https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-xzyts-138744f
Many parents, including Chad and Nikki, resort to making threats to change their kids’ difficult behaviors. Even though it may feel instinctive to threaten to take away your child’s phone or another privilege when they are being uncooperative, this episode is a conversation about why that rarely works and what you can try instead. Spoiler Alert: Threats come from our brain stem but skills and solutions come from our frontal lobe!
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ycxn9-136c4d2
Masking, a term that can be seen circulating on social media, may seem like a new idea but is something many people do to cover up their mental health symptoms. Nikki and Chad talk about what mental masking is and discuss the implications of this for children and adults.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-uqk3k-1363d90
Executive function, or the skills that help us organize, plan ahead, pay attention, control impulses, and many other important life skills are the focus of this episode, in which Chad and Nikki discuss the connection between common childhood mental health conditions and difficulties with executive functioning skills.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-nucc6-135202e
The title of this episode might be how many people look at therapy and medication in the treatment of mental health symptoms: see a therapist or take medicine, which is better? In reality though, it doesn’t have to be one over the other. Therapy and medication together are often the best way to treat mental health conditions at any age. Chad and Nikki discuss when to consider psychotropic medication, when not to consider them, and other important information to keep in mind when making decisions about psychiatric medication.
Gratitude may seem like a stretch from children’s mental health but in Episode 37, Chad and Nikki make a case for gratitude being a fundamental building block of raising children with a solid sense of self, coping skills, and resilience in the face of adversity. They also share practical strategies for teaching gratitude in your home.
Check out these articles for more information about the mental health benefits of gratitude:
Giving Thanks Can Make Your Happier
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-yitac-1325e8c
Symptoms and problem behaviors are not always signs of a mental illness health diagnosis or condition. Struggle is a very natural part of the human experience so it can be difficult to know if a problem is actually a problem or if it’s simply an age or situationally appropriate challenge. Nikki and Chad break this down in episode 36 and share how to tell the difference and when to seek help.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-y2hra-1308175
Chad and Nikki are starting a new non-sequential series of episodes featuring other individuals and groups that are spreading awareness of children’s mental health. For the first of this series, they are joined by Sara Moore, Founder of Silver Lining Stuffies from Los Angeles, California. Sara struggled with depression in childhood and is using her experience to help others and bring further awareness to childhood mental health with her line of stuffed animals and children’s books. She shares her journey with Nikki and Chad in this episode.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-s6vpn-12f792b
Family Meetings are a tool that can help kids and adults practice communication skills, conflict resolution, and effective expression of difficult emotions. In this episode, Chad and Nikki discuss the different ways to build and structure family meetings in your own household.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-5thz4-12f7927
What are Phobias? In episode 33, Nikki and Chad discuss what a phobia is and is not, what treatment might look like for someone with this type of anxiety disorder, and things to consider if you or your child is struggling with a specific phobia.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-yuddv-12db899
Anxiety can look very different from person to person and in children especially, anxiety can have number of different faces. In their 32nd episode, Chad and Nikki describe some of the primary ways that anxiety can be displayed in childhood and share some of the red flags that might indicate that it’s time to reach out to your child’s pediatrician or a mental health professional.
Scrambled 