Tag Archive for: Camryn Cater

Is Your Child Suffering from “Digital Overload?”

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By Camryn Cater, MSW, LSW – May 20, 2026 –

Technology. It’s everywhere, woven into the fabric of our daily lives, influencing how we work, communicate and live. While the use of technology can be beneficial to children, it can also have negative effects. Excessive screen time can impact children cognitively, academically, physically, socially, behaviorally, and mentally.

As our world evolves, technology is reducing real-world interaction, creating continuous stimulation and exposing children to harmful content at increasingly younger ages. Our technology-driven world is physically altering children’s brain chemistry, creating many risks during critical developmental years. Therefore, parents and guardians need to take steps to create a safer environment and promote a healthy balance for kids.

Children are often introduced to tablets, iPads, iPhones, and apps like YouTube long before they enter kindergarten. Because the early years are critical to cognitive and social development, the experiences children have during this time can strongly influence their future success. Although technology can improve classroom efficiency and provide valuable educational support, excessive use may hinder a student’s ability to develop essential learning skills. 

High exposure to technology can significantly contribute to lower academic achievement. The instant gratification provided by digital devices and media may shorten children’s attention spans, making it more difficult for them to concentrate on slower-paced or less stimulating tasks. In addition, constant overstimulation from technology can also interfere with healthy brain development and negatively impact memory, focus, and critical thinking abilities. Without these essential foundational skills, students may struggle to meet academic expectations and perform successfully in school. 

Increased technology use can also lead to physical health problems. Children are spending less time playing outdoors, engaging in imaginative play, and participating in physical activity. This shift has contributed to increased rates of obesity among children and teens. Another concern is prolonged exposure to blue light, which can cause eye strain and sleep disturbances.

Technology also impacts children socially. With fewer in-person interactions, school may be one of the only places children socialize face-to-face with peers. Children who spend excessive time on devices may struggle more with conflict resolution, empathy, and basic social interactions. Social media further complicates this by exposing children to highlight reels of influencers, celebrities, and peers. Constant comparison can lead to lower self-esteem, which may contribute to mental health struggles such as anxiety and depression.

Overconsumption of technology can also increase the risk of cyberbullying. Children now communicate with peers at all hours of the day, allowing them to hide behind screens and act unkindly, sometimes anonymously. Children may see posts showing events they were not invited to or may be included in group messages they do not want to be part of. They may also be exposed to information that is not age appropriate.

How can parents avoid digital overload in their children? First, establish clear, consistent boundaries around screen time (such as no screens allowed in bedrooms, at the dinner table, or after a certain time). Involve your kids in creating a family media plan, which makes rules around screen time feel like a shared agreement rather than a punishment.

Parents should also model healthy screen-time habits in their own daily lives. Encourage alternative, non-digital hobbies such as reading, playing board games, crafting, playing sports, and engaging in outdoor activities. In addition, parents should guide children toward interactive or educational content rather than passive scrolling. Whenever possible, co-view media with your kids to promote discussion, engagement, and meaningful family interaction.

Parental control tools and software can be used to block inappropriate content and set screen time limits. And most importantly, have open conversations with your kids about why limits exist and to “pause, think and report” when they encounter disturbing content or someone acting inappropriately online.

For more specific age-appropriate guidelines, consider the 3-6-9-12 rule to guide your approach: No screens before age 3, no consoles before age 6, no internet before age 9, and no social media before age 12.

Camryn Cater, MSW, LSW, is a Youth First Mental Health Professional at Scott Elementary School in Vanderburgh County. Youth First, Inc., is a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening youth and families. Youth First provides over 100 highly trained mental health professionals (primarily master’s level social workers), prevention programs, parent engagement coordinators, and bilingual support personnel to 130 schools across 14 Indiana counties. Over 55,000 youth and families each year are served by Youth First’s school-based social work and community programs that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and maximize student success. To learn more about Youth First, visit youthfirstinc.org or call 812-421-8336.

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Kids Benefit When We Ring in the New Year with Self-Care

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By Camryn Cater, MSW, LSW – December 31, 2025 –

When traveling by plane, we always hear the flight attendants say, “In an emergency, put the oxygen mask on yourself before putting it on your child.” This is to ensure the adult’s safety so they can take care of the child accompanying them.

Parents tend to instinctively put their child’s well-being ahead of their own. But what happens when a parent does not take care of themselves first?

Stress is an emotional response to the demands of life, such as bills, school, work, caring for children, and all the additional curveballs life throws our way. Stress affects everyone differently, and it’s important to remember that not all stress is bad. However, long-term stress can negatively affect your health as well as the health of your children.

The number one stress-related mental health diagnosis is anxiety. Parental stress causes increased behavioral issues in children and can lead to poor performance in school. It can also result in children using less expressive language, exhibiting poor social skills, experiencing more mental health struggles, and having a more difficult time coping with change.

During my time as a Youth First Mental Health Professional, I have noticed that the behaviors of parents and guardians struggling with large amounts of stress are often mirrored by their children. For example, when parents are experiencing depression or undergoing tough times, their children may experience lack of motivation in school, poor grades, and often appear more tired. Some parents experiencing anxiety have children with anxious behaviors, such as lack of control over emotions, lack of sleep, and frequent stomach aches.

Understanding your stressors and prioritizing self-care can help create a better environment and a healthier lifestyle for you and your child. Practicing and teaching your child effective self-care is very important as they grow and mature. Children absorb and learn from your habits.

Parents and guardians can help their child overcome stress by modeling positive habits. Examples of self-care include exercising, taking a relaxing shower or bath, finding a new hobby, prioritizing sleep, replacing negative self-talk with positive self-talk, and reaching out for support when needed.

Help your child identify their emotions and let them know it’s okay to feel the way they do. This allows them to learn healthy ways to react to those emotions when they arise. Topics children find stressful may seem trivial when compared to our adult stressors, but acknowledging a child’s stress is important for the child to feel heard and understood.

In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy too! Putting yourself first as a parent is not as selfish as it sounds. Committing to habits of self-care can create better well-being for yourself and a positive future for your child.

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Creating a Resilient Child

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By Camryn Cater, MSW, LSW – August 28, 2024 –

Life can be described as a roller coaster, riding the highs and sometimes dropping to unexpected lows. There are certainly different emotions and feelings we experience along the way.

Resiliency is the ability to adapt well to trauma, tragedy, threats, and other areas of stress. Raising children to be resilient through the highs and lows of this quick ride called “life” is important. The exciting news is that resiliency can be taught.

Resiliency can come from a child’s beliefs, personality traits, and influences in their environment. Children who believe they can influence the world rather than the world controlling who they are can be more resilient to change. They also have a higher chance of controlling emotions and creating better coping skills.

A key component when ensuring your child can be resilient through life’s trials is helping them form connections. Demonstrate and encourage your child to build a support system and get involved in a community to create a resilient environment. Connection provides support during challenging times or situations that may be out of our control.

Self-care is another practice in routine that can ensure your child radiates with resiliency. Self-care is the act of improving or protecting one’s happiness and well-being. This can be as simple as working out, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep.

Ensuring your children incorporate enjoyable activities into their routine can also provide them with an outlet during stressful times, while also preserving their happiness. These activities might include clubs, sports, Scouts, music lessons, or other social activities.

Self-care is also knowing when to take a break. Children can have busy schedules or feel overwhelmed from time to time. Ensure they have time to decompress and slow down to process their emotions.

Children or teens that have access to at least one trusted adult in their life are more resilient. Children need an outlet where they can express their emotions in a healthy way. These outlets might include talking to someone like therapists, counselors, a parent/guardian, friend, or another trusted adult.

As a parent/guardian, be open and honest with your school-aged children using simple statements. Be a listening ear even if you are not in agreement with their concerns or emotions. It is essential for children to feel heard. Guide them to problem solve or express themselves in a healthy way.

Teaching your child to set goals is a great habit to start as a family and can create an emotionally well rounded child. Setting goals allows us to see how far we have come and gives the motivation to continue. Goal setting can be as simple as journaling any goals we would like to achieve in the future. Another healthy way to journal is to list what you are proud of accomplishing that day, something that made your day, or simply expressing each emotion you felt. These techniques can guide you to more self-awareness, ultimately making you more flexible with the ebb and flow of life. Taking that step to express yourself (for your eyes only) is one of the most powerful self-improvement techniques one can practice.

Change can be scary for children, teens, and even adults. Help your child understand that change is a part of life. Focusing on the positives of change can lead your child to be more optimistic. Point out the positive changes they have already made, such as moving up a grade at school.

Take steps to teach your child and family unit to be resilient during the highs and lows of the rollercoaster ride of life. Hiding what is happening in their world may only postpone anxiety that can pop up later. Telling them too many details of hardships or tragedy, however, could fuel their fears and worries.

By introducing routine, self-care, connections, goal setting, positivity, and making sure your child has at least one trusted adult to confide in, you can build resiliency and change the way your child adapts to struggles and hardships.

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Improving Your Family’s Emotional Communication

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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 rest of their lives.

Families with healthy emotional communication practices allow children to develop better coping mechanisms to overcome communication challenges. However, when families unconsciously or consciously dismiss their child’s emotions, they invalidate their child’s needs and thoughts. This parenting practice can lead to children developing less emotional intelligence and pave the way to mental health issues, including increased chances of anxiety, depression, and lack of empathy.

As easy as it is to ignore, downplay, or get frustrated with your child’s emotions, grownups must understand that children have thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and worries that need to be heard. From an adult’s perspective these feelings may seem small, but to a child, they are immense. Talk to your child about their emotions and use the conversation as an opportunity to grow your parent/child relationship.

Grownups can introduce positive emotional communication practices to kids by using emotional language such as “I feel” messages. Using this type of language encourages kids to follow your lead and learn to communicate their needs effectively. Another simple way to introduce emotional communication is through reading books or watching videos with characters who model positive emotional communication. Visuals with scales of emotions can also help your child clearly pinpoint what range of emotion they are feeling when it may be too difficult to describe in words.

Another good way to help kids express themselves is by facilitating dialogue about how certain activities, people, places, foods, etc. make them feel. For example, you could ask your child, “How did it make you feel when you were on stage for your program today?” This type of open-ended question allows time for your child to identify and process their own feelings and opinions. Making this a routine at the end of each day creates a space where your child knows they feel safe and understood.

These simple tasks carried out in your home can ultimately improve your relationship with your child and give you a sense of what you can do to meet your child’s emotional needs. This can boost your child’s mental health, decrease behavioral issues, and promote emotional empathy.

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Ring in the New Year with Self-Care

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By Camryn Cater, MSW – January 14, 2022 –

When traveling by plane, we have all heard flight attendants tell us that in an emergency you should put an oxygen mask on yourself before putting it on your child. This is to ensure the adult’s safety so they can take care of the child accompanying them.

Parents tend to instinctively place their child’s well-being before their own. But what happens when a parent does not take care of themselves first?

Stress is an emotional response to the demands of life such as bills, school, work, taking care of children, and all the additional curve balls that life throws our way. Stress affects everyone differently, and it’s important to remember that not all stress is bad. However, long term stress can negatively affect your health as well as the health of your children.

The number one stress-related mental health diagnosis is anxiety. Parental stress causes increased behavioral issues in children and can lead to poor performance in school. It can also result in children using less expressive language, having poor social skills, experiencing more mental health struggles, and having a harder time coping with change.

During my time as a Youth First Social Worker, I have noticed that the behaviors of parents and guardians struggling with large amounts of stress are often mirrored by their children. For example, when parents are experiencing depression or undergoing tough times, their children may experience lack of motivation in school, poor grades, and often appear more tired. Some parents experiencing anxiety have children with anxious behaviors such as lack of control over emotions, lack of sleep, and frequent stomach aches.

Understanding your stressors and prioritizing self-care can help create a better environment and healthy lifestyle for you and your child. Practicing and teaching your child effective self-care is very important as they grow and mature throughout their life. Children absorb and learn from your habits.

Parents and guardians can help their child overcome stress by modeling positive habits. Examples of self-care include exercising, taking a longer shower, finding a new hobby, prioritizing sleep, replacing negative self-talk with positive self-talk, and reaching out for support if necessary.

Help your child identify their emotions and let them know it’s okay to feel the way they do. This allows them to learn healthy ways to react to those emotions when they arise. Topics children find stressful may seem trivial when compared to our adult stressors, but acknowledging a child’s stress is important for the child to feel heard and understood.

In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy too! Putting yourself first as a parent is not as selfish as it sounds. Committing to habits of self-care can create a better well-being for yourself and a positive future for your child.

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