Especially during a time like this, it’s so important for kids and teens to connect with their friends and family. Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s Senior Director of Planning Todd Krieger discusses safe ways for kids to engage online with Julie Fisher, M.Ed. For young kids, Julie recommends arranging secure ways for kids to connect through Zoom and FaceTime. For tweens and teens, it’s important that parents set expectations and invite open communication for their children’s social media use. Parents must work with their kids to find a healthy balance between restricting screen time and social media overuse. Thank you to the Alfred and Bernice Deutsch Millenium Fund for their generous support of this podcast.

Todd Krieger is again joined by Julie Fisher, M.Ed. to advise parents on how to help children and teens make sense of the pandemic and the changes in their lives. Giving kids support and sharing hope during this time is crucial. Parents should also consider adjusting expectations for their children’s behavior, screen time, and academic performance. Thank you to the Alfred and Bernice Deutsch Millenium Fund for their generous support of this podcast.

In this episode, Todd Krieger, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s Senior Director of Planning, and Julie Fisher, M.Ed., author of The Resiliency Puzzle, discuss how to support children with managing their stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Julie suggests tools to promote resiliency in kids such as maintaining routines and practicing mindfulness and gratitude. Thank you to the Alfred and Bernice Deutsch Millennium Fund for their generous support of this podcast.

In this podcast, Todd and Julie Fisher discuss the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset and why nurturing a growth mindset leads to improved emotional and mental wellness. According to psychologist, Carol Dweck, when people believe that failure isn’t a barometer of innate characteristics but rather look at it as a step to success, they are more likely to put in the effort that will eventually lead to that success. A recent Education Week Research Center survey of teachers found that 90% believe that adopting and nurturing a growth mindset in kids leads to positive outcomes in both academics and social skills for kids. Todd and Julie discuss what a growth mindset looks like and how parents can role model a growth mindset themselves to help their kids develop a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset.

In this podcast, Todd and Julie Fisher discuss how feeling competent and capable affects kids’ mental well-being. When parents are quick to step in to “help”, they rob kids of the experience to fail or make mistakes. While it’s often easier and faster to instruct them what to do or how to do it, what parents are really doing is robbing children of the opportunity to learn that they, themselves, can solve their problems. When parents don’t allow kids those crucial learning opportunities, what they are often saying (without actually saying the words) is “I don’t trust you to do it right”. Todd and Julie discuss how parents’ actions and reactions affect kids’ feelings about competence as well as ways for parents to step back and allow their kids to learn that they can become competent when they persevere.

In this podcast, Todd and Julie Fisher discuss problems young people are having with coping skills, particularly in the area of appropriate emotional responses to uncomfortable stimuli or situations. Young people seem to have trouble coping, and many fall apart when things don’t go their way. “[Parents] are enabling children to an extent to which they are almost helpless,” says clinical psychologist, Dr. Ellen Littman. Todd and Julie discuss why this trend seems to be increasing including: parental fears, the influence of technology, increased academic pressure, and fewer opportunities to experience failure, as well as how parents can help their kids learn to express themselves and their emotions in a way that is age-appropriate and helpful both to the child and to everyone they interact with.

In this podcast, Todd and Julie Fisher discuss the link between gaming and mental well-being. A 2018 Pew Research Center study found that 97% or teen boys and 83% of teen girls play video or online games. That same year, the World Health Organization recognized Gaming Disorder as a mental illness, which they defined as impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences . Julie and Todd look at why games are so attractive to kids today and some of the signs and symptoms to look for if you suspect your child has a gaming addiction problem.

In this podcast, Todd and Julie Fisher discuss the importance of support networks in relation to emotional well-being. When we have strong support networks, we are 25% more likely to be happy than when we don’t have people close to us that we can lean on. Todd and Julie discuss why kids need multiple support networks, what they look like for kids, why parents are only one piece of the puzzle, and how parents can help their kids find people in their lives that will support them and be there for them when they need a shoulder to lean on.

In this podcast, Todd and Julie Fisher discuss how 21st century relationships differ from those of previous generations and the role that technology plays in that change and its impact on youth mental health. Digital natives are growing up in a world, where for the first time, they are forming relationships with people they’ve never met in real life. They talk, hangout and even date in a virtual world instead of the physical one. Because parents of digital natives grew up communicating largely in real life, there is a disconnect when it comes to understanding the new normal for relationships in the digital age. Todd and Julie discuss when parents should be concerned about relationships kids are forming online and how to set limits so that kids understand that real-world relationships matter more than virtual ones.

In this podcast, Todd and Julie Fisher will discuss why so many kids lack resiliency, which is the ability to cope with adversity and persevere without giving up. They explore how fear and technology have led us to rob our kids of opportunities to learn from their mistakes and succeed on their own. Todd and Julie talk about the creation of The Resiliency Puzzle, a curriculum for parents, educators and other professionals, that centers on learning to make small changes to what we do to encourage more resilient behaviors in our kids. The other episodes in this series will take a more in depth look at the four main pieces of the resiliency puzzle: Relationships; Emotional Skills; Competence; and Optimism.