Resources for Parents and Caregivers

• You can support children's mental health and create a healthy relationship by regularly talking with them about their thoughts, feelings and experiences.
• Establish routines for checking in with them when there are fewer distractions such as during car rides, family dinners or at bedtime.
• Share some of your thoughts and feelings to show children that all emotions are OK and discuss the coping strategies you use.
• Encourage children to share by asking open-ended questions about various topics, not just emotions or behaviors. If children don't want to talk, respect their space and try again later.

• During conversations with your child, remember your goals: keeping them talking, and for your child to know they can keep coming back to you with future problems or worries.
• Keep conversations going by pausing and letting them guide the conversation, use reflective listening (it sounds like ____, I hear you saying _____), and normalize emotions.
• Other conversation tips include: noticing your body language (use head nods, eye contact, and open posture), taking breaks when needed in difficult conversations, and thanking your child for sharing.

• Emotion regulation is a valuable life skill that can be taught from birth and includes naming, noticing, expressing and coping with emotions.
• Children start distinguishing major emotions like anger, fear, sadness, and happiness as early as 6 months old by watching faces, tone of voice and body language.
• As children grow, they learn more specific and subtle emotions (like frustration or joy), and the differences between similar emotions (like happiness, contentment and pride).
• Teaching children emotional language helps them express their feelings with words instead of through behaviors.

• Many people struggle to recognize emotions as they feel them. Teaching children to notice and understand their feelings can help them manage those feelings.
• Activities like labeling emotions, discussing past situations and noticing facial expressions can help children recognize and express their emotions.
• Teaching kids to notice how emotions feels in their bodies (e.g., butterflies in the stomach when nervous) can help them understand their feelings better.
• Keeping a daily emotions journal may help children track and understand their feelings, promoting better emotional regulation over time.

Children act up and sometimes have challenging behaviors. How can you tell if it’s a phase or a warning sign that needs help?

• What behaviors or emotions indicate a mental health concern
• Three steps you can take to review concerns you have
• How to seek help, if needed

Finding a mental health provider can be really challenging. Here are tips on navigating the mental health care system.

• Finding a mental health professional for a child can be stressful
• Five suggestions of where to start looking
• Three ideas of questions to ask

Being self-critical (hard on yourself) isn’t a problem for a child if it does not happen all the time. View four ways to encourage a child who is hard on themselves.

• Feelings of anxiety and normal and does not mean a child has an anxiety disorder. Feeling anxious is a natural alarm system that alerts us to danger.
• Anxiety in children can motivate and protect them, like studying for a test or avoiding dangerous activities.
• Anxiety changes as kids develop, from "stranger danger" in young children to concerns about real-world dangers in school-aged children and social belonging in tweens and teens.
• There are warning signs of anxiety and anxiety disorders, including worrying about future events, avoiding activities, trouble sleeping or needing lots of reassurance.

Depression can look different in children than it does in adults. What are the warning signs? And what should you do if it seems like a kid is depressed?

• Depression may show up as irritability, distractedness, withdrawal or hopelessness in children
• Physical signs of depression in children could look like headaches, stomach aches or fatigue
• Caregivers can take action if a child shows signs of depression