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In this article about helping children who are grieving, from The New York Times, talks about how to help a child when they have lost a pet. When a child looses a pet, it is often the first experience a child has with death. (Fraga 2017) Most children remember the day they lost their pet, as it is similar to losing a family member. When the child knew before it happened, they were able to understand better because the parents were able to prepare them for the pets passing. However, when a pet dies suddenly, it is harder for a child to comprehend why it happened. The age and developmental stage of the child affects their understanding of death and how they cope. Some strategies to help children cope include, allowing them to let out their emotions through play, read age-appropriate books about a pet death, and allowing them to ask questions so they can better understand. When teaching PreK-4th grade, our students are young, and a pet’s death may be the first death they experience, and it can be very hard for them. We need to be a stable support system for them to help cope and understand.

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The loss of a pet is often a child's first experience with death. Understanding the unique ways that children view pets and respond to their passing can help parents to ease the grieving process.

Joshua Russell, an assistant professor of environmental science at Canisius College in Buffalo, who has studied the effects of pet loss in children, explained that for many children, pets are more than just animals. "Many kids describe their pets as siblings or best friends with whom they have strong connections," he said.

In a study of 12 children ages 6 to 13 who had lost a pet, published in the journal Environmental Education Research, Dr. Russell found that even years after the pet's death, some children still described the loss as "the worst day of their lives." He also discovered that children come up with unique ways to rationalize their pet's passing and that the way a pet dies influences how children grieve.

"Children, in particular, have a distinct sense of existential fairness around whether or not an animal lived until an appropriate age," Dr. Russell said.

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Reading age-appropriate books about a pet's death, like this one for ages 4 to 8, may be helpful in getting a child over the grief. Credit... APA

Like adults, children more readily accepted their pet's death when it was expected in some way. For example, children were less affected when they knew in advance that the animal would have a short life span. They seemed to know that a fish or hamster, for instance, would not live as long as a dog or cat. When an animal was sick, they generally agreed that euthanasia relieved the pet of its suffering. If an animal is terminally ill, parents can help prepare the child by talking about the impending loss, as well as the feelings of sadness it will evoke.

Yet when pets died in tragic and unexpected ways, the loss was harder for the child to accept. "When a pet dies suddenly, it highlights the unpredictability of the world. It tells children that the people and animals they love can die without warning," said Abigail Marks, a clinical psychologist in San Francisco who specializes in childhood grief.

Of course, a child's age and developmental level affect how he or she understands death, and a child's grief looks very different from an adult's. Children do not always cry or immediately show emotion. But this does not mean they are not deeply affected by the loss.

"Kids under the age of 5 will have a hard time understanding that the pet is gone forever because it's difficult for them to grasp the concept of death," said Jessica Harvey, a psychotherapist in San Francisco who specializes in pet grief.

One way young children may express their grief is through play. After the loss of a pet, they may pretend, for example, that a stuffed cat or dog became ill and passed away. Parents can help their children through the grieving process by actively participating in this type of imaginary play.

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This book is written for children ages 8 to 13. Credit... APA

Reading age-appropriate books about pet death may also be helpful. "Goodbye, Brecken," by David Lupton, for children ages 4 to 8; "Kate, the Ghost Dog: Coping With the Death of a Pet," by Wayne L. Wilson, for ages 8 to 13; and "Memories of You," by Erainna Winnett, for ages 7 to 12, are some examples.

School-age children will often have questions about the animal's death, and the back-and-forth that ensues may open up larger conversations about love, loss and what happens after we die. When telling a school-age child about a pet's death, Dr. Marks recommends being honest about what happened. Doing so lets a child know that it is not taboo to talk about death or painful feelings, which can set the stage to process other sorts of loss in the future. Parents should also validate any emotions that arise as the child mourns.

She said that a child's grief would ebb and flow; they may cry one minute and then resume playing or talking about other things the next minute. Parents should be more concerned if a child has nightmares, increased anxiety or difficulty sleeping. If these symptoms persist, psychological counseling may help.

Dr. Marks said it was also important for parents to follow their child's lead. "If they are asking about the details of the pet's death, it's a sign that they want to talk about it," she said. "They are looking for your comfort."

For many children, it is also important to have a goodbye ritual. "Rituals around death are some of the most meaningful ways we have of recognizing someone's life, but these ceremonies aren't societally defined for pet death," Dr. Marks said. Families can create their own rituals, like having a small memorial service, scattering the pet's ashes, planting a remembrance tree or creating a photo album.

"This is a way to process the loss and to honor the role that the pet had in your family," Dr. Marks said.

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When a Pet Dies, Helping Children Through the 'Worst Day of Their Lives'

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The loss of a pet is often a child's first experience with death. Understanding the unique ways that children view pets and respond to their passing can help parents to ease the grieving process.

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In the article about Youth Tobacco use, from the FDA, it describes the modern form of smoking, the effects it has on youth, and prevention plans in place. Many daily adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Regulation of tobacco and educating students of it’s harmful effects are important in the hope to decreasing tobacco use. There are many ways of educating children about these harmful effects, but one that is engaging, is using advertisements when discussing. The new flavors of tobacco become more attracting to children, like candy, which is feeding into the issue of tobacco use. Some agencies have banned flavors like fruit because it was attracting the young audience. Laws put in place such as: being 18 years or older with an ID, products cannot be in vending machines, and free samples are not allowed. As Pre-K-4th grade teachers, it is crucial for us to instill knowledge of the harmful effects early on, so they understand why they shouldn’t use tobacco if offered to them when they are older.

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Almost 90 percent of adult daily smokers started smoking by the age of 18, and about 2,000 youth under 18 smoke their first cigarette every day in the United States. In fact, use of tobacco products, no matter what type, is almost always started and established during adolescence when the developing brain is most vulnerable to nicotine addiction.

These facts highlight a critical need for targeted youth tobacco prevention efforts designed to protect America's kids.

FDA's Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan

In 2017, the FDA announced a comprehensive plan for tobacco and nicotine regulation that places nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the center of the agency's tobacco regulation efforts. This plan will serve as a multiyear roadmap to better protect kids and significantly reduce tobacco-related disease and death in the U.S. A key component of this plan is the Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan, which aims to stop youth use of, and access to, tobacco products-especially e-cigarettes.

Understanding Youth Tobacco Use in the U.S.

The FDA is committed to a science-based approach that addresses public health issues associated with tobacco use. That's why we collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health on the only nationally representative survey of middle and high school students that focuses exclusively on tobacco use- the National Youth Tobacco Survey. Results from this survey provide the FDA with some key national indicators of the effectiveness of comprehensive tobacco prevention and control programs.

Public Health Education to Reduce Youth Tobacco Use

Considering substantial evidence supporting mass media campaigns as an effective strategy to prevent and reduce youth tobacco use, FDA developed and launched its first tobacco prevention campaign, "The Real Cost." The award-winning campaign has been extremely successful in reaching at-risk youth with messages about the dangers of cigarette smoking. From its launch in Feb. 2014 to Nov. 2016, "The Real Cost" prevented up to 587,000 youth ages 11 to 19 from initiating smoking, half of whom might have gone on to become established adult smokers. Ultimately, by preventing these kids from becoming established smokers, the campaign will save them, their families, and the country more than $53 billion by reducing smoking-related costs like early loss of life, costly medical care, lost wages, lower productivity, and increased disability - that's more than $180,000 in savings for each of the up to 293,500 youth that would likely have become an established smoker. The FDA also has developed additional public education campaigns designed to prevent and reduce tobacco use in the United States.

Flavored Tobacco

FDA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to seek public comment on the role that flavors in tobacco products-including menthol-play in attracting youth. The agency already banned certain characterizing flavors in cigarettes in 2009, including fruit and clove, because of their appeal to youth. The agency's national effort to enforce this provision of the Tobacco Control Act and to advise parents about the dangers of flavored tobacco products was one of its important first steps toward responsible tobacco regulation to protect youth.

Learn more about FDA's efforts to explore the potential risks and benefits of flavored tobacco products.

Regulations Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Tobacco Products to Protect Children and Adolescents

Since 2009, the FDA has regulated cigarettes, smokeless, and roll-your-own tobacco. In 2016, the FDA finalized a rule to regulate all tobacco products, including:

E-cigarettes/electronic cigarettes/vaporizers

Cigars

Hookah (waterpipe tobacco)

Pipe tobacco

Nicotine gels

Dissolvables

These rules protect children and adolescents by restricting youth access to all tobacco products by:

Not allowing products to be sold to anyone younger than 18 and requiring age verification via photo ID

Not allowing tobacco products to be sold in vending machines (unless in an adult-only facility)

Not allowing the distribution of free samples of tobacco products

Resources for Parents

Resources for Industry

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Almost 90 percent of adult daily smokers started smoking by the age of 18, and about 2,000 youth under 18 smoke their first cigarette every day in the United States. In fact, use of tobacco products, no matter what type, is almost always started and established during adolescence when the developing brain is most vulnerable to nicotine addiction.

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In this article about violence in schools, from The Washington Post, describes how some schools are having active-shooter simulations with simulated gunfire to ready students if it were to happen. It describes how there are not many studies that actually show these drills are effective. Many teachers say that they are more traumatizing to children than helpful. Some schools shared that monthly drills are excessive and traumatizing to the children, causing them to have extreme anxiety. Some teachers were forces to be shot at with pellet guns in training's for active-shooter encounters. Two major teacher unions are speaking out to stop these outrageous active-shooter stimulation from occurring and emotionally hurting students. Unfortunately, as teachers in a Pre-K-4th grade classroom, an active-shooter situation can happen, and it is important for us to know the procedures to keep our students safe. However, we should not be giving our students anxiety with anticipation as if it will happen.

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Students at Fountain Middle School in Fountain, Colo., took part in an active-shooter drill in 2017. (Dougal Brownlie/AP)

In schools across the nation, students prepare for the worst-case scenario: a gunman firing on them and their classmates. As part of safety drills, many are learning how to hide in closets with their teachers, how to keep quiet and how to barricade doors - anything to increase their chances of survival.

Now, a leading gun-control advocacy group and the nation's two largest teacher unions are calling on schools to halt the most extreme active-shooter drills, such as those that occur without advanced warning and include simulated gunfire. For other kinds of lockdown drills, the groups laid out guidelines they say could minimize trauma for students, while emphasizing that little proof exists the drills make students safer in a shooting.

In a white paper published Tuesday, Everytown for Gun Safety, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association cited mounting anecdotal evidence that the drills, while intended to keep students safe, are inflicting trauma and leaving children anxious, rattled and unable to focus in the classroom. Researchers who have begun to study the problem are making similar findings.

"There's very little data that shows that these drills are effective," said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, which advocates for strong gun restrictions and is part of Everytown. "There is data that shows that they cause trauma and anxiety in kids."

More than 4 million children endured lockdowns in the 2017-2018 school year, a Washington Post analysis found. The experience left many traumatized.

The percentage of schools that had lockdown drills has more than doubled in the past 15 years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In the 2005-2006 school year, 40 percent of schools reported holding lockdown drills. A decade later, the percentage jumped to 95 percent.

In the policy paper, the groups examined media coverage of school lockdowns that illuminated cases in which police used pellet guns and had someone play the role of an attacker in a mask to simulate a school shooting. They also relied on research from criminal justice experts and child psychologists, and data from law enforcement on school shootings to make their case.

Many states, including Florida, have passed laws requiring schools to have lockdown or active-shooter drills. Following the deaths of 17 people in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Fla., the state began requiring lockdown drills monthly.

Elizabeth Brown became principal of Forest High in Ocala, Fla., not long after authorities say a former student walked onto campus and shot a classmate in 2018. The violence unfolded two months after the shooting at Parkland and on the anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High in Colorado, where a pair of students killed 13 people in 1999.

Brown gives parents notice before a drill happens, and students learn as soon as it starts when she comes on the public-address system and says, "This is a drill. This is a drill. Remember, students and teachers, this is a drill."

Last month, when the school had to go on an actual lockdown, several students asked to see counselors, overwhelming the school's small staff. School leaders "need to know that [lockdowns] may trigger some feelings and emotions that [students] may not even know that they had," Brown said.

Sarah Lerner, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, said the first drills after the 2018 shooting left some students shaking and in tears. She said she believes monthly drills are excessive and that she would leave the profession if forced to participate in an active-shooter drill that involved firing simulated weapons - which has happened at some schools.

"It's just demoralizing, dehumanizing," Lerner said.

In some places, schools have gone to extremes to prepare students and teachers for the remote possibility of an active shooter on campus.

In Indiana, police officers ordered teachers during an active-shooter drill to crouch down while officers fired pellet guns at them, leaving some of them bloodied and bruised, according to a state employee's testimony at a legislative hearing. It prompted calls for legislation to bar police from shooting airsoft guns - which use projectiles made from plastic or similar material - at teachers during safety drills. At a Florida high school, an unannounced active-shooter drill sparked chaos and left students with nightmares.

Teachers were reportedly shot with pellet guns at an active-shooter training

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said she kept hearing anecdotes about active-shooter drills leaving those they are intended to protect traumatized and sometimes even physically wounded. She said those kinds of stories moved the union to put out the white paper.

"The cure is becoming worse than the problem we are trying to solve," Weingarten said.

Real lockdowns are often triggered by threats of violence - such as those communicated over social media - and violence that occurs close enough to a school campus that worried administrators choose to play it safe. An analysis by The Washington Post showed that more than 4 million students endured lockdowns during the 2017-2018 school year.

Ryan Pascal, a senior at Palos Verdes High near Los Angeles, said one of the drills she can recall left her feeling more unsettled than prepared. The 17-year-old, who is on the national advisory board of the gun-control advocacy group Students Demand Action, also part of Everytown, said chaos reigned and students got mixed messages about what was happening - and even whether it was a drill. At one point, students were ducking under desks. Then, they were marched out to the school football field.

She knew it wasn't real, but it still left her anxious.

"There always is that tinge of fear for me that something is wrong or something could go wrong," Pascal said.

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Teacher unions, gun-control advocates urge changes to active-shooter drills, citing student trauma

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In schools across the nation, students prepare for the worst-case scenario: a gunman firing on them and their classmates. As part of safety drills, many are learning how to hide in closets with their teachers, how to keep quiet and how to barricade doors - anything to increase their chances of survival.

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This article on safety and preventing unintentional injury, from the CDC News Room, it focuses on the prevalence of playground injuries. There are so many playground related injuries for children 14 years old and younger, and research should be done to help prevent them from occurring. More than half of the injuries on the playground are fractures or contusions, and many times injuries occur with playground equipment happen at schools. Traumatic brain injuries have increased over the past few years, occur at school, and happen on the playground. To prevent injuries from happening, it is important to check the play area to have safe materials, ensure children are using equipment correctly, look within the play area for any potential injury causing objects. As PreK-4th grade teachers, our students will be on the playground all the time, and should understand the risk factors, and ways to prevent injuries. Teachers can also teach our students these risk factors to look out for and tell them to inform a teacher when they see something that may not be safe.

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Each year in the United States, emergency departments (EDs) treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground-related injuries. 1 More than 20,000 of these children are treated for a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion. ² Overall, more research is needed to better understand what specific activities are putting kids at risk of injury and what changes in playground equipment and surfaces might help prevent injuries

Occurrence and Consequences of Playground-Related Injuries

All Emergency Department-Treated, Playground-Related Injuries

About 56% of playground-related injuries that are treated in EDs are fractures and contusions/abrasions.¹

About 75% of injuries related to playground equipment occur on public playgrounds. Most occur at a place of recreation or school.¹

Playground-Related TBIs

The overall rate of ED visits for playground-related TBI has significantly increased in recent years (2005-2013).¹

About two-thirds of playground-related TBIs occurred at school and places or recreation or sports and often involved monkey bars, climbing equipment, or swings.²

Most ED visits for playground-related TBIs occur during weekdays, Monday through Friday.²

Playground-related TBI ED visits occurred frequently during the months of April, May, and September.²

Deaths

Between 2001 and 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated 40 deaths associated with playground equipment. The average age of children who died was six years old. Of these, 27 (68%) died from strangulation and six (15%) died from falls to the playground surface. ¹ Most strangulation involved the combination of slides or swings and jump ropes, other ropes, dog leashes or clothes drawstrings.

Injury Risk Factors

While all children who use playgrounds are at risk for injury, boys sustain ED-treated injuries (55%) slightly more often than girls (45%).³

Children ages 5 to 9 have higher rates of ED visits for playground injuries than any other age group. Most of these injuries occur at school. On public playgrounds, more injuries occur on monkey bars and climbing equipment than on any other equipment.³

Playgrounds that are well maintained have fewer risks to children such as rusty or broken equipment.⁴

Boys more often sustain playground-related TBIs compared to girls.²

Most children who are treated for playground-related TBIs are 5 to 9 years of age.²

Playground-related TBIs varied by age group and equipment type:

0-4 year olds are often injured on swings and slides.²

5-9 year olds are often injured on swings, monkey bars, and climbing equipment.²

10-14 year olds are often injured on swings, monkey bars, and climbing equipment.²

5 to 14 year olds sustain TBIs more frequently at school.²

What Can Be Done?

Take steps to keep kids safe by:

Checking that playgrounds have soft material under them such as wood chips, sand, or mulch.

Reading playground signs and using playground equipment that is right for your child's age.

Making sure there are guardrails in good condition to help prevent falls.

Looking out for things in the play area that can trip your child, like tree stumps or rocks.

References

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Injuries and investigated deaths associated with playground equipment, 2001-2008. https://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/108596/playground.pdfpdf icon external icon . Published October 29, 2009. Accessed April 26, 2016.

2. Cheng TA, Bell JM, Haileyesus T, Gilchrist J, Sugerman DE, Coronado VG. Nonfatal playground-related traumatic brain injuries among children, 2001-2013. Pediatrics published online: May 2, 2016 (doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-2721.R3).

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nonfatal Sports- and Recreation-Related Injuries Treated in Emergency Departments - United States, July 2000-June 2001. MMWR 2002; 51(33):736-740.

4. National Program for Playground Safety. State report cards. http://www.playgroundsafety.org/research/state-report-cardsexternal icon . Accessed April 26, 2016.

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Each year in the United States, emergency departments (EDs) treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground-related injuries. 1 More than 20,000 of these children are treated for a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion.

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This article on physical activity from The Washington Post describes the increase of children learning yoga and the many benefits it has for the children. Yoga is being done in schools much more now, and some of the benefits include: “improved balance, strength, cardiovascular health, decreased anxiety, boosted memory, and better academic performance” (Randall, 2020). Yoga teaches children how to self-regulate their emotions and control their body when they have an abundance of emotions. Studies have shown consistent yoga in children have decreased stress and negative emotions, but similar to physical activity, mindfulness needs to consistently worked on to continue it’s benefits. Teachers can successfully use yoga within their classroom of all ages to help children in a variety of ways. Yoga can be used as a warm up, morning routine, brain break, calming down system, or daily routine! This allows students to engage in a physical activity while also self-regulating.

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Sonia Quinones, 5, watches others rs work on yoga poses at Cherry Run Elementary School in Burke, Va., last month. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

As I stepped on the sharp edge of a Lego buried in our carpet, my temper snapped. "That's it! I've asked you five times to brush your teeth and put away these toys. It's way past bedtime!"

My 5-year-old son looked up at me over the elaborate helicopter he was building. "Mom, maybe you should take a belly breath."

My scowl turned into a smile. I'd started teaching him a few yoga poses and breathing exercises at home, like how to dive into dolphin pose to get out the wiggles or explode with a " volcano breath " when his little sister made him mad.

And now here he was, teaching the teacher. I took his good advice and felt more levelheaded after a deep breath.

Although I've practiced and taught yoga for two decades, I've only recently realized its value for kids. And I'm not the only one: From toddlers to teens, yoga for children is more accessible than ever before. Defined as the union of mind and body, yoga includes everything from simple deep breaths to mellow seated stretches to complex strength-building poses.

According to an article published on the Harvard Health Blog, 3 percent of all children in the United States are practicing yoga - many of them in schools.

Physical benefits of yoga include improved flexibility, balance, strength and cardiovascular health. Research also shows mental and emotional benefits to youth from ages 5 to 18, including decreased anxiety, boosted concentration and memory, improved confidence and self-esteem, and better academic performance.

The goal of yoga is to generate self-awareness, which teaches kids to recognize their emotions. While it doesn't erase feelings, yoga can give them a way to process frustration, anger or sorrow in a healthy way. This in turn helps kids learn to act thoughtfully rather than react impulsively.

Kids who practice yoga can learn to tune into their body's sensations - like butterflies in the stomach, clenched fists or sweaty palms - and then use breath and movement to address uncomfortable feelings before they get out of control.

In recent study from MIT on the effects of an eight-week mindfulness program (comprising breathing exercises), sixth-graders reported feeling less stress and fewer negative emotions after the program. Brain scans revealed reduced activation of their amygdala, the region in the brain that processes fear.

"These results show that yoga's benefits extend beyond the meditative state - it can change how the brain responds to everyday stressors," said John Gabrieli of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research.

But the positive results tend to fade once the mindfulness practice stops, Gabrieli said. "Like with healthy eating or physical exercise, a consistent daily experience is important."

One way to ensure that the benefits of yoga extend beyond school-based or extracurricular programs is to encourage kids to practice at home, too.

"Yoga can help kids regulate their own energy, which is a universal goal for parents," said Ann Huber, program director of YogaKids, a teaching certification program.

Huber said that yoga for kids usually includes songs, stories or games. "Teaching grown-up yoga to kids doesn't work. It's best to keep it simple, short and fun."

One way to do that is by watching an online video together, such as one of the Cosmic Kids yoga stories - books are also available. Co-founder Jaime Amor said that her "yoga adventures" are perfect for parents who aren't comfortable with initiating yoga themselves. Since so many schools offer yoga programs, kids may be the ones introducing their parents to yoga instead of vice versa.

"Let the kids lead you," Amor said. "Often they are better than adults at doing the movements, which is a great way to build their confidence."

Erin Hurley is a registered children's yoga teacher and an elementary school counselor in Virginia who has helped bring yoga programs into schools. She trained staff at Cherry Run Elementary School in Fairfax County, later expanding to three other elementary and middle schools. She started leading workshops for parents because many of them asked how to integrate yoga at home.

Hurley gives parents tips for helping kids get to sleep (place a stuffed animal on their belly as a "breathing buddy" and rock it to sleep with deep breaths), as well as tools for helping children address conflicts with siblings (first use "flying bird breaths" to calm down by inhaling arms overhead, then exhaling arms back down).

Hurley is appearing at the National Kids Yoga Conference this spring in Alexandria, Va., hosted by the nonprofit group YoKid. The goal of the conference is to empower and inspire more caregivers from around the country to teach kids yoga.

"Paying attention to what's happening inside of yourself makes everything easier, for kids and adults," said Liz Bolton, YoKid board member and owner of the Birth Club yoga studio in Alexandria.

Bolton said she's adding a kids yoga class at her studio - partly so she can bring her toddler to the class.

At home, Bolton encourages her son to join her whenever she gets out her mat, and said she uses yoga to help when he's "overwhelmed by big feelings."

For other parents interested in practicing yoga with their children, Bolton says to start simply: "Take a few deep breaths together or dance around to your favorite song - any mindful movement is yoga, as long as you do it with intention."

Giselle Shardlow, founder of Kids Yoga Stories, recommends that families start by spending five minutes per day on a routine that makes yoga meaningful and relevant to your children. "Does your toddler like dinosaurs? Move and breathe like them. Does your teenager like to exercise? Take a walk outside together."

Shardlow believes that bringing yoga into the home allows a more "intimate experience" than kids might find in a studio or at school, one that can change and grow as the child matures.

"Yoga helps us live life to the fullest potential by anchoring us in ourselves," Shardlow said. "It's a lifelong journey you can take together as a family."

Physical activity may help kids do better in school, studies say

Natural light reduces risk of nearsightedness in kids, scientists say

Mobile playground brings exercise to kids who aren't getting it

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Why more kids are learning - and enjoying - yoga

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As I stepped on the sharp edge of a Lego buried in our carpet, my temper snapped. "That's it! I've asked you five times to brush your teeth and put away these toys. It's way past bedtime!" My 5-year-old son looked up at me over the elaborate helicopter he was building.

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This article about personal health and wellness from the Sleep Foundation explains strategies to help anxious students with sleeping. When students don’t get enough sleep, they are unable to function properly throughout the day, and are more likely to develop anxiety or depression. Some strategies include: allowing the child to talk aloud about their fears and nerves, have a consistent schedule, teach the child strategies to help them relax such as deep breathing, stretching, and visualizing a happy place, and have a bedtime routine. The bedtime routine should also include electrons put away at least an hour before bed because the blue light can cause the child to not fall asleep as quickly. As teachers of PreK-4th grade, it is beneficial for us to understand strategies to help children with anxiety and sleeping because we may have a student who needs help with that. Teachers can use these strategies like talking about their feelings and relaxation techniques in the classroom as well to help students who struggle with anxiety.

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Sleep problems are common among kids who are anxious or who are making a transition to a new school. They might have trouble with falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up too early or experiencing nightmares, all of which can compound their daytime stress levels. In fact, there's a two-way street between anxiety and sleep: Kids who don't get enough sleep or sufficient good-quality sleep are susceptible to developing greater anxiety and depression, and have more trouble adjusting to new circumstances over time. Plus, ongoing sleep problems can take a toll on your child's performance at school as well as his or her physical and mental health.

The good news is, you can take steps to ease your child's anxiety during the day and set him or her up for a good night's sleep. Start with these strategies.

Talk it out. Putting fears and worries into words can help your child feel like the situation is more manageable. Rather than asking leading questions such as "Are you anxious about school?" which can inadvertently reinforce your child's nervousness, it's better to ask open-ended ones such as "How are you feeling about the start of school?" Once specific concerns are revealed, you can reassure your child and together come up with strategies for managing those worries (such as planning to sit next to a best pal at lunch or on the bus). Be sure to time these chats optimally-afternoon is better than right before bed, which could trigger a bout of worrying and keep your child up even later.

Stick with a schedule. Kids of all ages find routines comforting and reassuring so try to maintain consistent times for homework, chores, sports, meals, and bed. Establish these routines a few weeks before school starts so they become a matter of habit. Also, having a family ritual to look forward to-say, game night every Friday-can help channel a child's stress into positive anticipation.

Learn relaxation strategies. These can include deep breathing, visualizing a calm place, doing gentle stretches, or repeating a soothing mantra such as "I can handle this." Practice together, and encourage your child to use these strategies in the morning, before bed, and on an as-needed basis.

Establish bedtime rituals. Impose a digital curfew: Have kids power down all electronics, including the TV, an hour or two before bedtime to help their bodies release more sleep-inducing melatonin. (The blue light emitted from electronic devices can delay the release of this hormone.) Use the time to give your child a warm bath or shower, read a pleasant book, listen to gentle music or sounds from nature, play with cuddly stuffed animals, or engage in a calming activity such as coloring.

School stress can be significant and rarely disappears overnight. By using these approaches consistently, you'll slowly help your child to relax, leading to less daytime anxiety and better sleep over time.

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Essential Ways to Help a Child with School Anxiety Get a Better Night's Sleep - National Sleep Foundation

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Sleep problems are common among kids who are anxious or who are making a transition to a new school. They might have trouble with falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up too early or experiencing nightmares, all of which can compound their daytime stress levels.

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This article on healthy eating is from Nemours KidsHealth which explains many tips on how to work with children who are picky eaters or children who don’t like to try new things. It begins to explain how toddlers begin learning through their experiences around them, trying new things, and independence is many times first tried through eating.  It is important to not bargain with the child, but to encourage the child to eat healthy foods, and if they refuse don’t force it. Also, the “if you eat a few more bites, you can get dessert” trick only reinforces that the dessert is the most important part of the meal. It is better to eat together, encourage positive eating habits, and serve the correct portions of foods. Listening to the child of what they like and don’t like can help the adult structure meals to help them try new things and expand their food experiences. Especially for PreK-Kindergarten teachers, this is helpful to engage children in positive eating habits early on. This will then allow for them to continue eating healthy as they grow up and help them physically develop.

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Toddlers are learning to navigate their world, communicate, and control some parts of their lives. They don't actually have control over much, but eating is one of the first areas they will master.

Parents can help them enjoy their limited power by giving them appropriate amounts of freedom when it comes to choosing foods and eating them.

That's not to say toddlers are deciding what to have for dinner. Parents have the important job of providing the kinds of foods that an active toddler needs. A parent's role is to present healthy foods and let a child decide which ones to eat - or whether to eat at all. Parents can steer a toddler toward healthy eating, but might have to do it in a crafty way.

By anticipating problems and offering choices, parents teach kids which behaviors will yield positive results and which ones won't.

Here's how to turn common concerns into opportunities to teach healthy eating habits.

Most Toddlers Are Picky Eaters

Many toddlers express their budding independence through eating - or not eating, as the case may be. So nearly all toddlers could be described as picky eaters. If kids don't like a food, they won't eat it - no rocket science there.

Does your toddler want to eat only macaroni and cheese? When a child is stuck on one food, a parent might feel forced to serve that food every day so the child eats something. But eventually the child may tire of that food - and then what?

You choose the foods on your toddler's plate - and you don't have to serve macaroni and cheese daily. If you do, you miss an opportunity to introduce new foods and increase the number of those your child is willing to eat. Most of these "food jags" won't last long if parents don't give in to them.

Kids won't starve, but they will learn to be more flexible rather than go hungry. Present a variety of healthy foods - including established favorites and some new foods - to make up the menu. Your toddler may surprise you one day by eating all of them.

Your toddler doesn't like green beans the first time around? Don't stop serving them. Kids are naturally slow to accept new tastes and textures, so keep reintroducing the beans. Serve a small portion and encourage your child to try a bite without nagging or forcing.

And be sure you're setting a good example! Serve nutritious foods that you like or eat something new so your kids see you enjoying what you're asking them to eat.

Don't Bargain for Bites

You want your child to eat the spinach you serve; your child drops it on the floor. Your well-meaning impulse may be to start talking up nutritious foods, saying how big and strong spinach will make your child. Or you might start bargaining: "Well, if you eat three more bites, I'll give you a cookie." The problem is that these tactics don't work in the long run.

Who hasn't used the line about spinach making you strong? But this approach may build dislike for the healthy food rather than acceptance. This doesn't mean you shouldn't teach kids about the benefits of healthy foods, but don't push too much by celebrating every bite of spinach your toddler eats or disapproving when he or she refuses.

For some kids, dinner becomes a negotiation session from the very start, and parents have been using dessert as an incentive for decades. But this doesn't encourage healthy eating. Instead it creates the impression that "treats" are more valuable than mealtime food. Foods like candy and cookies are not essential to a child's diet and it's not a deprivation to not serve them during the toddler years.

Threatening a punishment, much like bribing a child with dessert, ultimately isn't effective either. It creates a power struggle.

To encourage healthy eating, continue offering your child an array of nutritious choices - and keep the mealtime mood upbeat. Also try these tips:

Serve right-sized portions. Parents often overestimate how much food a child should eat. Especially with foods that aren't yet favorites, a couple of tablespoons is plenty to start with. Small portions are less overwhelming, while bigger portions may encourage overeating.

Don't negotiate. It's fine to encourage kids to "try one bite" but don't fall into the negotiating trap. Prepare and serve healthy meals and let them decide what to eat.

Have family meals together. Set your toddler's place at the family table - it's good for kids of this age to see their parents and siblings eating together and eating healthy foods. Kids eat a more nutritious diet, with more fruits and vegetables, when they regularly have family meals.

Create positive peer pressure. Toddlers are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables if they see their peers eating them, so look for opportunities where they can eat healthy with friends.

Let Kids Feed Themselves

Kids should start finger feeding around 9 months of age and try using utensils by 15-18 months. Provide many opportunities for this, but make sure your toddler eats enough so that the experience doesn't lead to frustration.

Jump in to help when necessary, but pay attention to hunger cues and signs that your child is full. You can always offer more if your child still seems hungry, but you can't take the food back if you overfeed. When you're controlling the fork or spoon, resist the urge to slip in one more bite. And as your toddler gets the hang of eating, step back and let your child take over.

Some parents think that not letting kids feed themselves is for the best, but it takes away control that rightfully belongs to kids at this age. They need to decide whether to eat, what they will eat, and how much to eat - this is how they learn to recognize the internal cues that tell them when they're hungry and when they're full. Just as important, toddlers need to learn and practice the mechanics of feeding themselves.

Listen to Your Child

Be alert to what toddlers say through their actions. A child who is building a tower of crackers or dropping carrots on the floor may be telling you he or she is full. Pushing food on a child who's not hungry may dull the internal cues that help kids know when they've eaten enough.

But this doesn't mean that it's practical or advisable for kids to eat on demand all day long. Those who eat all day may not learn what it is like to be hungry or full. That's why structured meals and snack times are important.

Kids can manage their hunger when they come to expect that food will be available during certain times of the day. If a child chooses not to eat anything at all, simply offer food again at the next meal or snack time.

Can Kids Skip a Meal?

Many toddlers need to eat often - as much as six times a day, including three meals and two or three snacks. Keep this in mind as you establish a pattern of meal and snacks. But realize that a food schedule only sets the times that you will present food to your toddler. Your child may not take every opportunity to eat.

Allowing kids to skip a meal is a difficult concept because many of us were raised to clean our plates and not waste food. But kids should be allowed to respond to their own hunger cues, a vital skill when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight. That means eating when hungry - and sometimes not eating, even if it's time for Thanksgiving dinner.

Set times for meals and snacks and try to stick to them. A child who skips a meal finds it reassuring to know when to expect the next one. Avoid offering snacks or pacifying hungry kids with cups of milk or juice right before a meal - this can diminish their appetite and decrease their willingness to try a new food being offered.

Avoid the Junk Food Trap

Toddlers need to eat healthy to get the nutrients their growing bodies need. Candy, potato chips, and other low-nutrient "junk foods" shouldn't be part of their diet because they can crowd out the healthy foods needed. Also, food preferences are established early in life, so don't miss opportunities to help your toddler develop a taste for nutritious foods.

Even if your child likes candy or chips, don't feel like you must give in. Kids can't run to the store to buy them, so just don't keep them in the house.

If your toddler asks for candy, simply say, "We don't have any candy." Then present two healthy snack alternatives to choose from. Even a child who mourns the lack of candy will still enjoy the sense of control from deciding which healthy snack to eat.

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Toddlers at the Table: Avoiding Power Struggles

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Toddlers are learning to navigate their world, communicate, and control some parts of their lives. They don't actually have control over much, but eating is one of the first areas they will master. Parents can help them enjoy their limited power by giving them appropriate amounts of freedom when it comes to choosing foods and eating them.

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This article on mental health from PBS describes the story of many different students between middle and high school ages who struggled before or after transitioning to high school. They were able to take time off from school to help their depression and anxiety get better. Since it is hard for many students to come back to school and return to their typical schedules, a program was put in place to provide emotional and academic support as they come back to ensure they are improving. Every day for one period, she would go to the BRYT program’s classroom for these supports. This was also created to increase student's attendance rates after coming back from a long break due to mental health. Teachers should realize it’s hard for students to meet expectations when they have hard things going on outside of school. This article is important for PK-4th grade teachers because students will always have baggage they bring to school, but we have to provide them with support, and the tools to help them. We need to teach them it’s okay to have emotions, but you are safe at school, and it’s okay to ask for help when you need it! This BRYT program would also be helpful in an elementary school for students who suffer from trauma, but set up differently to form to an elementary schedule.

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Ava had always felt comfortable at the small, private K-8 school she attended just north of Boston. But in high school everything changed.

Ava first began to experience anxiety and depression after her parents divorced, when she was still in grade school. These problems increased as she entered her teen years, and became even more severe in ninth grade, when she enrolled at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, a vast campus with nearly 2,000 students. Faced with large, noisy classrooms, Ava froze with fear. By her sophomore year, she felt unable to cope. When her mother dropped her off one morning, Ava looked out at the school building, but couldn't open the car door to go inside.

She began to miss two or three days of school a week. In April of that year, she stopped attending altogether.

"Some days I couldn't even get out of bed. I'd find anything to hold on to physically, so I wouldn't have to move."

"Some days I couldn't even get out of bed," said Ava, who is 17 with light auburn hair. "I'd find anything to hold on to physically, so I wouldn't have to move." (The last names of students featured in this story have been withheld to protect their privacy.)

Ava's physician suggested she look into BRYT, or Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition, which helps students return to school after extended mental health-related absences. Ava, now a junior, was skeptical at first. But eventually she agreed to transition back to school while spending one period a day in the program's dedicated classroom, where she received emotional and psychological support and assistance catching up on the schoolwork she'd missed.

READ MORE: Another tool to improve student mental health? Kids talking to kids

Ava was fortunate. As many as one in five children need help with a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. These students often have trouble processing information or focusing, which can contribute to a cycle of increased anxiety, dropping grades and missed school days, say experts. Yet schools typically lack the money and staff to help students cope with what experts describe as a mental health epidemic. One study found that nearly 80 percent of students failed to receive the mental health care they needed, and more than 50 percent of students ages 14 and older with emotional and behavioral disabilities drop out of school.

"Districts that are less resourced might be sharing one psychologist for the entire school district, or one psychologist who is responsible for 3,000 kids," said Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach, policy director for the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). "When you have these shortages of these professionals, you're really only able to serve those kids who are in extreme crisis."

Absent a national blueprint for helping students cope with mental health conditions, states are scrambling to identify potential prototypes. The BRYT program, which was founded and pioneered in a Boston-area school in 2004 by the nonprofit Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, has emerged as a successful model for helping kids re-enter school after a mental health crisis. The Brookline Center works with school districts to help them plan and implement BRYT programs, which are staffed by school employees. Although the center doesn't finance programs, it helps schools identify potential sources of funding.

Ninety percent of students in BRYT remain on track to graduate, and their attendance rates have increased from 52 percent before participation to above 80 percent after. The program itself is expanding. BRYT's director, Paul Hyry-Dermith, said 137 schools in Massachusetts now employ the program and pilots are starting to roll out in Rhode Island, New York and New Hampshire. Partnerships are also in the works with school districts in Washington state and Oregon.

At Cambridge Rindge & Latin, an ethnically diverse school that in 2018 sent 82 percent of its graduates to college, the BRYT classroom is tucked at the end of a quiet hallway. Blue parchment covers the fluorescent ceiling lights, showering the space in a balmy azure. A walnut-stained rocking chair with an embroidered cushion that reads "Be Kind" rests in one corner. In another corner, a noise machine beckons for attention before it's soon forgotten.

Eleven students spend one assigned period a day here, where they chat with counselors, prepare for and work on homework assignments with the program's academic liaison, or simply rest and relax. Students are also welcome in the room any time they feel overwhelmed.

"Many of the kids in our program are coming out of a psychiatric hospitalization," said Ashley Sitkin, BRYT clinician/program leader at Rindge & Latin. "Some of the kids haven't been hospitalized but they've missed a lot of school because they've gotten stuck in this avoidance cycle, which is really common for kids who struggle with anxiety and depression."

At Rindge & Latin, Sitkin and her colleague, academic coordinator Nkrumah Jones, disrupt that cycle with a three-to-four-month reintegration plan that includes emotional support and mental care coordination. That includes a clinical diagnosis of students before they enter the program, and constant contact with outside health providers who also provide each student with care. Sitkin and her staff also reach out to parents and keep them informed. Academic coordination is crucial, too. Both BRYT coordinators and teachers acknowledge it is unrealistic to expect students who miss weeks of school to make up all class work, so care coordinators serve as a liaison between student and teacher, indentifying key assignments and ironing out a make-up plan.

Eli, a trans student at Rindge & Latin, began to battle with depression in eighth grade, a condition that worsened the following year when he entered high school. By his sophomore year, therapy and medication proved fruitless. Eli stopped going to school. He checked into a psychiatric hospital, an experience that his mother said replenished Eli's hope and helped him kick his meds. But the thought of returning to school tormented Eli. Unable to walk into the building, he met Sitkin and Jones at the school door before being escorted to the safe space.

"I was dealing with pretty severe anxiety and depression. I would miss school, which would make me more stressed, which meant I would want to miss more school," said Eli. Before participating in BRYT, Eli, now a senior, would attend just three or four classes a day, he said. Gradually, with help from Sitkin, he returned to classes full time. "I was behind on school work before I left, so the academic coordination, having someone else deal with my teachers, was really, really helpful."

At Rindge & Latin, the mental health challenges students contend with have become more severe in recent years. Student suicide is a growing worry. Several students attempted suicide this semester, teachers and staff said. "I had a student today tell me she's feeling very suicidal," said Sitkin.

That's part of a national trend. The suicide rate for children and young adults, ages 10 to 24, rose by 56 percent from 2007 and 2017 and is now the second leading cause of death among teenagers, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Some 3,000 high school students across the U.S. attempt suicide every day.

"It's hard to meet these expectations when you're going through a lot outside of school."

Duncan MacLaury, a history teacher in his fourth year at Rindge & Latin, said he often sees students struggling with depression and suicidal ideation. Ibrahim Dagher, who teaches Arabic at the school, also sees the symptoms, though often they are hard to detect.

"I have a student who has been through a very traumatic experience," said Dagher. "She attempted suicide this year, and I had no idea, meaning I saw no signs. She was present in class the day of, so that really shocked me."

Experts point to the increased use of smart phones and social media as the likely culprit for the spike in teen suicide over the last decade. New technology keeps kids in front of screens instead of interacting face-to-face with their peers, they say, which leads to increased isolation. It can also expose them to feelings of insecurity and to cyber harassment and bullying.

Social media helped exacerbate emotional problems for Tashin, 17, a junior at Rindge & Latin. She first started experiencing anxiety after exposure to family violence, but her slide into depression hastened when she was in eighth grade, after students began to bully her online. They would create group chats on Instagram mocking her and then send posts her way. The social bullying continued when Tashin was a sophomore at Rindge & Latin, and she began to miss school. Shortly afterward, she entered a hospital after she began to cut herself.

"That has stayed with me," said Tashin, now a junior and a BRYT alum, of the social media bullying. "A lot of people told me I wouldn't get anywhere in life."

READ MORE: A new movement to treat children as 'sad, not bad'

Dorchester, just south of Boston, wallows in hardship. The per capita income is just $26,292, the second lowest in the Boston area, and almost more than $10,000 less than the city average. Just 14 percent of residents hold bachelor's degrees. The 460 students at Boston Arts Academy reflect these economic burdens: Two thirds come from economically disadvantaged families, and one third entered ninth grade reading below grade level.

Students at the Academy, the Boston school system's only public high school for the arts, carry the weight of stress and community violence, said Charmain Jackman, the school's dean of Health & Wellness. Students embody these stressors with increased levels of depression and trauma. Thought disorders like schizophrenia and delusional disorder are also up here, all made worse, said Jackman, by the recent death of a beloved teacher.

That has placed pressure on the school's mental health services, and its Bridge program, which is similar to the BRYT model used at Rindge & Latin. Besides helping students reenter school after mental health-related absences, the program, started in 2014, focuses on what directors call pre-emptive help. If program coordinators notice a student becoming high risk - excessive absences or tardiness -they will intervene.

The dedicated classroom here is tiny, a roughly 12- by 15-foot room crammed with a few 5-foot-long desks and two computers. A tack board welcomes the program's nine participants and helps coordinators keep track of student comings and goings.

Despite its narrow confines, the room served as a home for Dashawn, a senior here, at a time he desperately needed shelter. As a sophomore, Dashawn lost his father. Devastated family members went their separate ways. Dashawn's mother slid into depression, exacerbated by her inability to afford the rent after her husband's death; she moved to Georgia to start a new life. Penniless and alone, Dashawn drifted from friend's house to friend's house. Inevitably, he was asked to leave after a few weeks. He slept in hallways at times.

"Outside it's like, 'Damn, where am I going to sleep tonight?'" said Dashawn, now 19. "Coming to school is the part where, 'O.K., you're good for now.'"

Dashawn credits Bridge with giving him a space where he could be vulnerable and let his emotions out. Sarah Nichols, coordinator of the Bridge program, and Jackman helped just by being there and reassuring him he could get through a rough patch in his life, he said. The program also helped him communicate with his teachers and make up assignments. Program coordinators gave him gift cards for food and helped him fill out applications for housing. But they also gave him a space to sit down and gather his thoughts.

"I've had tensions with teachers because they think, 'Oh, you're not working, your quality is not good enough,'" said Dashawn, who now lives with an uncle in a stable setting.

"It's hard to meet these expectations when you're going through a lot outside of school," he said, crediting Bridge with helping him sprout into adulthood. "I'm starting to walk now, and I'm just thankful."

Boston Arts Academy does not have the resources that Rindge & Latin enjoys. Students shuffle through dim corridors. The school's makeshift library spills from one dedicated classroom into an adjacent hallway. Substance abuse is up among students, 90 percent of whom are people of color, mostly Latino and black. Jackman, who said her mornings are filled with "back-to-back" students, described the Academy as an urban school with a lot of stress and few resources.

"Every school personnel I've spoken to have talked about increased stress and anxiety of students in general," said Jackman. "It's relentless right now."

"Early intervention is much more effective than waiting until a kid is in a crisis, and that's what happens in a lot of schools."

But staff at both schools said one of their biggest frustrations is that, although anxiety is widespread, they only have time for the students with the most acute problems.

"Early intervention is much more effective than waiting until a kid is in a crisis, and that's what happens in a lot of schools that don't have these adequate members of mental health staff," said Vaillancourt Strobach of the National Association of School Psychologists. "There is an entire population of students who really aren't getting the care that they need, or it's putting the responsibility on the community, where there is also a significant shortage."

Sitkin at Rindge & Latin emphasized that BRYT is a short-term stabilization model. She agrees with Vaillancourt Strobach - schools need to be better equipped to help students cope with social-emotional issues when they're younger, before the problems grow. Only focusing on students in crisis is unsustainable, she said.

Sitkin, referring to herself, said, "Ten Ashleys can help 100 more students, but it's not going to solve the problem. But how do we help the majority of students who also have struggles? There is always going to be those students."

But for struggling students like Ava at Rindge & Latin, the help they receive at school can alter the course of their lives.

"BRYT is a miracle worker in a way. I wasn't going to finish high school," said Ava. "It's about getting out of the car. It's about being here and being O.K."
This story about mental health in schools was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

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Students often struggle after a mental health crisis. Can this support system help?

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Ava had always felt comfortable at the small, private K-8 school she attended just north of Boston. But in high school everything changed. Ava first began to experience anxiety and depression after her parents divorced, when she was still in grade school.