Blog

The negative effects of helicopter-parenting on children are well documented. Research shows it can lead to psychological distress, narcissism, poor adjustment, alcohol and drug use and a host of other behavioral problems in young adults ages 18 to 25. But why do some parents teach their children to fish and others feed their children fish? Helicopter moms and dads hover over their children—taking care of tasks children could do themselves such as cooking, cleaning, or paying bills—removing obstacles, solving problems or overseeing every aspect of a child’s life. But why are some parents driven to overly focus on their kids? Could the perfection and anxiety that makes some employees top-notch workers backfire when they employ those same tactics to parenting? And could your own career success that you want for your children do more harm than good?

In trying times, sorting through your thoughts and emotions can be hard. If you are looking for help, there is no substitute for professional treatment and medical intervention. A self-care podcast may provide supplemental support. There are many programs that guide audiences through meditations, take them into psychologists’ offices or share conversations with experts on mental well-being. These four podcasts might help you reflect on your feelings or simply provide insights about mental health and the human psyche you didn’t know before.

COVID-19 forced Keriann Wilmot’s son to trade his classroom for a computer. It was a tough transition for a 10-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. “It was a different environment for him,” Wilmot says. “He wasn’t used to this kind of work from school coming in the format of an email in his Chromebook every single day.” Her son would avoid math and writing and instead go straight to his favorite subjects: science and social studies. But even then, online assignments could be a problem. “There might be something when he opened it that was like a really pretty PDF that had lots of beautiful illustrations and fonts,” Wilmot says. “And he would look at it and just get overwhelmed and shut the laptop and walk away.

“Sixty percent of college students say the pandemic has made it harder to access mental health care, even as financial stresses and prevalence of depression increased among them, according to a new survey on the impact of COVID-19 on student well-being. The survey by the Healthy Minds Network for Research on Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health and […]

In many places, people are wearing masks or cloth face coverings when they’re in public because of coronavirus (COVID-19). It’s an important way to help slow the spread of the virus. At first, it was mostly doctors, nurses, and others in health care settings who wore masks. But now, as other people  wear them, more and more kids […]