Tips for Parents on Teaching Kids Life Skills

(NewsUSA) -Parenting is hard, and the past year was especially challenging for parents of school-aged kids, as they struggled to juggle their children’s virtual school and the loss of many activities and in-person contact with friends.
The goal of MASK (Mothers Awareness on School Age Kids) is to provide resources for parents, children, schools, and communities that address the challenges facing families and empower children to make safe and healthy choices. MASK is a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, and has evolved into a multimedia format that includes a website, a print magazine, an app, a digital learning platform, and a series of YouTube videos.

MASK tackles topics that include managing peer pressure, coping with trauma, and negotiating the peaks and valleys of social media, which can be especially challenging as families restore their networks and return to in-person school and activities.

“MASK programs teach children and their families how to handle the ever-changing landscape that our children are living in,” says Kimberly Cabral, CEO, founder, and publisher of MASK.
Parents and their kids can engage with the MASK tools to build life skills and promote self-esteem through any or all of these options:

– MASKMatters app. Download the app on Apple or Google Play (also available in Spanish) for easy access to age-appropriate life skills resources that can be used by students, parents, and teachers.

– MASK Magazine. For those who like their information in print, MASK Magazine is a quarterly parenting manual and is also available through Zinio digital. Each issue focuses on a specific topic, such as Internet safety, with details on how it impacts children from preschool to college.

– MASK E3 Institute: The digital platform for MASK can be used by schools, community organizations, or families at home. The Institute is designed as a series of year-long comprehensive programs for different age groups: MASK Storytime for pre-K children, MASK Academy for kindergarten through sixth grade, MASK Prep for middle and high school students, and MASK Leadership for colleges students. Each of the age-appropriate programs teach kids social skills and educate them about topics such as bullying, drug, and alcohol use, and staying safe online.

– MASK + Live: MASK offers a series of YouTube videos featuring feature medical doctors, clinical psychologists, professors, and other child health professionals who share their expertise on parenting and offer advice on physical health, mental health, and enhancing your relationship with your child.

Visit maskmatters.org for more information about the full range of MASK materials and programs.

Remote Areas Embrace Satellite Internet to Work from Home

The COVID-19 pandemic put the growing trend of working from home on fast-forward. Many people who had never worked from home found themselves scrambling for reliable internet access in order to work, manage distant learning, and participate in virtual social activities. Reliable internet also became a factor in allowing people to manage their health through virtual doctors’ visits, and buy groceries and other items online. Even as the pandemic wanes and more workers return to in-person settings, employers and employees recognize that the workplace model has changed, and the demand for internet service will likely remain high. However, reliable, affordable internet service remains a challenge in many parts of the country, notably in rural areas. 

Companies such as Viasat have stepped up to connect unserved and underserved areas, and they have optimized their network based on customer needs and overall increased demand. Satellite internet service helps bridge the "digital divide" by providing service in remote areas that fall outside the zones where terrestrial providers are unable to serve. Leading global consumer-technology media brand, CNET, recently named Viasat "best satellite provider" of 2021 for U.S. rural internet service because of its high speed, high data volume, and reasonable prices for Wi-Fi equipment rental costs. Many people living in remote regions before the pandemic, as well as those who moved from urban to rural areas seeking more space in the midst of the pandemic, discovered they can perform their jobs effectively without commuting when connected to reliable and quality internet. 

In a recent survey conducted by Viasat, users in these remote regions responded that email was the most important internet service they needed to work from home, followed by the ability to make video calls, and satellite internet supports these functions. In addition, many older residents in remote areas have discovered that reliable internet access brings safety and connection with family, friends, and medical care. Moreover, 66% of respondents in these remote regions said that they plan to work from home in the future if given a choice. Satellite internet service makes it possible for residents in remote areas to work and remain productive from home. For more information, visit https://www.viasat.com/home-internet/.

Mental Health of Students Must Figure in Restarting Classes

 

By Amy Braun
For NewsUSA

(NU) – As officials across the nation decide how best to open schools, one aspect too often overlooked is students’ mental health. Awareness of the pressures on our children is the first step towards helping them heal and preparing them to learn.

COVID-19 has left many kids feeling lonely and isolated. Research on the effect of the lockdowns published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry concludes that young people experiencing loneliness may be as much as three times more likely to sink into depression in the future, but additionally that their mental health could be impacted for at least nine years because of it.

One answer? Since 2003, HealthCorps has worked in high-need schools, supplementing existing health and wellness programs emphasizing physical activity, nutrition, mental resilience and civic engagement. These are teenagers who, even in normal circumstances, experience disparities in access to health services based on their socioeconomic status, geographic region, race or ethnicity – with perhaps predictable results. Specifically, higher rates of chronic disease (including stress) and lower measures of both quality of life and life expectancy.

And yet, through our unique curriculum – created by top heathcare professionals and constantly updated to match students’ needs – the students we work with have flourished. They exercise more, eat better, and practice positive thought. And, yes, they engage with their communities.

Since stress has always been an issue for many of these teens, one of the most requested lessons we were asked to bring to classrooms even before the pandemic hit was  “Bust My Stress.”  And now? Add the coronavirus-induced feelings of isolation to that equation, and you begin to see how fragile our nation’s teens may be.

As one of our Florida students so heartbreakingly told us amid the lockdowns: “I still keep it in, but I still think negative like every night. I cry it out so I won’t have to feel that way again in the morning.”

Building mental resilience has become an increased focus of our work.

Of course, parents have their own role to play in their teenagers’ healing process.

“They can help by reassuring teens that, just because they’re nervous or scared, doesn’t mean they’re really in any danger,” says Mark Goulston, M.D., a HealthCorps advisory board member and widely quoted expert on building a positive culture. “By reminding them that their bodies don’t really understand the fear, and by talking it out and discussing the fear, both the parent and child will feel better and closer.”

The HealthCorps program is delivered by highly trained recent college graduates who are future medical and health policy professionals. They interact with teens on a daily basis – though, these days, virtually – and have developed some simple steps that can help youths through these trying times. Among them:

• Meditate or try deep-breathing methods, which increase your body’s natural ability to relax during high-stress moments.

• Get moving.

• Prioritize sleep.

• Talk things out with someone you trust.

• Do or watch something that makes you laugh.

• Keep a non-judgmental journal to help process thoughts.

• Practice gratitude and positive self-talk.

One last thing. These tips and others, available on our new @teenhealthvibe Instagram channel can also apply to adults.

Amy Braun is the CEO of HealthCorps, a national not for profit providing health and wellness resources to teens, parents and faculty at high-need schools.