As they say, time flies when you're having fun.  But before you can say PB & J, it'll be time to get the kids geared up and ready for school again.  Part of that readiness should include mental and physical checkups. Oops, did I say mental? Yep, I did.

Mental Health is just as important as physical health, yet mental health disorders are often the last ones we think of addressing. Time to reorder our thinking. There was a 400 percent increase in bipolar disorder diagnoses in children in the past decade. What's up with that?

There's trouble brewing with our kids, and we need to take preventive actions -- the cost is too dear. Between lost workdays and lost taxes, Medicaid, and juvenile-court costs, psychiatric and learning disorders cost society billions of dollars a year.  It is estimated that the US loses 113 billion dollars a year because of untreated and mistreated mental illness. But trust me - mental health issues can't truly be measured in monetary terms alone.  The more significant cost is loss of happiness, joy, potential, and ultimately, human life. The suicide rate for teenaged girls increased by 76 percent in the past year alone.

We need to begin checking for mental disorders when our kids are young - not only for the obvious reason that children afflicted with mental illnesses should get help as soon as possible, but because studies show that 75 percent of all adult psychiatric disorders start during childhood and adolescence.  Based on health statistics, 20 percent of children and teens in the US have a psychiatric disorder, and 50% of kids with ADHD are never diagnosed.

Tune into your kids and take note of their mental health.  Are they anxious? Sad and lethargic? Have a hard time concentrating? Do they restrain their eating? Consider the following: anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health problem, affecting 13 percent of 9- to 17-year-olds. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects 5 to 10 percent of children. Clinical depression affects one in eight adolescents.  Approximately 20 percent of all kids have a learning disorder.  Studies show that approximately 3 percent of teenage girls have an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating.

These are sobering statistics that can have a serious impact on you, and your family. Get help when you need it. Check out the following sites to get more information:  National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health, and Mental Help.

As parents, it falls to us to advocate for more mental-health programs, and make sure mental health services are available to all who need them. Especially our kids.

 

 

As they say, time flies when you're having fun.  But before you can say PB & J, it'll be time to get the kids geared up and ready for school again.  Part of that readiness should include mental and physical checkups. Oops, did I say mental? Yep, I did.

Mental Health is just as important as physical health, yet mental health disorders are often the last ones we think of addressing. Time to reorder our thinking. There was a 400 percent increase in bipolar disorder diagnoses in children in the past decade. What's up with that?

There's trouble brewing with our kids, and we need to take preventive actions -- the cost is too dear. Between lost workdays and lost taxes, Medicaid, and juvenile-court costs, psychiatric and learning disorders cost society billions of dollars a year.  It is estimated that the US loses 113 billion dollars a year because of untreated and mistreated mental illness. But trust me - mental health issues can't truly be measured in monetary terms alone.  The more significant cost is loss of happiness, joy, potential, and ultimately, human life. The suicide rate for teenaged girls increased by 76 percent in the past year alone.

We need to begin checking for mental disorders when our kids are young - not only for the obvious reason that children afflicted with mental illnesses should get help as soon as possible, but because studies show that 75 percent of all adult psychiatric disorders start during childhood and adolescence.  Based on health statistics, 20 percent of children and teens in the US have a psychiatric disorder, and 50% of kids with ADHD are never diagnosed.

Tune into your kids and take note of their mental health.  Are they anxious? Sad and lethargic? Have a hard time concentrating? Do they restrain their eating? Consider the following: anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health problem, affecting 13 percent of 9- to 17-year-olds. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects 5 to 10 percent of children. Clinical depression affects one in eight adolescents.  Approximately 20 percent of all kids have a learning disorder.  Studies show that approximately 3 percent of teenage girls have an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating.

These are sobering statistics that can have a serious impact on you, and your family. Get help when you need it. Check out the following sites to get more information:  National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Health, and Mental Help.

As parents, it falls to us to advocate for more mental-health programs, and make sure mental health services are available to all who need them. Especially our kids.

 

 

Did you know that more than 28 percent of children born in 2005 were born to moms who had never been married? This info is from data provided by the Census Bureau's 2006 study on the Fertility of American Women. Nearly one quarter of all women who had a child were below the poverty line. These statistics suggest that mothers - including single mothers, need more support systems to help them raise their children.

50 Ways to Save Our Children sounds like a card game, but the truth is, this website is all about encouraging you to do SOMETHING. There are obviously more than 50 ways to help kids. You can donate blood, you can sponsor a child in another country. You can become a big brother or big sister in your own country. You can donate books to a library. See what I mean? Every little bit helps. Please make an effort. It will make a difference.

50 Ways to Save Our Children sounds like a card game, but the truth is, this website is all about encouraging you to do SOMETHING. There are obviously more than 50 ways to help kids. You can donate blood, you can sponsor a child in another country. You can become a big brother or big sister in your own country. You can donate books to a library. See what I mean? Every little bit helps. Please make an effort. It will make a difference.

Most of you have used a web-based greeting card company to send cards to people you love and care about. Now you can make this gesture even more compelling. 50Ways.org has partnered with Card Cafe to add a charitable component to your online card giving. Send a card, add a gift from Card Cafe's gift selections, and a portion of the cost will be donated to 50Ways.  Your donation is tax deductible, and will help kids TODAY.  Start now - create your address book, and Card Cafe will send you reminders to send cards on time!

All the women I know accept the idea that education is vital, and in fact consider it fundamental to our growth.  An education is freedom; a vehicle that can help us reach our fullest potential in life. This concept isn't new. As parents, we've been pitching the idea of education to our kids as the answer since they were in diapers.  

However, though education is sought and schools are attended in great numbers by all girls who get the chance, are they landing the top jobs? Are girls and women equally represented in power positions based on percentage of population? Nope. So what are girls going to do with all this hard-won knowledge and education if our society doesn't allow them access to the highest-level careers, power board seats and corporate positions?

Oh, I know -- we do have many notable women in power positions. We have a female Secretary of State, a woman Speaker of the House, and an extremely notable woman just made a run for the Democratic Presidential nominee.  However, the actual numbers of women in top-level positions is still far below par with men. 

This apparent mixed message may be contributing to the fact that with all the possibilities seemingly on our plates and with all our legitimate potential, women still venture into the same fields that we have always historically dominated; 59 percent of all women workers are still concentrated in sales, clerical, and service positions. Either the majority of us don't realize there are other career options, or we don't believe we can vie for them.

Though we're loathe to admit it, the socialization of girls and women is still pretty much based on outdated schemas and norms. We're raised to assume, from an early age, usually by about 6 to 8 years old, that there are gender-specific roles we should play; a hierarchy of power; a norm or generalized set of behaviors and cultural rituals that we should perform. We've been bucking these boundaries for centuries, yet as a group, we continue to pursue the tried and true. 

Though there is no single answer to resolve this conundrum, perhaps education is still the key. Studies show that girls make up 57 percent of all college students in the United States. Perhaps the sea change will come when these young women cross society's unwritten boundaries and choose careers that fall outside of the norm.