Entries by Youth First

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How to Help Your Perfectionist Child

By Brooke Skipper, MSW, LCSW, Youth First, Inc. If you have a perfectionist child, you most likely already know it. You’ve witnessed the crying episodes, self-doubt, and meltdowns. Perfectionist children set unrealistic goals and then place enormous pressure on themselves to reach those goals. While it’s good for kids to hold high expectations of themselves, […]

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“Smart” Ways of Managing Anxiety

By Heather Miller, MSW, LCSW, Youth First, Inc. Sometimes anxiety happens without much warning. One minute everything is fine. The next minute, “what- ifs” can become all consuming.  Typically, teens and adults have a smartphone readily accessible. It may be feasible to grab your phone and try the following tips to help manage anxiety. Anxiety is a […]

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Fidgets: They Are Not Just Toys

By Lisa Glahn, MSW, LSW, Youth First, Inc. From time to time, we all have the need to burn off energy; some more than others. Personally, I tend to click my pens, bounce my legs, and tap my feet. Sometimes I am not even aware that I am fidgeting until someone calls my attention to it. This can be […]

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Improving Your Family’s Emotional Communication

By Camryn Cater, MSW, LSW, Youth First, Inc. Emotional communication is a key component in our lives. It helps us form relationships and make connections with family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. As children learn to emotionally connect and communicate with others, they are building emotional skillsets that will help them develop relationships for the […]

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Why is Executive Functioning Important?

By Diane VanCleave, MSW, LCSW, Youth First, Inc. Some say, “If parenting does not feel like white knuckle time, you’re not doing it right.” Parenting has its complexities and challenges, and a parent or caretaker needs to provide age-appropriate guidance. A child’s growth progresses through executive function efficiency. Executive function (EF) is the interconnection and […]

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Trends in Adolescent Mental Health

By Kelly McClarnon, MSW, LCSW, Youth First, Inc. Since I began working in a school setting, I’ve noticed increasing rates of mental health concerns among adolescents. It’s not just my personal experience; a quick Google search will pull multiple articles about a “mental health crisis” within this population. There are many factors that contribute to […]

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Setting SMART Goals Leads to Success

By Jennifer Bouchie, MSW, LSW, Youth First Inc. Goal setting is important at all stages of our lives. Whether we are talking about our kids or ourselves, knowing how to set obtainable goals is key to finding fulfillment. The struggle with goal setting is that sometimes we see the big picture but have a hard […]

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Shared Meals Lead to Happier, Healthier Families

By Diane Walton, MSW, LSW, Youth First Inc. Family meal times are such a valuable experience, with a wide variety of benefits for both children and parents. More shared meals together correlate to greater benefits seen; however, children will benefit from as little as three family meals each week. Shared meals promote healthier eating habits, […]