Fostering gives you a gift of seeing potential long before it has bloomed.
Helping parents understand what feelings and moods are normal and what might need a little extra attention.
Kids deal with tough situations on a daily basis — stress from schoolwork, social media pressures, or even scary or traumatic events. Sometimes emotions like sadness, anger or fear can become too much for kids to handle and can start to cause problems, like not getting along with other kids or trouble at school. It’s really important for us as parents to talk with our kids about these tough topics, but it can feel hard to know where to start.
Here are a few tips to make talking with your child a little easier.
With our busy schedules, we as parents can forget the power of downtime with our kids — as little as five minutes a day can have a big impact!
These kinds of questions cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no,” leading to better conversations. Open-ended questions send the message that we care about what our child has to say.
As parents, we may have the urge to immediately tell our kids how to act or to try to solve the problems they face. It’s important to strike a balance between providing guidance and recognizing that our child is an individual with their own thoughts and feelings.
Your child may have a good idea of what will help them feel better. Just asking kids for their opinion lets them know you believe in them and their ideas and abilities.
As with any area of your child’s health, if you have concerns about mental health, talk to your child’s pediatrician.
Children’s Wisconsin has a vision that Wisconsin kids will be the healthiest in the nation. Supporting kids’ and teens’ mental and behavioral health is a key part of achieving that vision. We are committed to programs and services that help build resilience, promote mental health and support families.
Children’s Wisconsin is proud to underwrite Gannett Wisconsin’s Kids in Crisis series in support of these commitments.
Staff supporting mental and behavioral health care at Children’s Wisconsin includes experts in the fields of child and adolescent psychiatry, pediatric psychology, neuropsychology and psychotherapy.
Helping parents understand what feelings and moods are normal and what might need a little extra attention.
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