5 minute read
From the Director
INSIDE DECEMBER 2020
FEATURES
6 What Can I Do to Help My Child Who is Being Bullied? 14 Understanding and Addressing Anxiety 16 The Sleep Hygiene Quiz: How Do You Rate? 20 Listen to Hear and Not Respond 23 Why the Surge in Vaping Marijuana?
IN EVERY ISSUE 2 5 10 11 12 18
From the Director The Kitchen Table Faces in the Crowd 40 Developmental Assets Assets in Action Q&A / By the Numbers
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
PARTNER AGENCY PRODUCED IN CONJUNCTION WITH
TO ADVERTISE OR CONTRIBUTE Coleen Smith: (406) 324-1032 coleen@youthconnectionscoalition.org
COVER PHOTO BY Wandering Albatross Photography
Donevin is a freshman at East Helena High School. He is a tenacious young man who enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his family. In his spare time, Donevin likes to go and explore nature and all of its hidden treasures. He is looking forward to following his dream of becoming an automotive mechanic and learning new skills for this trade. Donevin would like people to know that you can always change your life around for the better.
ABOUT YOUTH CONNECTIONS
Youth Connections is a coalition of over 1100 community members representing parents, educators, churches, youthserving organizations, businesses, and more who want to make Helena a healthy and supportive place for kids and families. Youth Connections recognizes the need to reduce negative behaviors including substance use and violence while also working to increase positive opportunities and mental wellness for all our local kids.
So how do we do that? We know there is no silver bullet to making communities great, and so we do LOTS of things that we know make communities better. We support agencies and businesses who offer youth activities because we know kids who are involved in positive activities aren’t involved in negative ones. We support student mentoring relationships because research shows it helps kids stay in school and be successful. We also know that when kids know better, they do better, so we support classroom education in the areas of bullying prevention and substance use prevention. Youth Connections also understands we must support the adults in kids’ lives and therefore we provide training, education, networks, and collaborative opportunities for parents and professionals to connect with others who care about kids.
Youth Connections is well known for its quarterly publication, YC Magazine, a resource for parents and the entire community. These are just some of the projects we’re working on to serve our mission of engaging our community to create environments where youth thrive and succeed. For a comprehensive list of activities, services, and ways you can get involved, please visit our website at www.youthconnectionscoalition.org.
Director FROM THE
As we approach the end of 2020 – thank goodness – and are still in the throngs of everything covid including increased anxiety, loneliness, and isolation, the magazine committee felt it was important to share tools to help kids and families power through. December is normally a time of increased anxiety and depression for
COLEEN youth, but with everything going on
SMITH in the world, it’s been magnified. We hope the information and resources assembled in this issue bring some peace of mind.
According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 high school students were bullied at school and 1 in 6 were bullied electronically in the last year. We are thankful that Dr. Lantz has some very hands-on, easy-to-use tools to help kids who may be struggling with being bullied. Just like talking to your kids about how to avoid drugs and alcohol, practice is key. We love the very specific words to use to shut bullies down. With all the extra screen time, cyber bullying is a real threat.
In the hustle of everyday life, especially during the holidays, we often listen to our kids only focusing on how to respond, not to truly listen to what they’re saying. Kelly has once again given us some great advice on how to do that to build stronger relationships with our kids. We, as parents, often want to jump in to fix everything when kids just sometimes need to be heard.
With the added stresses of everything covid-related, we felt it was extremely important to focus on ways to help ourselves and our kids deal with the issues and provide tools to set us up for success. That is why our two articles on sleep hygiene, tools to address anxiety, and the importance of movement are important keys to dealing with everyday stressors.
Lastly, we know that volunteering can help kids and families feel good about themselves. It’s also a great tradition to start for the holidays – helping others. It is truly a win-win.
Here’s to a healthy and happy holiday season and New Year!
CAN’T GET ENOUGH GREAT RESOURCES? FOLLOW US:
Twitter: @Youthconx Facebook (for parents): Youth Connections Facebook (for kids): Find Your Spot Instagram: @Youthconx
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