How to Address Anxiety Disorders if You’re a Parent or Guardian   While most people think that anxiety disorders are only prevalent in adults, this is not the case. Anxiety in children and teens is occurring more often nowadays, and this can leave a searing imprint on their childhood, adolescent or teenage years. Types of Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders These are the five most common types of anxiety disorders in children:1,2,3 • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Kids with this disorder worry excessively about aspects of life such as studies, sports, behavior, punctuality at school and even natural disasters. These kids tend to be restless, irritable, tense and easily tired; they often aim to be people-pleasers and “perfectionists,” and don’t settle for anything that is less than perfect, lest they become very disappointed. Kids with GAD experience concentration or sleeping difficulties, lack confidence, and may need to be reassured at times. GAD indicators are said to appear once a child reaches school age (usually at 7 or 8 years old), but some preschool children may already have this anxiety disorder.4 Girls are twice as likely to have GAD compared to boys.5 • Separation Anxiety Disorder: This condition occurs when children experience extreme anxiety when they realize they might be separated from home, family members or caregivers. Children with separation anxiety disorder often want to remain at home and/or be close to their parents. This can affect their social and academic capabilities. While it’s considered normal for children to feel scared because of the threat of being separated from parents, it’s only appropriate until they are about 2 years old. As the child ages, this fear should dissipate. Typical symptoms of this disorder include constant worrying about their parents whenever separated, clinginess, refusal to go to school and fear of sleeping alone. In some cases, the child can also experience separation-related nightmares, stomachaches and headaches. Separation anxiety disorder in children can occur at different points of their school life, especially during kindergarten, middle or high school. Children in their elementary years (typically 7 to 9 years old) may show signs, too.6 • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Children who have OCD exhibit obsessions (constant, overwhelming thoughts) and/or practice compulsions (customs or habits that aim to decrease onset of said thoughts and prevent possible consequences). These two components of OCD are both time-consuming, and may lead to disruptions in normal routines and increased anxiety. Some OCD indicators in children include a fear of illness, anxiety toward handwriting or neatness in their home or schoolwork,7 constant handwashing, and health checks on family members because of fear that they may get hurt.8 The first symptoms of OCD typically appear in early childhood or adolescence, with most kids being diagnosed at 10 years old. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, boys are more likely to have an OCD diagnosis before reaching puberty, while girls become affected during their adolescent years. • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): This affects children who [...]

Research is showing that most preschool children develop a taste for salt, sugar and fat at their homes. In an experiment, researchers looked at the association between the taste preferences of more than 100 preschool children and their emerging awareness of brands of fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages. All of the children were able to pair at least some products with the companies that made them. The results suggest that fast food and soda brand knowledge is linked to the development of a preference for sugar, fat and salt in food. According to USA Today: "Parents need to carefully consider the types of foods they give to young children at home and in restaurants ... Repeated exposure builds taste preferences." A separate study also found that diets high in processed foods, fat and sugar are lowering children's IQ. Researchers found that a predominantly processed-food diet at the age of 3 is directly associated with a lower IQ at age 8.5. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals, on the other hand, helped boost kids' mental performance. As The Guardian reported: "Every one-point increase in the study's dietary pattern score – a record of processed fat intake – was associated with a 1.67-point fall in IQ … The brain grows at its fastest rate during the first three years of life. "It is possible that good nutrition during this period may encourage optimal brain growth," the report added." Dr. Mercola's Comments: As a parent, one of the best gifts you can give your child is a strong nutritional start. The first years of life represent a time of rapid development, during which your child's language, cognitive, social and motor skills are developed. During the first three years of life, the brain also grows at its fastest rate, and this represents a crucial window of development during which proper nutrition is essential. If your child does not get healthy foods (and ideally first breast milk) during this time, his future intelligence could be impacted. Your Child's Intelligence and Future Food Choices Depend on You A new study from British researchers revealed just how big an impact a poor nutritional start can have on your kids. Those who ate a predominantly processed food diet at age 3 had lower IQ scores at age 8.5. For each measured increase in processed foods, participants had a 1.67-point decrease in IQ. As you might suspect, the opposite also held true, with those eating healthier diets experiencing higher IQ levels. For each measured increase in dietary score, which meant the child was eating more fruits and vegetables for instance, there was a 1.2-point increase in IQ. Separate research also highlighted just how quickly kids pick up on, and learn to prefer, a junk-food diet. When parents fed their preschool-aged children junk foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, it had a lasting impact on their taste preferences. All of the children tested showed preferences for junk foods, and all (even those who [...]

When my siblings and I were in elementary school, our family always ate weekday dinners together. During dinner we talked about everything. Everyone in the family had a chance to talk about problems, successes, and minutia of the day. My folks insisted that if we wanted to be listened to, we had to listen to everyone else, including them. Our listening training came unusually early in life, and it has served the three of us quite well. What my folks did was to create an environment conducive to sincere communication. They knew that if they wanted their children to listen to them, they needed to listen to us. How did my parents know how to create this environment? My Mom had a mother who was a superb listener, and when my Dad married Mom, he gained a Mother-in-Law that listened so effectively to him, he was able to add effective listening to his communication skills. So what is the basis of good communication with children? By the age of 6, your child is already copying how you communicate. If you communicate with other adults or older children respectfully, and listen for understanding and not to advise or prescribe, then your child will copy that behavior. Their first learning of what is okay and not okay in speaking and listening comes from you. Imagine your child coming home from daycare excited to tell you what they did that day. You, busy sorting mail, prepping supper, texting, or talking on the phone, ask them to wait until you are finished without telling them how long that might be. All they can see from their perspective is that everything you are doing is more important than listening to them. Their self-esteem takes a hit. If this pattern continues, it becomes the communication norm for that child. Unless the communication norm shifts for some reason, your child brings the lessons learned from your communication behavior into their formative and teenage years. Their experience of “What I have to say isn’t important,” has become fact. At this stage, when having important conversations with your child is critical to their self-esteem, ethical, and critical thinking growth, this long-standing norm is blocking the way. "The most important way to talk so your child will listen is to listen to your child," says New York City psychoanalyst Gail Saltz, MD. "If they feel listened too, they are more likely to be able to listen and will feel more understood, have more trust, and be more interested in what you have to say." Here is the great news. You CAN change the communication norm in your family. It will take time and practice, but it is possible, and the results become apparent in short order. No matter what type of family system you have: two-parent, single-parent, blended family, or grandparent caregiver, the norm can shift and a new one created.   Understanding What is Happening The first step parents can take to improve family [...]

Dear Mrs. BFC My 12-year-old, always sweet, loving and honest daughter has suddenly turned into Regina   from Mean girls…What is happening???? Signed Former Mom of an angel now dealing with….   Dear Former Mom of an Angel Ok, take a moment to remember yourself at 12 years old. That’s probably hard. It’s as if child birth literally rips away any lingering memories of our childhood selves save for the warm and fuzzy parts where you were a cherub of cuteness. Guess what, it’s highly likely you were an absolute jerk to your mother at some point and you yourself went through this phase, try to remember what it felt like to suddenly have everything you thought you knew turned on its head. That’s what’s happening to your daughter.   This period is a rite of passage for teenage girls. It is the moment in which we fully separate from you, MOM…Yep, it’s happening. Your daughter is becoming an individual. With her own thoughts and opinions, ideas about who she wants to be, how she wants to show up in this world and she has a whole lot of other influences that are way cooler than you are…and she really doesn’t want to be like you right now anyway, no matter how awesome you might be.   It’s time for you to pick any one of these Top Warrior Moms and embody them…quickly https://www.livescience.com/14055-top-12-warrior-moms-history.html   I chose Isabella I, unifier of Spain…   Because…you’re going to need a whole lotta mojo to keep your warrior princess in check during this part of her journey.   We could all use a refresher course in emotional intelligence, compassion, empathy and patience and our kids won’t learn these important lessons with a lecture or sending them to their room, especially now with hormones running high, doors slamming and the utter catastrophe’s occurring daily in her life.   She needs you, now, more than ever, to keep your cool, wield your sword and your love even handedly with the skill and precision of the Warrior Mama within you. You’ve got this.   Here are some helpful tips and reminders to carry in your pocket book (And don’t worry you’re going to have good days and bad days, be patient and don’t be hard on yourself – this is hard.)   Step 1: Teach them cause and effect of their actions and behaviors. Allow them to fail, let them know when their behavior has crossed the line. Look we are all jerks every once in a while, and right now your daughter is being flooded with emotions she doesn’t know how to deal with. It’s really intense, so allow, breath and choose your battles.   Practice: Mom, you do not have to react to every eye roll, snarky come back or moment of sass… the more you choose your battles the more she will learn to do the same. When it matters, set boundaries and if she breaks them, let the [...]

Every grandparent has a “walk three miles in the snow” story about how hard things were in their day. Our parents tell stories of life without microwaves, remote controls, and cell phones that have become modern-day conveniences of people of nearly every income level. I even find myself reminding my kids that back in the day “there was no internet, we had to go to the library.”   One of the goals in life is to make things better for future generations. But what about the generation who has grown up with so many modern conveniences and technological advances, the only real struggle many of them know is that one time the cell towers went down and they had no wi-fi for several hours?   You want your kids to have the things you didn’t, but you also want them to be polite and grateful and not have the feeling that they are “entitled” to the life that has been afforded them.   Here’s how to not have bratty kids:   You Can’t Always Get What You Want   That child that is throwing the tantrum in the store may be too accustomed to things going their way. Kids need to know that not getting what you want is part of life. They don’t always have to be perfectly happy. Resist the urge to satisfy their every desire even if you have the means to do so. Accepting things you cannot change isn’t easy, it takes practice. Give them plenty of it. It will prepare them for the real world and make them more patient adults.   The Rules   Human beings are creatures of habit. Kids need bedtimes, curfews, meal requirements, snack restrictions, chores and other guidelines and responsibilities to establish discipline. Draw a correlation between what they want to do and the rules that they need to follow. They may not agree with you, but at least they know there is a method to the madness of adolescence.   Peer Pressure   Peer pressure can be as tough for parents as it is for their children. Do not follow other parents’ lead in making decisions for your child. Resist the urge to give kids what others have, simply because they have it. Set your own boundaries and timelines for your household. Don’t fall victim to keeping up with the Joneses, even if you can afford it. Sometimes you are the one who needs to just say no.   Raise the Stakes   You know what your child wants, give them a time table and a set of goals to accomplish in before the obtain it. Don’t just give it away. Set age limits for them to get a later bedtime or curfew. If you can afford to get them a car at sixteen, make sure they have to get good grades first. If their quinceanera is about to be MTV worthy, make sure they spend time volunteering and helping out their grandparents on [...]

A school in Jonesboro, Arkansas, has joined many others in turning to an alternative method of discipline. The Success Achievement Academy has stopped using in-school suspension as punishment. Instead, the directors started using yoga as a means of helping students relieve stress and recognize responsibility for their actions. But does yoga instead of suspension work? Yoga Instead of Suspension is Working Carlillian Thompson, the principal at Robert Coleman Elementary in Baltimore, Maryland, would probably argue that yoga and mindfulness meditation are more effective than suspension. Her school began offering yoga and meditation in 2016. The program, called Mindful Moments, was spearheaded by Ali and Atman Smith of Holisitc Life Foundation. “They actually taught the students how to redirect their negative energy into something positive. ” shares Carlillian Thompson, the principal at Coleman. In an interview with CBS This Morning, Thompson claims her school no longer has to use in-school suspension. At Coleman, all children practice mindful breathing and stretching two times per day. The Success Achievement Academy followed this example and implemented the same practice for its K-8 grades. “We did a lot of research on their school and not only how they handled discipline, but they’ve actually put it in their curriculum and that’s what we’ve done here,” stated Todd Rhoades, director at Success Achievement Academy. “What really got our attention in Baltimore, they went to zero suspensions for an entire year. Suspension does not work for our students.”   “They are getting help with learning how to breathe and meditate and to relieve stress, and then part of that not only is there deep breathing there’s also a restorative piece to it, they take responsibility for what they did,” Rhoades added. At both schools, educators now turns to mindfulness in conflict resolution, instead of punishment. “There’s violence going on the in the neighborhood. There’s drug abuse in the neighborhoods. So it’s just there’s all these things just getting dumped on these kids. And they need a way to kinda deal with it,” stated Ali Smith co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation. To see the local news story about yoga at the Success Achievement Academy, click here. Is Yoga Too Much Like a Religion to be Used in Schools? Despite these successes, there are communities where parents are not comfortable with the use of yoga in schools. Below is a discussion on TV show The View about a community in Georgia, where parents were outraged that the school started teaching yoga to students. What do you think? Does it makes sense to try yoga instead of suspension? Or are yoga and meditation too spiritual and we should keep them out of school just as we’ve done with religion? About the Author Anna Hunt is writer, yoga instructor, mother of three, and lover of healthy food. She’s the founder of Awareness Junkie, an online community paving the way for better health and personal transformation. She’s also the co-editor at Waking Times, where she writes about optimal health and wellness. Anna spent 6 [...]