Resources

Visit CAParentYouthHelpline.org/covid-resources

1. Establish a Supportive Home Environment: Cultivate a positive atmosphere that encourages stability and personal growth for each family member. Practice engaged listening to guide your child’s thoughts and actions. Effective communication enhances the confidence and sense of responsibility of both children and parents. A resilient family fosters healthy discussions built on mutual respect, emphasizing positive behaviors rather than dwelling on mistakes.
2. Encourage Hard Work and Achievement: Research indicates that successful adults attribute their achievements to encouragement for hard work, efforts, and the courage to explore new horizons. Young children benefit from constructive feedback, while excessive praise may hinder their willingness to take risks. Express pride in their efforts by acknowledging the dedication they put into tasks, building confidence and perseverance.
3. Respond to Each Child’s Unique Needs: Recognize each child’s strengths and character to build strong relationships. Support children in overcoming challenges that influence behavior. Promote respectful discussions about their experiences while reinforcing appropriate behavior. Stay aware of children’s digital habits and guide them in responsible technology use to promote safety and accountability.
4. Be Actively Present in Your Child’s Life: Prioritize quality time over screen distractions during significant moments like meals or homework. Engage in direct conversations with each child, demonstrating interest in their world and guiding them with wisdom. Whether sharing interests with teenagers or simply spending time together, convey the importance of their presence in your life.
5. Establish Family Guidelines and Appropriate Consequences: Establish clear family guidelines with parental leadership, ensuring consistent yet flexible implementation. Children feel secure when aware of expectations and consequences. Tailor consequences to match misbehavior, such as limiting TV time for disputes over television control.
6. Maintain Personal Well-Being: Allocate time for personal well-being to alleviate stress and maintain a healthy balance. Connect with other adults, even through virtual means, and celebrate milestones with friends and family. Embrace moments of solitude for reading, music, walks, or other hobbies. Delegate childcare responsibilities to trusted individuals when needed.
7. Guide Children Through Reflection and Self-Control: Consider reflection approaches, accompanying or substituting time-out, to help children develop self-control and learn appropriate responses. Sit with them during challenging moments, reinforcing clear expectations for behavior. Share this technique with children and teens to encourage responsibility and personal growth.
8. Reinforce Positive Behavior Appropriately: Incentives can effectively reinforce positive behavior without overemphasizing or reacting to minor issues. Focus on acknowledging accomplishments, changes, or new attitudes, recognizing effort and growth in meaningful ways.
9. Encourage Strong Family Connections: Incorporate frequent hugs, laughter, dancing, and smiling into daily interactions. These expressions promote family well-being and contribute to supportive parenting and child development, releasing tension and fostering lasting positive changes.
10. Utilize Verbal and Physical Redirection: Address misbehavior and guide it toward positive actions by providing alternative activities or conversations. Reframe behaviors by guiding children toward desired actions, promoting a more constructive environment.
11. Reinforce Positive Values Daily: Practice daily reinforcement of values together, emphasizing positive self-perception and strengthening family bonds. Encourage children to recognize their strengths and values, developing confidence and strong character.
12. Incorporate Self-Calming Strategies: Introduce quiet time for toddlers and work with your child to calm both parties through deep breathing or quiet reflection. Use simple relaxation techniques to ground yourself and your children, promoting emotional control and resilience.
13. Conduct Family Meetings: Gather the family for open discussions, supporting respectful communication and addressing weekly experiences, feelings, and potential issues. Establish ground rules and utilize this time for setting schedules, discussing family rules, and planning outings or celebrations. Gather the family for regular discussions to reinforce family priorities, responsibilities, and shared experiences. Establish ground rules and utilize this time for setting schedules, discussing family rules, and planning outings or celebrations.
14. Teach Conflict Resolution Skills: Empower children with problem-solving and conflict resolution skills, teaching them to address disappointments and conflicts calmly. Encourage taking responsibility for their actions, whether through extra chores, apology letters, or alternative methods.
15. Embrace Quality Time Together: Celebrate family traditions or create new ones, strengthening a sense of shared values and community.
16. Cultivate Resilience: Build a resilient foundation for each family member, creating a supportive environment for personal growth. Encourage a positive attitude and stay aware of children’s digital habits to protect against potential risks during challenging times.
    

At Parents Anonymous®, the theme in March is Getting Active – here are some ideas to get your body moving! Parents who are physically active can inspire their children to be active and adding fitness to a family’s busy schedule can benefit everyone.

Remember, try to find something that is fun, brings everyone together and is something that you can commit too.

Let’s Go Outside! Try making a little time each day for an outdoor activity that involves you and your children, walking in a local nature trail, taking a bike ride, or have one of your children lead the family walk in a safe area where you can discover new places, enjoy nature and be together.

Family Playtime: Get creative with your children and have them come up with activities that get that everyone can join in on like playing basketball, freeze tag, hopscotch, or have them make up a new game!

Get Support: Reach out and ask a friend or family member to support you in this new commitment to getting active. Encourage your children to get a buddy to set goals, try new activities and support one another. Exercising with others is a great way to build social connections while staying active.

Life’s a Garden, Dig It: Get outside, get your hands in the dirt, and help plants and vegetables grow. Learning how to grow a small garden can keep us active and nibbling the fruits and vegetables will encourage healthy eating habits too. You can grow indoor plants from a cutting or get involved with a community garden to work with others to grow food in your neighborhood.  

It may be a challenge at first but Getting Active is a journey that you can take one day at a time. There are so many benefits for you and your children. Start building a routine today, build a support network, and your future selves will thank you!

For more on how to stay fit while overcoming barriers, read here.

And for any other questions, read here.

What is community violence? 

According to the CDC, community violence happens between unrelated individuals, who may or may not know each other, generally outside the home. Examples include assaults or fights among groups and shootings in public places, such as schools and on the streets. Research indicates that youth and young adults (ages 10-34), particularly those in communities of color, are disproportionately impacted. Children from diverse communities could be severely impacted by this type of violence, even at a very young age, this trauma could leave sequels of violence that can impact their future. This month, Parents Anonymous® and Parents Anonymous® will focus on promoting mental health support for families in communities affected by violence.   

How does it affect us? 

Community violence can cause significant physical injuries and mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Living in a community experiencing violence can also prevent people from walking or bicycling in their neighborhoods to using local recreational parks. All of the previous activities are considered healthy, and recreational for children. This type of violence negatively impacts the growth and development of our communities. 

Engage community members in prevention efforts 

Community leaders can work collaboratively with community residents and those impacted by violence, such as young people with lived experience of violence, to develop violence prevention efforts. Partnering with community members to select, implement, and monitor prevention activities helps ensure that the efforts are community driven and effective at preventing and reducing community violence. 

How can parents help? 

In a community experiencing violence it is not uncommon that children develop problem behaviors as a result of that trauma. These types of behaviors need understanding and patience from parents. Be sure the child understands that you are there to listen. It is important to give children a safe space to talk about trauma and answer their questions with honesty. When in need of guidance don’t hesitate to ask for help from friends, family, community leaders and call/text the California Parent & Youth Helpline at 855-427-2736 or live chat at caparentyouthhelpline.org, 8:00AM – 8:00PM 7 days a week for free evidence-based emotional support. At Parents Anonymous® | Parents Anonymous®, we believe Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength®.  

For more from the CDC, find an article here 

At Parents Anonymous®, we believe that Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength® and Stand with Families is one of the many advocacy efforts that fall under the Parents Anonymous® umbrella. The focus of Stand with Families is to offer communitywide events to support Parents, Children and Youth along their empowerment journey. Whether you’re experiencing a personal tragedy or a pandemic, we are here to help.  

Parenting is one of the most difficult and stressful, yet rewarding, responsibilities we have in life.  Asking for help is difficult but sometimes it makes good sense to reach out to your friends and family for the help you need, though occasionally, you may want to look elsewhere.  Asking for help means you care about your family.  Being a parent may not be easy but reaching out is the first step to build on your personal strength and courage. 

We are here for you to vent, cry, and dig down deep to address the underlying emotional issues that we all face at one time or another. Taking care of yourself is so important in times of uncertainty and economic pressures. When we build resilience in ourselves, we are better able to help our kids of all ages. You are not alone! Having a supportive person to listen to you and bounce ideas off is key to balancing the challenges of life and the ups and downs in our personal experiences. It is not the falling down that is hard; it is the getting up and finding the way forward for you and your family that is empowering.  

Take a moment to stand with your family or someone you care about, hug, laugh out loud, and smile. These emotional expressions have been shown to make real changes in our mental health and to support positive parenting and child development. We benefit in so many ways by releasing pressures and letting go through fun activities alone and with our children. As a result, positive changes occur in our bodies that have lasting effects on depression, anxiety and fears for parents, children, and youth. Remember Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength®, so when you need to, call, text 855-427-2736 or live chat caparentyouthhelpline.org.