there was one very simple difference: we made that choice, over the course of about 4 months, and we had all that time as a family to prepare to tackle the challenge. For so many of you, this was not a choice at all, but instead put upon you as an instant necessity when the schools closed and everything shut down all at once. I don’t know you, but I know there’s a solid chance that you’re asking yourself; “How do I do this?”
While video calls have become commonplace in many office environments, over-the-phone therapy sessions are now being introduced into households. Whether you are having a conference call for work or calling in to your child’s doctor for a weekly appointment, there is a level of etiquette needed to make virtual meetings successful for everyone involved...
The Family Depression I didn’t know this when I was younger, but both of my parents and several of their siblings have had depression. Knowing that genetics is commonly considered one of many underlying causes for depression, they suspected that my brother and I would get what…
Children today face more pressure than ever in regards to their looks, but children today can also order a 3000+ calorie meal from their favorite fast food restaurant with the help...
Fifteen of our staff members attended and presented at the Healing Connecticut’s Children: The Trauma Focused Evidence-Based Practice Conference Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Hosted by the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, this event welcomed approximately 400 mental health clinicians, administrators and social workers from across the state to learn about evidence-based practices, which are…
At Community Child Guidance Clinic School, children are learning not just about the school subjects we all remember, but also ways to cope with significant behavioral and mental health issues that impact their functioning and make it difficult for them to attend school as part of a mainstream…
What is a Nonprofit? Before I talk about why nonprofit organizations matter so much, I think it’s important to define exactly what a nonprofit is. Nonprofits are agencies dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. It’s important to add…
My wife and I both struggled with anxiety, so we figured that our kids would most likely deal with it at some point in their lives as well. We just never thought it would start when our oldest was only in first grade. However…
Caregivers of children with a mental illness know it can be really difficult to balance the attention they give all of their children. Because caregivers are often so involved in facing the struggles of their high-need children, young siblings with less severe needs…
Below is a question sent to us via the “Ask Dr. G.” page on this site. The parent who asked the question would prefer to remain anonymous and was only asked to provide the question itself and no additional information. “What would you recommend for a nosy inconsiderate, non-appreciative child who doesn’t say hello to people when they…
Parents want their kids to be as successful, and chores are a great way to teach them how to start taking care of themselves. Working with your child to develop a daily or weekly set of tasks not only teaches responsibility, but it has been proven to also aid in their self-esteem, gratification and progress in school.
