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Stress

Teenage girl sitting on couch looking at her phone.

Mental Health TikTok and Teens

Last week I was scrolling through TikTok after a friend sent me a video of a hedgehog taking a bath (a video experience I highly recommend). Just as I was working to pull away from the algorithm-induced vortex, another video caught my attention. A young man facing the camera was pointing to a list of…  Read More

Young people holding hands navigating stress

A Mindset For Teens That Embraces (Some) Stress

​​Math was by far my favorite subject in elementary school. Other subjects required more effort. But math felt comfortable and full of ease. It felt great when others offered praised for my “natural” math abilities. This was all well and good until my eighth grade geometry class. I was completely lost from the moment I…  Read More

Child actively noticing grass below a tree

Why Noticing New Things Is a Path to Mindfulness That We All Need Right Now

“How’s your summer going?” I recently asked another parent at our neighborhood park.  “Good!” he quickly responded. I waited a bit because his face looked less certain than his immediate response.  “No, I mean, good. Everything is good! Kids are good. I’m good.” He went on, clearly second guessing his answer in real time. We…  Read More

Group of teenagers sitting outside in a circle talking together.

Adolescent Mental Health: Why Teens Are Sensitive to Stress AND Support

For years, many parents and advocates have spent the month of May trying to break through the noise to assert the importance of mental health awareness. This year, for better and for worse, mental health has decidedly occupied the spotlight. More than ever, we are having national conversations about mental health and wellbeing.  Unfortunately though,…  Read More

Creative Supports for Challenging Times

Introducing Spark & Stitch Creative Projects

I had just said goodbye to my kids as they headed into school when I heard a familiar voice behind me doing the same. I turned around to see a parent I hadn’t seen since our kids had been in class together before the pandemic. Without thinking, I greeted her with the usual “How are…  Read More

Child boarding school bus with a mask

Back-to-School: What Do Kids Need From Us?

School districts and parents across the country are focusing on how to keep children safe as they head back to school this fall. These conversations are essential as we do everything we can to protect our kids’ health and learning through the pandemic. While highly visible and politically divisive measures like masks or distancing dominate…  Read More

Child pressing folded hands against parents hands in an act of apology

Kids, Parenting, and Apologizing

In the first year of the pandemic, I was participating in a meeting last week with a group of parent educators when the facilitator posed these questions as “ice-breakers” before we got deeper into our agenda: What is something you have spent more time on during these challenging times? What has grounded you and your…  Read More

Small child holding hands with their parent staying connected during challenge

Five Ways to Stay Connected to Kids During Stressful Times

This parent spoke for many others when she shared this recently. “I keep reading that kids need us to stay connected more than ever during this pandemic. But our family is stretched so thin. My partner is working in a grocery store, and I am working from home, teaching my kids, and parenting. I feel…  Read More

Child not motivated to start distance learning work.

The Science of Motivation

We certainly know motivation when we experience it. Close your eyes and I bet you can conjure a time when your goals felt compelling and the path towards them manageable and, dare I say, energizing. The opposite feeling is also familiar, when our goals feel fuzzy, our feet heavy, and the pathways uninviting. It’s hard…  Read More

Child tantrumming stressed on floor

The Many Faces of Stress in Children and Teens

Last week I walked downstairs to find my two sons playing a game of chess. “How delightful!” I thought to myself. We had been practicing social distancing for a couple of weeks already, and everyone in our family was getting antsy. Seeing my kids getting along like this was like balm for my weary parenting…  Read More