8-Year-Olds in Despair: The Mental Health Crisis Is Getting Younger (The New York Times)
Anxiety and Coping With the Coronavirus (Child Mind Institute)
The Child Mind Institute’s experts say that dealing with your own anxiety can be the most powerful way to make sure your kids feel secure. If you or your children are feeling worried, learning how to deal with that anxiety in a healthy way can help the whole family be more resilient, both now and when the pandemic is finally over.
Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus (Child Mind Institute)
COVID-19 has changed our lives in ways we never would have imagined. Kids, at this unique time, may be feeling extra worried (especially if they already have an anxiety disorder). Fortunately, there are things we can do to help our kids cope - including providing creative outlets to express how they’re feeling in an open way. Check out Kidevolve’s silly and enticing IMAGINARY FRIEND DRAWING EXERCISE (Course 7.3: Joy & Energy) which gives kids a super fun outlet to draw their inner monsters and let their imaginations run wild to a whacky array of musical cues in a game-like setting. Get your coloured pencils, markers and papers ready! You might even think about doing this exercise with your kids and then discussing everyone’s monsters afterwards… when you're finished, you might just have a new friend (who's been waiting for you all this time!).
Parents: Staying calm & keeping kids at safe social distance too (CNN)
With the advent of the coronavirus, and our rapidly changing responding world, many parents are wondering about playdates, programs and neighbourhood play, especially for kids (many now cooped up at home & off school for weeks), while we all do our part to “flatten the curve”. Shall our kids be engaged in close physical play with neighbours and friends right now? What kids of playdates and activities should be restricted? And how do we make sure kids can get outdoors (and be social and physical - very important) without contradicting the work adults are doing as we stay home from work to self-isolate, suspend businesses, cancel events and kid’s programs?
How to Raise Successful People (Time)
Esther Wojcicki is the author of How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results. She comes at child-rearing from a practical and thought-provoking perspective, arguing that many of us have gone too far on keeping our kids safe, removing obstacles and scheduling their time - to their detriment… instead of empowering them to make choices, fail, figure it out. We particularly love her acronym “TRICK” (Trust, respect, Independence, Collaboration, Kindness).
Groundbreaking study examines effects of screen time on kids (60 Minutes - CBS News)
We’ve long suspected that regular iPad use and today’s multidimensional video games might have negative impacts on kids, especially when they’re young. Now we know this to be true and we cannot ignore it. Vastly differentiated from the passive television watching of the not-so-distant past, today’s tech is DESIGNED to get kids addicted, keep them needing more and leaving them feeling isolated and depressed. If there was ever a time to reduce screen time in your household, it’s now. The data is in. As a more healthy alternative, try giving kids new exposures like Kidevolve’s Creative Mind Journeys (our wildly silly, super fun mindfulness audio tracks), or Tinkercast’s Wow in the World podcasts (delivering science though amazing, compelling audio journeys). In both cases, kids can still use tech as the delivery platform… but now, wee imaginations are truly encouraged to expand, problem solve, test and unfurl! Watch the change in positive behaviour (and inner joy) after only a few audio exposures, and ask kids how they feel by contrast. Their answers might surprise you, Thank you 60 Minutes and Anderson Cooper for such excellent, valuable reporting!
20 great books that show empathy, kindness (extract from The Washington Post)
Kidevolve is all about empowering families with tools that let kids strengthen and expand their capacities for kindness, compassion, focus and inner calm. Here's an amazing list of books, curated by Sharon Rawlins (youth services specialist at the New Jersey State Library) that help kids make sense of their worlds and feel more confident emotionally. When your done reading this list, check out Kidevolve's Bookshelf too (here, you can find even more books that focus specifically on transferring valuable EQ skills).
Kindness Soup & The Anchor Of Breath
Spring has sprung, and the Danforth Kidevolve kids poured into our class teeming with excitement. We just about squeezed ourselves when we heard the kids have been practicing the Kidevolve techniques at home with their families. That’s our goal!
Tuesday's class was filled with music, movement, breath, games and a gathering of energy that was palpable. We have two sweet stories to share from the night.