Parenting and Families

Help Your Child Feel Comfortable in Social Situations
by SAMHSA
Some of our fondest adult memories are about childhood friendships and good times we shared with special friends. We hold on to times from our childhood that still bring smiles to our faces and lift our spirits. There are also memories that are painful.

Parenting and Media Literacy
by SAMHSA
Media literacy is being able to analyze media messages, understand the intent of the messages, and judge how the information in the messages is used. These skills are especially important to young people, who are flooded with media messages

Praise Your Child's Positive Choices
by SAMHSA
Recognition doesn't need to be fancy. Catch your child 'being good' and praise him for it. Take every chance you get to support your child's decision to follow a rule or to meet your expectations. This is called positive reinforcement and helps your child

Create a Family Tree
by SAMHSA
Have you ever come across an old black-and-white photograph in your home and wondered about the people in the picture? How are these people related to you? Where did they live? When did they come to this country and where did they come from?

Children: Left Out
by SAMHSA
Most children at some point in their lives experience being excluded from a party or suddenly being ignored by friends. Being rejected or repeatedly ignored are painful for a child. As a parent, what can you do to help your child deal with exclusion from

When Your Middle Schooler Doesn't Make the Team
by SAMHSA
For elementary school students, gym classes and recreation leagues are set up by age and grade, not skill level. Some kids will have greater athletic skills than others, but all of the kids play together.

What Can Walking Do For You And Your Family?
by SAMHSA
Walking is a healthy activity that can make us feel better and improve how we feel. In recent months, scientists have confirmed what many of us knew already - that these effects take place right away - often within 30 minutes.

Children and Decision Making Skills
by SAMHSA
What was he thinking? How could she? If you find yourself wondering what your teen was thinking, the answer may be not much. Kids often make snap judgments based on impulse, especially when situations come up quickly, leaving teens with little time

December 5 Is Communicate With Your Kids Day!
by SAMHSA
You don't need a special day to communicate with your kids, but on December 5, take a few minutes to sit down and really talk with your child. Even if you typically spend time communicating with your child, check in to make sure that the message

Celebrating Your Family History
by SAMHSA
Your family is unique and so is your family's history. Set aside time to connect with your roots. Why? By getting to know your ancestry, you find out more about yourself and your identity. It is a great activity to do as a family.

Our Kids Are Watchin
by SAMHSA
Just as we can't expect our children to speak politely if we curse and swear within their earshot, we can't ask our children to live healthy lifestyles when we are not caring for our own health needs. Do we talk to our children about avoiding unhealthy

Making Friends in Middle School
by SAMHSA
As children approach adolescence, friends and fitting in often become very important. Young teens increasingly look to friends and the media for clues on how to behave, and they begin to question adults' values and rules.

If You're a Parent Who Drinks
by SAMHSA
The effects of alcohol use on those around us are different from those of smoking because there are many more people who drink from time to time, as they see fit, than there are smokers who can stop or start at will.

Family Conversations and Family Mealtimes
by SAMHSA
What is dinnertime like in your home? Does everyone heat up his own meal in the microwave at different times and retreat to his own corner of the house? Eating dinner together, for many families, has become a lost art, but it is a simple, effective way

Parents with Mental Illness : The Needs of Parents, Part 2
by SAMHSA
If treatment plans are made without considering the adult's goals, identity or responsibilities as a parent, the adult may appear to be non-compliant with recommendations. For example, mothers who need to get up early to fix breakfast and send

Parents with Mental Illness : The Needs of Parents
by SAMHSA
Parents with mental illness have needs common to all parents, as well as needs specific to their illnesses. The stigma of mental illness and the pervasive assumption that parents with mental illness will fail keep many parents from seeking help.

Parents with Mental Illness : Family Relationships
by SAMHSA
Many children of parents with mental illness do not have abnormal difficulties. However, parents worry about the impact of their mental illness on their children, and may view children's normal behavior through the lens of their illness.

Parents with Mental Illness : Pregnancy, Victimization and Trauma
by SAMHSA
Pregnancy brings a unique set of challenges to adults living with mental illness. The percent of unplanned pregnancies among women with serious mental illness is high. Mothers with schizophrenia have higher rates of spontaneous miscarriages, stillbirths

The Experiences of Parents with Mental Illness
by SAMHSA
Most of what we have learned in the past decade in the U.S. about the experiences of parents with mental illness is based on research with small samples of mothers in the public sector with severe mental illness and multiple stressors such as poverty

Parents with Mental Illness : The Scope of the Issue
by SAMHSA
Nearly half of the women and men in the United States report a lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorder, and 30% report the prevalence of at least one disorder in the previous 12 months. Two-thirds of these women, and over half of these men are parents