Dear Highlights Podcast

It may be hard to fathom, but children as young as age 8 can have suicidal thoughts, and many parents don’t know when their children are in crisis. In this week’s Dear Highlights podcast and in honor of Mental Health Awareness month, our host Christine French Cully, talks with Dr. John Ackerman, a child clinical psychologist and the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, about risk factors and treatments for mood disorders and suicide in children, and how to tell if your child is at risk.

Today’s Dear Highlights episode discusses navigating friendships, both the fun and the challenge. Highlights receives more mail about friendship, a vital part of a kid’s social-emotional development, than any other subject. By making and keeping friends, kids learn important life skills, such as getting along with others and resolving conflicts. Positive interactions with friends help build self-esteem and provide kids with a sense of belonging. In contrast, negative interactions with friends, such as being betrayed or feeling hurt by a friend, can dampen their self-confidence. Our guest, child psychologist Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD, is the author of Growing Friendships, A Kids’ Guide to Making and Keeping Friends and of Kid Confidence, Help Your Child Make Friends, Build Resilience and Develop Self Esteem. She provides insight to parents on how to navigate the ups and downs of their child’s friendships and offers actionable advice on the best ways parents can help their child.   

This Dear Highlights episode discusses how the pandemic affected children as their worlds turned upside down, and how parents can nurture optimism in their kids as we move to a new normal. This past year, kids have had to tackle distance learning, face-mask wearing, social distancing, and more. With that, many children were worried about parents who were front-line workers or about the health of their elderly grandparents. One recurring theme was the anxiety that kids felt due to the pandemic. Now that the world is beginning to open up, how will kids feel about the future?  Additionally, how can the parents who love them best guide them to have a sense of optimism? Our guest, educational psychologist Michele Borba, EdD, author of the new book, Thrivers, and TODAY show contributor, offers sound, realistic advice to parents, teachers, and advocates for children about helping children thrive.