- 2018Sep 25
*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.
Many American teens are sleep-deprived, and parents blame their attachment to electronics, new survey results show.
Researchers at the University of Michigan conducted a national poll of more than 1,000 parents with at least one child between 13 and 18 years old.
"This poll suggests that sleep problems are common among teens and parents believe late-night use of electronics are a main contributor," said poll co-director Sarah Clark.
"Teens' hectic schedules and homework load, as well as anxiety about school performance and peer relationships, also are seen by parents as contributing to sleep problems," she said in a university news release.
Forty-three percent of the parents said their teen had trouble falling asleep or tossed and turned during the night.
And 56 percent of these parents said that electronics, particularly cellphones and social media, were robbing their teenagers of sleep, the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health showed.
Less often, parents blamed their child's busy schedule. More than 40 percent of the parents surveyed suggested their teens' homework load and activities disrupted their sleep schedule. Meanwhile, 31 percent of parents said worries about school affected their child's ability to sleep, and 23 percent said their teen's concerns about their social life kept them up at night.
In addition, 10 percent of parents reported that a health condition or medication had a negative effect on their child's sleep habits.
Many parents reported trying to encourage better sleep. More than half said they suggest limiting caffeine intake in the evening or tell their teen to turn off their phones and other electronic devices at bedtime. More than 40 percent recommend a snack before bed, 36 percent tried natural sleep remedies like melatonin, and 28 percent said their teen has tried a sleep aid.
But only 4 in 10 parents with sleep-deprived teens said they talked to a doctor about it.
- 2018Sep 24
*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on PsychCentral.
Children with severe symptoms of depression in second and third grade are six times more likely to have skill deficits, such as problems with social skills or academics, compared to non-depressed children, according to a new study at the University of Missouri (MU).
And while depressive symptoms may not always be obvious to parents or teachers, identifying academic or social deficits may help detect either current or future depression in the child.
“The gold standard for identifying children who might be at risk for developing depression later in life is to ask the children themselves,” said Dr. Keith Herman, professor in the MU College of Education.
“However, even if a child doesn’t say they feel depressed, certain outward behaviors might provide clues to the state of the child’s mental health. It’s important for teachers and parents to catch these behaviors early to prevent long-term problems that occur with depression.”
It is also important to note that parents and teachers may be seeing different sides of the same coin, and that both may be correct.
“When you ask teachers and parents to rate a child’s level of depression, there is usually only about 5-10 percent overlap in their ratings. For example, the teacher might report that a child has difficulties making friends in class, but the parent might not notice this issue at home,” said Herman.
“Some people would view that overlap as the truth about a child’s well-being and areas of disagreement as errors, but we need to explore the possibility that they each are seeing different aspects of children’s behavior and mental health.”
For the study, Herman and education professor Dr. Wendy Reinke observed 643 children in early elementary school to investigate how patterns between student, teacher and parent reporting can be used to gain a holistic picture of a child’s mental health.
They discovered that even though 30 percent of the children reported feeling mildly to severely depressed, parents and teachers often failed to recognize the child as depressed. However, teachers and parents were better at identifying other symptoms that might predict long-term risk for depression, such as social problems, inattention and skill deficits.
This could be crucial, as Herman found that the children showing severe signs of depression were six times more likely to have skill deficits than their peers.
- 2018Sep 21
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6. Youngblood - 5 Seconds of Summer
7. This Feeling (feat. Kelsea Ballerini) - The Chainsmokers
8. I'm a Mess - Bebe Rexha
9. Girls Like You (feat. Cardi B) - Maroon 5
10. Happier - Marshmello & Bastille
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