Posts by Family Kickstart Georgia
Youth Mental Health and SCHIP
The US has the highest rate of abuse and incarceration of all the Western Nations. It looks like the rates of violence and homicide in US cities are on the rise. What may we do to stem the wave of children growing up to become criminal and violent in their own families and their communities?…
Read MoreYoung People and Self-esteem
While we all have self-doubts at times, it is important for children to feel okay about themselves most of the time. Healthy self-esteem is feeling good about yourself, and feeling that you are a worthwhile person. Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself as a person and knowing that there are things that you can…
Read MoreBuilding Good Mental Health
Early support children and young people to look after their mental health and wellbeing are really important. Good mental health habits during adolescence provide a solid foundation for positive mental health in the future. While they go through puberty and the stage of development called adolescence young people deal with many changes. Changes in the…
Read MoreObesity in Children
The number of overweight children has doubled in recent years, with a 25% of children considered overweight or obese. Causes of obesity in children include lack of physical activity, unhealthy food choices, and family eating habits. A rise in the number of overweight children is disturbing because it causes health problems and can lead to…
Read MoreFeeling Sad is Okay!
Everyone feels sad sometimes, just like everyone can feel joyful, proud, angry and plenty of other emotions. In other words, everyone has feelings, and those feelings are always changing. Sometimes we feel happy and sometimes we feel sad, whatever the feeling, it is real and part of living. When we talk about sadness, we use…
Read MorePregnancy and Your Mental Health
It can be a very exciting time, finding out you are pregnant, but it can also make you feel uncomfortable, worried, unwell and make you wonder how you are going to cope. It doesn’t stop when the baby arrives. Some mums find it easy to adjust to life with a new baby, but others don’t!…
Read MoreAdolescence: A Period of Changes
Adolescence is a tricky period of existence, which presents developmental challenges across the emotional, physical, and social dimensions of the lives of young people. Most adolescents have a very self-critical eye, and they can be absolutely focused on their physicality. They have a hyper-interest in how they are being perceived and ‘judged’ by others. This…
Read MoreYoung People, Alcohol and Illegal Drugs
Many parents worry about whether their son or daughter is using illegal drugs and what they should do about it, but it is important to know that most harm to young people comes from using legal substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and medicines. More young people are involved in violence, are hospitalized or die from…
Read MoreCommon Youth Mental Disorders
Major depressive disorder – the key feature is the presence of either depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure or being grouchy, irritable and in a bad mood. Symptoms of a major depressive disorder may include significant weight change, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, and restlessness, loss of energy, fatigue, feeling of worthlessness and inability…
Read MoreUsing Technology to Support Youth Mental Health
Even there are many Youth Mental Health organizations, in some cases, patients fall through the cracks and how is a young person able to access a private psychologist when those most vulnerable are unable to pay the gap or traveling is too far? Having to wait six months on a public mental health waiting list…
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