Everyone gets embarrassed, but children especially can have a hard time putting embarrassment into perspective. Here are two great tips for helping your child process embarrassment: Take your child’s feelings seriously, but don’t overreact. Telling your child that their experience is no big deal, might be interpreted as equivalent to saying that their feelings are…
Read MoreCultivate… SAFETY by Eliminating Toxic Influences
As we wrap up Mental Health Month, we are sharing Mental Health America’s Tools 2 Thrive toolkit, which is filled with tools and resources that everyone can use to improve their mental health, resiliency, and emotional safety. On average, 80% of Americans have experienced emotional abuse. Therefore, Eliminating Toxic Influences is one of the many…
Read MoreCultivate… KNOWLEDGE and Understand Oklahoma’s Law on Reporting Child Abuse
Did you know that every single person in Oklahoma, including you and me, are legally obligated to make a report if a child under the age of 18 is suspected to be a victim of abuse or neglect? In fact, under Oklahoma’s Title 10A, Section 1-2-101, it is a misdemeanor offense for anyone who fails…
Read MoreCultivate… COMMUNICATION by Sharing Feelings Through Art
Are you curious to how your child is feeling but he or she struggles with communication? This can be very frustrating to parents and caregivers to not know how their child is feeling during difficult times such as experiencing a loss in the family, stay-at-home orders due to the pandemics, or even bullying situations. That…
Read MoreCultivate… RELATIONSHIPS By Asking Your Kids For Advice
Do you sometimes catch yourself stepping in to help get your kids out of a sticky situation? Have they ever asked you to bring their homework to school because they forgot it at home and it was due? Been there, done that. But as a friendly reminder, it is also important to remember that children…
Read MoreCultivate… SAFETY by Fighting Mental Health Stigma
Did you know that 1 in 5 Americans are affected by mental illness? And in most cases, Americans with a mental health condition do not seek the help they so desperately need because they may have been blamed or stigmatized for their mental illness. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “stigma causes…
Read MoreCultivating… COMMUNICATION with Self-Empowering Mantras
Everyone knows that self-care is important and having a self-care routine can reduce our anxiety and restore our energy (physically and mentally). But sometimes, we lack the motivation to practice self-care. So what do we do if once we lose motivation and energy to continue our self-care routines? The answer: positive self-talk. We’ve mentioned before…
Read MoreCultivate…RELATIONSHIPS by being a safe place for your teen’s difficult emotions
We often confuse mental wellness with feeling good all of the time. While it’s true that practicing optimism, gratitude, and other wellness skills can drastically improve mental health, we will never be exempt from experiencing uncomfortable emotions. Sadness, anxiety, grief, loneliness, and more are all normal during this time. In a recent article for in…
Read MoreCultivate… KNOWLEDGE and Learn About The Science of Risk Factors
There are many factors that contribute to behavioral health so it’s important for us to identify the risk factors that are associated to negative outcomes by providing opportunities to increase protective factors that prevents or reduce the risk factor’s impact. To better understand the science of risk factors, here is a video from Communities That…
Read MoreCultivate… RELATIONSHIPS by Understanding The Importance of Supportive Adult Relationships
Research has shown children with at least one supportive adult relationship will overcome hardships later in life, regardless of their upbringing. It is important for parents and caregivers to provide them with support along with other skills in order to strengthen their foundation of resilience they need to effectively cope with future possible stress and…
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