Child Mental Health & School Related Stress

Southern Soul - Live Stream

“The first thing we need to do as parents is step back and listen to our kids about what they need, but also take ourselves out of it. My kid’s success is not about me,” explains Dr. Toi Curry, Licensed Clinical Psychologist with specializations in neuropsychology and school psychology. In today’s episode host D-Rich sits down with guests Dr. Toi Curry and Board Certified Pediatrician Dr. Monica Moore to discuss school related stress and how it impacts childrens’ mental health.

The COVID pandemic has been both good and bad for children’s mental health. In one respect, more children than before are struggling with depression and clinical levels of anxiety from isolation and disrupting their routines. But on the other hand, there is now a lot more awareness being dedicated to children’s mental health. Where before parents may not have been able to pick up on changes in their child’s mood or behavior, being stuck at home with them opened up more opportunities to notice these changes. There has also been a reduction in the stigma associated with seeking care for mental health in the wake of the pandemic, which helps parents to be a little less wary of bringing their child in for evaluation. Children do not exist in a vacuum, nor do they have adult level coping skills for handling and understanding their emotions, so it is very important for parents and caregivers like teachers and pediatricians to really pay attention to behavioral signs.

Join Dr. Monica Moore, Dr. Toi Curry, and host D-Rich on this week’s episode of Southern Soul Live Stream - Podshow to learn more about how to reduce school related stressors, and best support children struggling with their mental health.

Quotes

• “We have to make sure that we're checking on each other. Because sometimes you say, ‘Oh, they're fine, they're good, they're stronger,’ but you just never know what an individual may be going through.” (19:17-19:26 | Dr. Monica)

• “If a parent is concerned, or a teacher has some concerns, the first step would be to end up at the pediatrician for the initial conversation. And so after having that conversation, assessing what's going on, then the referral would be for psychological testing, or specifically, if there's a concern, maybe for autism. So there's certain testing that can be done. But the initial conversation usually does happen with that child's pediatrician.” (26:57-27:32 | Dr. Monica)

• “COVID has been a blessing and a curse in terms of mental health. Because what I've seen and similar, what Dr. Monica mentioned, is that there is an increase in anxiety and increase in depression across the board, adults and children. But there is an increase of awareness with children.” (42:59-43:18 | Dr. Toi)

• “Children are not little adults, they experience things differently. But the reality is, adults are just big children. And so the things that adults experience, children are also experiencing, but with fewer resources to cope.” (47:30-47:43 | Dr. Toi)

• “Kids will exhibit irritability, frustration, clinginess, inattention, hyperactivity, all kinds of behaviors, and sometimes us adults go, ‘why is that child acting out? What's going on?’ We miss the reason for the behavior because we're so focused on the behavior and correcting the behavior, right? We don't want them acting out in the store. So we're putting all this pressure on them. Don't do this. Don't do that. Well, that's just adding to their stress.” (48:58-49:29 | Dr. Toi)

• “Kids don't know how to be bored anymore. Boredom is not a negative thing. Boredom increases creativity. Boredom forces you to use your imagination, boredom forces you to problem solve. Kids don't know how to do that, because they've not had those opportunities.” (53:31-53:46 | Dr. Toi)

• “The first thing we need to do as parents is step back and listen to our kids about what they need, but also take ourselves out of it. My kid’s success is not about me.” (58:59-59:11 | Dr. Toi)

Links and Resources

• African Americans, Afro-Caribbean Americans, And Addiction
• Children's Mental Health is in Crisis Report

Virtual Pediatrician

Dr. Monica Moore, MD

Websites

• @drmonicacares
• Girls Growing Gracefully Non Profit
• Be Unique: A Girl's Guide to Self-Awareness and Self-Acceptance

Resources for Children's Mental Health

• www.childmind.org,
• www.psychologytoday.com,
• www.therapyforblackgirls.com,
• www.strong4life.com

Dr. Toi Curry, PsyD - https://www.toicurrypsyd.com

Resources for Children's Mental Health:

• www.adaa.org,
• www.chadd.org,
• www.mhanational.org,
• www.boystown.org

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