Importance of Family Time on Kids Mental Health and Adjustment to Life
The goal of every parent is to raise a happy and well-adjusted child. There are thousands of books which provide information and advice on raising children successfully. Experts in their respective fields strive to give parents the most up to date information whether it is about health, nutrition, child development, education, or parenting. However, one simple truth is often overlooked: Children from birth to adulthood need time and attention from their parents. Sometimes parents become so anxious to raise a “successful” child that they overlook the importance of spending time interacting personally with their child or children. This does not mean rushing from school to extracurricular activity to supervising homework. Interactive time is that spent with both child and parent fully engaged in an activity together. The importance of this time is multifold:
Teens Cutting and Other Self Injurious Behavior in Children and Adolescents
Most parents believe that the transition from child to pre-teen to adolescent is fraught with behavioral and emotional challenges due to a variety of causes – hormones, peer influences, and rebelliousness to name a few. However, the vast majority of children transition through adolescence relatively unscathed and go on to live happy and productive lives. The individuals who struggle during adolescence often have underlying psychiatric disorders and are experiencing stressful environments such as family, social, health, or academic issues.
Self-injurious behavior is one maladaptive behavior that has increased in frequency in adolescents. Self-injury, “cutting,” or “self-cutting” is defined as purposeful self-harm without the intent of suicide. Cutting is usually accomplished with sharp objects (razor blades, knives, or broken glass for example) but can also include burning oneself (using fire or through friction such as rubbing an eraser repeatedly on the skin), self-biting, pinching, or punching. It is almost always a repetitive behavior, and contrary to popular belief, it is not usually an attention-seeking behavior. Research has shown that the location of the self-injury is usually in areas that are hidden by clothing such as the arms, abdomen, inner thighs, feet, genitals, and torso (especially near the breasts in females).
Amount of Television Viewing in Early Childhood Negatively Impacts Later Functioning
Arecent study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reports that early television exposure has negative effects on children’s functioning at follow-ups as late as fourth grade.
Dr. Pagani and colleagues examined the influence of television exposure at 29… Continue reading
Adolescent Boys Who Practice Mindfulness Meditation Show Improved Mood and Contentment
Mindfulness refers to being completely in touch with and aware of the present moment, as well as taking a non-evaluative and non-judgmental approach to your inner experience. For example, a mindful approach to one’s inner experience is simply viewing “thoughts… Continue reading
One in Five Adolescents Have Psychiatric Disorder
Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health have reported on the prevalence data on a broad range of mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents, which show that approximately one in five children in the U.S. meet the criteria for a mental disorder severe enough to disrupt their daily lives.
Therapy Dogs Reduce Stress in Autistic Children
A new study by researchers at the Universite of Montreal published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology reveals that Autistic children who are exposed to the presence of a therapy dog have reduced stress levels.
“Our findings showed that the dogs had… Continue reading
New Study Find Signs of Schizophrenia in Babies
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Columbia University have found that signs of schizophrenia can be detected in babies as young as a few weeks old. Their study is published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.… Continue reading
Binge Eating Severity Found to be Directly Related to Severity of Childhood Sexual or Emotional Abuse
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is an eating disorder in which an individual eats large quantities of food, usually very quickly. However, unlike Bulimia, the person does not “purge” the food by vomiting, use of laxatives, or excessive exercise.
A recent study… Continue reading
Gluten-Free Cassein-Free Diet May Not Improve Symptoms of Autism
The study was headed by Susan Hyman, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y. The new study results follow another report, published in the summer edition of Research in Autism Spectrum… Continue reading
