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Without adult guidance, most teenagers would spend almost all of their waking hours behind a screen. Whether they’re texting on their smartphones, or they’re watching videos on their laptops, their electronics use can easily get out of control. If your child says “everyone is doing it,” they may be correct. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t serious consequences. Let’s look at strategies you can use to limit your teen’s screen time and how it can benefit your whole family....

Abuse, neglect, and trauma can lead to a variety of emotional and behavioral issues for children living in foster care. As a result, foster parents need to give careful consideration to the type of discipline they employ. Many children in foster care have been exposed to domestic violence, physical abuse, or emotional abuse prior to being placed in foster care. To help them feel safe and secure in their foster homes, most regulating agencies prohibit foster parents from using corporal punishment....

In legal terms, the phrase custodial parent refers to the parent who has physical custody of the child (or children) the majority of the time. As such, the custodial parent carries most of the responsibility for raising the child, even though the non-custodial parent may be highly involved or the parents have agreed to work together as co-parents. Who Is Considered a Custodial Parent Generally speaking, if your kids live with you the majority of the time, you probably already see yourself as the custodial parent....

Many people who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder also have other psychiatric conditions, including anxiety disorders. But when your anxiety doesn’t quite fit into the definition of a specific, well-defined anxiety disorder, your psychiatrist might instead diagnose you as having “bipolar disorder with anxious distress.” Having bipolar disorder with anxious distress simply means you have bipolar disorder, plus anxiety that interferes with your life. Your condition, however, doesn’t meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder....

I’m making a new friend I met on Facebook. I was looking online for other parents of tweens and teens who are queer like me and located in the North Carolina Triangle. This future friend—I’ll call her Tasha—had a post up that mentioned her 12-year-old so I reached out. She responded quickly enough that I wonder if she’s as lonely as I am when it comes to the parenting community. I mean, probably....

Kids who were stuck at home, or away from school, for weeks or months during the pandemic could face mental health impacts, both now and in the future, according to a new review of existing evidence about childhood loneliness. Key Takeaways Children and adolescents were isolated for weeks and even months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this will likely impact their mental health both in the short and long term, according to a new systematic review....

Having a child is life-changing, and there are a lot of things to think about before making the leap to parenthood. Can you afford it? (Kids don’t come cheap, right?) Do you have a good support system in place? Do you even want to be a parent, or do you feel pressured by society or family members to follow that route? Key Takeaways For many people, climate change is a big consideration when deciding whether to start a family....

What Is Depression With Mixed Features? (MDD-MX) Depressive disorder with mixed features (also referred to as “mixed episode,” “mixed state,” or “agitated depression" ) is a mood disorder in which a person has symptoms of both depression and mania or hypomania at the same time. When it was first introduced, the diagnosis of major depressive disorder with mixed features (MDD-MX) was met with skepticism and remains controversial among some researchers and clinicians....

What Is Domestic Abuse? Domestic abuse may be perpetrated by any member of the household, such as an intimate partner, parent, child, sibling, relative, or staff member. When domestic abuse is perpetrated by an intimate partner, it is referred to as intimate partner violence. When a child is a victim of domestic abuse, it is referred to as child abuse. Domestic abuse, also known as domestic violence or family abuse, is a pattern of behavior that is used to hurt, terrorize, manipulate, or gain control over a family member....

Easter is an important religious celebration for people of the Christian faith. If you’re wondering how to include your older child in the celebration, don’t worry. Your child may be too old for some of the Easter activities, but there are still plenty of other options to consider. Easter Egg Hunt Alternatives for Older Kids The Easter fun suggestions below are ideal for older children. Attend Church Services Whether you attend church regularly, or sporadically, consider spending Easter morning attending services with your child....

Sleep is an essential pillar of wellness. For optimal cognition, a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night is recommended. However, we all know that sleep training a baby, stress, and traveling are just a few ways we end up getting less sleep than we need. Outside of life circumstances, sleep disturbances arise due to many factors. Chronic pain is a known trigger for sleep issues, often due to pain becoming so severe it halts the sleep cycle, resulting in waking up in the middle of the night....

Adjectives such as tired, restless, drowsy, and exhausted are often used to describe fatigue. It is usually a result of lack of sleep or stress. Although fatigue is not a medical condition itself, it can be a symptom of a disease if it is chronic or the condition identified as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Fatigue Fatigue is ongoing exhaustion that can be both physical and mental, creating limitations in cognitive, social, emotional, and physiological functioning....

Once you find out you’re expecting a baby, it’s hard not to wonder exactly what your fetus is doing at any given moment. Other than an ultrasound or two, you don’t get to see your baby developing before they are born. You might wonder how big your fetus is or whether they have fingernails. We broke down fetus development by week for you. Read on to learn about the amazing changes your baby goes through before birth....

A recent study estimates over 1 million children around the world have been left without one or more of their primary caregivers. The long-term outcome of this may be devastating to the well-being of these children. Children left orphaned by COVID-19 are described as the “hidden pandemic.” Those who experience the death of a parent or primary caregiver are more likely to suffer mental health concerns, poverty, neglect, and abuse....

The decision to take a pregnancy test is typically not a light-hearted decision. The good news is that pregnancy tests are easy to find, fairly inexpensive, relatively easy to use, process quickly, and are very accurate. While a home pregnancy test is incredibly accurate, there may be a number of reasons that you might want to repeat the pregnancy test at a later date. Some of these reasons may include:...

A protective factor refers to anything that prevents or reduces vulnerability for the development of a disorder. Common protective factors include the availability of social support and the use of healthy coping strategies in response to stress. A number of protective factors for PTSD following the experience of a traumatic event have been identified. It is important to understand which factors contribute to a person overcoming trauma or responding to it with resilience, especially given that many people are exposed to traumatic events at some point in their lives....

Expecting a new baby comes with so many exciting moments—picking out a name is just one of them! It can be a complex process, but eventually, you land on the perfect name. It’s well-considered, and one you think will carry your baby through life. Then you present the name to your friends, family, and loved ones, only to have them respond with utter dislike. It’s not a situation any parent enjoys—even celebrities....

Back-to-school is a natural opportunity for your child to set goals for the year. Doing so can help students succeed at school, while also learning the critical life skill of goal-setting. So, instead of limiting your preparations to stocking up on the right school supplies, consider helping your child think about what they hope to accomplish academically in the new school year—and then turn these goals into a plan of action....

Everywhere you look, there are instances of bullying and cyberbullying brought about by mean girls, frenemies, and even fake friends. These so-called friends are frauds that use other people. They also tend to be one-dimensional and part of cliques. For this reason, it is important that kids know the difference between real friends and fake ones. Not only is a friendship with a fake friend unhealthy, but being associated with a fake friend often results in being bullied....

It can be hard to talk openly with a therapist if you have social anxiety disorder (SAD). The reason that you are going to therapy is that you are afraid of people; and yet therapy requires you to open up and share your innermost feelings with a complete stranger. Particularly for those with generalized SAD, therapy may initially be as difficult as the social situations that you fear. It is a catch-22 that is somewhat of a unique problem that those with social anxiety face....