Virtual Mental Health Resources 

This is such a crazy time of year, isn’t it? But if you have the bandwidth right now, I want to make sure you know about some upcoming mental health webinars that are available to SLC School District parents. The district has a partnership with the mental health platform Parent Guidance. In addition to live webinars, there are also on demand classes you can take virtually as well as a once a month opportunity to ask questions of a therapist. You can also browse questions that other parents have had answered by their team of therapists. Follow this link for more information: 

Parent Guidance Mental Health Series - Salt Lake City School District 

In addition to these resources, we invite you to participate in two important online trainings designed to help protect children from abuse and exploitation: 

Child Abuse Prevention Training 

Offered by Prevent Child Abuse Utah, this course helps you: 

• Recognize signs of abuse 
• Learn prevention strategies 
• Communicate about sensitive topics 
• Access support resources 

Complete the Child Abuse Prevention for Utah Parents course at Prevent Child Abuse Utah's website. 

Human Trafficking Prevention Training 

Created by the Asian Association of Utah, this webinar covers: 

• Signs of human trafficking 
• Risk reduction strategies 
• Tips for age-appropriate communication 
• Local and national support services 

Watch the free Human Trafficking Webinar Here 

If you have questions or need an interpreter for either training, please contact me. And as always, please be in touch if there is anything we can do to support your family. 

Anxiety is a normal part of being human. It can even be helpful! It can make us more alert or give us a burst of adrenaline to run if we need to. But sometimes, it can feel like anxiety is taking over our lives. It’s hard to see our kids experiencing these difficult feelings.  

You are probably aware that in recent years, rates of children diagnosed with anxiety have increased substantially.  You may have seen it in your own family. Perhaps your child has frequent stomachaches or headaches, trouble separating from a parent, or even leaving the house. What can we do to take that distress away from our kids? It may go against intuition, but our goal shouldn't be to try to eliminate their anxiety. Instead, we can foster resilience and confidence to get through difficult times. Children need the message that it is okay to have anxious feelings, that we can cope with them and that they will pass.  

So how do we do this?  

Avoidance will alleviate anxiety in the short term, but will actually make it worse over time. Model for your kids that you are working through your own anxiety. Talk to them about coping strategies that work for you, and to identify what works for them. Encourage them to try things where they can practice being brave.  

Dr. Camilo Ortiz, a clinical psychologist and professor at Long Island University, is even pioneering a treatment with promising results where kids are given “megadoses of independence” as an anxiety intervention. The underlying idea is that by doing things independently, even if it is unrelated to their anxiety, kids learn that they are competent to face life’s challenges. Follow this link for more information: Independence Therapy is a new treatment for anxiety (letgrow.org)  

If you would like to talk more about how we can collaborate to help your student with their anxiety, please let me know! 

As technology becomes an ever-present part of our daily lives, we are all struggling to maintain a healthy balance. Screen time can be a valuable tool for learning, creativity, and connecting with others, but it also presents some challenges. 
Here are 8 tips to help your family boundaries around screen use.

1. Model the Behavior You Want to See 
Think about times that you want to be screen free, such as mealtimes or family activities, and make sure you adhere to the rules you set for your children. 

2. Children Ask Before Using Screens 
Set this as an expectation from an early age. This will help your children to accept your oversight of their online activity.  

3. Keep Screens Out of Bedrooms 
In our school, and throughout the district, there seems to be a trend of students that have stayed awake to play games like Roblox, or to watch YouTube videos, and then come to school dragging, unable to concentrate. Keeping screens out of bedrooms altogether can make it easier to ensure they aren’t used at night. It also allows parents to better monitor online activity.  

4. Only Interact with People You Know in Real Life 
Unfortunately, it is far too easy for children to encounter predators online. This rule makes a big difference!

5. Don't Share Personal Information 
Teach your child the importance of protecting their privacy online. Make sure they understand that personal information such as their full name, address, phone number, school, or passwords should never be shared with anyone online, even if they seem friendly or trustworthy. 

6. Teach Online Etiquette 
The principles of kindness and respect apply online as much as they do in person. Talk to your child about online etiquette: if they wouldn’t say something to someone’s face, they shouldn’t say it online. 

7. Delay Giving Kids Smartphones 
It is a lot to expect of children to have the amount of self-control that is required to use smart phones responsibly. Consider waiting until your child is in 8th or 9th grade before giving them a smartphone. Rally other parents to do the same, so that your child doesn’t feel pressured.  

8. Delay Social Media Accounts 
Although more research is needed to create a comprehensive view of the relationship between social media and children’s mental health, there is enough evidence to indicate it’s a good idea to hold off until around age 16. Social media leaves kids vulnerable to harmful social comparisons, cyberbullying, exposure to mature content, online predators and data collection.  Waiting until age 16 as many experts recommend gives children time to develop the emotional resilience and critical thinking skills to interact with social media in a healthier way.  

If you would like more information on resources to help your family navigate the digital world, please reach don't hesitate to contact me!

Hello Dilworth Community! This week I want to address a common problem that we see at school. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that 25 - 50% of children don’t get enough sleep. Lack of sleep is associated with attention, behavior and learning problems. It is also correlated with higher rates of diabetes and depression. The AAP recommends that elementary aged children get 9 – 12 hours of sleep a night.  

Are you struggling to help your child get enough sleep? Try these tips from the National Sleep Foundation: 

• Light - Spend time in bright light during the day 

•Exercise - Regular exercise is related to deeper sleep.  

•Mealtimes - Eat meals at a consistent time each day. 

•Wind down - Maintain consistent sleep and wake times and create a calm down routine 

•Environment - Keep the environment quiet, cool and dark. Put away screens an hour before bed. Keep screens out of bedrooms at all times.  

As always, please contact me if there is anything I can do to support your family: lindsay.verhaaren@slcschools.org