children’s mental health

Resources for BIPOC Mental Health

anxiety July 26, 2022 2:30 pm

July is BIPOC Mental Health Month. It was created in 2008 to bring awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face related to mental illness in the communities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Magination Press has several stories that address these unique struggles and open the door for discussion. This year, we feature the Something Happened books. The Something Happened books present and explain sensitive and important events happening in communities across the United States and around the world. Told in clear, compelling stories, the books come with the authority of psychological expertise from the American Psychological Association. They include: Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story of Racial Injustice, which is a New York Times and #1 IndieBound bestseller, and one of ALA's most banned books; Something Happened in Our Park: Standing Together After Gun Violence, which was nominated for The Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice; and Something Happened to My Dad: A Story About Immigration and Family Separation. Something Happened to My Dad: A Story About Immigration and Family Separation by Ann Hazzard, PhD ABPP and Vivianne Aponte Rivera, MD In this realistic and empowering tale, Carmen learns that through community and love, she can find strength in herself and maintain her connection with her Papi, who has been detained because of his immigration status. Carmen loves doing magic with her Papi. He can make sarapes fly. He can make rabbits vanish! But one day, her Papi vanishes. She is sad and scared when she learns he has been detained because he is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. At first, Carmen’s family keeps Papi’s detention a secret, fearing that they might be judged negatively. As Carmen's community becomes aware of their situation, they rally around her family with love. Carmen learns she can find strength in herself and maintain her connection with Papi, no matter what happens. Read and excerpt from the adult-child dialog section. Check out the English version of the book here and the Spanish version here. Something Happened In Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD and Ann Hazzard, PhD ABPP Emma and Josh heard that something happened in their town. A Black man was shot by the police. “Why did the police shoot that man?” “Can police go to jail?” Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children’s questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues. Hear Something Happened in Our Town read aloud here. Hear a podcast with Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP about talking with children about racism here. Check out the book here. Something Happened in Our

Resources for BIPOC Mental Health Eileen Hanning 2022-07-26T14:30:28-04:00

To Hug or Not to Hug: Teaching Kids About Consent

Bodily Autonomy July 5, 2022 10:00 am By Daniel Errico

The positive impacts of hugs on people’s bodies and minds are well documented. In order for hugs to be healthy, both participants have to be engaged with full, enthusiastic consent. Otherwise, the hug can easily become a negative experience. Don’t Hug the Quokka! By Daniel Enrico provides a lighthearted and friendly introduction to the concept of consent for young children. Read an excerpt from the Note to Parents and Caregivers by Karen Rayne, PhD, providing guidance to help your child understand consent. Bodily Autonomy and Understanding Consent The thing to remember about hugs is that they are often the very first kinds of interpersonal touch that children learn to navigate on their own. The rules that are laid around hugs—how to ask for them, how to consent or not consent to them, how to listen to someone else’s consent—are the basis for the tools that children will take into their adolescence and young adulthood. The basic hallmark is to trust children to draw their own boundaries on their physical bodies. If they don’t want to be hugged or touched, they are allowed to say no. This teaches children that they can be their own person, invites them to actually consider what they do want and need, and increases self-esteem and autonomy. It will also make it easier for them to understand that others have the same right to make decisions about their own bodies—thus learning to accept a no from other people. Helping kids navigate the hug and touch landscape is the start of a lifelong process. These tools translate directly into an adolescent and young adult’s capacity to engage in sexual and romantic relationships clearly, ethically, authentically, and safely. When (and How!) to Say No Helping your child learn to say no to something or someone is difficult for many parents because they did not receive this kind of guidance and support as children themselves. Instead, it tends to come when children are older and many of their habits around consent have already been formed. Questions and discussion topics to have with your child can include: How do you know if you do not want to hug someone? What are the ways that your body tells you if you do not want to hug someone? (You can talk about the way their body feels in different situations, whether those feelings are comfortable or uncomfortable, and what those feelings might be telling them.) If you do not want to hug a friend, how would you tell them that? What if it were your teacher? What if it were your friend’s parent? (Include additional important people in this question, like family members, clergy members, and others. Model some clear ways to say no, which can be as simple as “No, thank you” or “I don’t want a hug.”) What would you do if someone tried to hug you without asking first? (Some possibilities include saying “Please ask me before you touch me” and “I don’t like it when people hug

To Hug or Not to Hug: Teaching Kids About Consent Daniel Errico 2022-07-01T16:44:39-04:00

Books to Tackle Bullying

anxiety October 14, 2021 5:34 pm

October is Bullying Prevention Month. Magination Press has published several books about the experience of bullying and how to respond to it, as well as resources for being a leader, good citizen, and for being resilient. Books about bullying Lulu the One and Only by Lynnette Mawhinney, PhD explores the experience of being multiracial, explains microaggression, and provides a resilient response. Read a post about supporting your biracial child from the Author’s Note here. Hear Lulu the One and Only read aloud here. Baxter and Danny Stand Up to Bullying by James M. Foley, DEd follows a pair of friends, Baxter and Danny, as they encounter and learn how to stand up to bullies. Read an excerpt from the Note to Parents and Other Caregivers here. Books About Helping Make Your World a Better Place The Hero Handbook by Mark Langdon shows kids how to be the hero of their own story and discover their own hero journey. Heroes take chances, do hard things, and sometimes even change the world. To become a hero, kids can surround themselves with supportive people, boost their self-esteem and self-awareness, find their passion, and have the courage to make things happen. Read an excerpt from The Hero Handbook here. Stand Up!: Be an Upstander and Make a Difference by Wendy L. Moss, PhD, ABPP provides strategies to become a “positive bystander,” someone who stands up for themselves and others. Two of the ways to be an Upstander include having empathy for others and conflict resolution. Read an excerpt from a chapter of Stand Up! here. Resilient Reads Brilliant Bea by Shaina Rudolph and Mary Vukadinovich is an endearing and empowering story that demonstrates that a learning difference like dyslexia doesn’t define who you are. Despite her struggles with reading and writing, Beatrice is a natural and brilliant storyteller. With the help of a kind-hearted teacher, Beatrice uses an old-fashioned tape recorder so she can speak her words and play them back, as a technique for learning in a whole new way. With her new approach, Beatrice is able to show her classmates who she really has been all along. This book is set in EasyReading, a dyslexia-friendly font. Band Together by Chloe Douglass demonstrates how sometimes peer pressure can be a positive force. Duck loves peace and quiet! When a rowdy band asks him to join the show, he agrees, but gets nervous to perform with them. Why would they want him to play with them? A charming tale about being with friends and making new ones. Hear Band Together read aloud here. Read an interview with the author and illustrator here. Whether your child has been the target of bullying, has witnessed it, or has bullied someone else, reading books about the subject is a great way to start a conversation about this important and sensitive subject. Check out our entire collection of books about bullying. It may also be helpful to look at our collection of books about friendship, race &

Books to Tackle Bullying Eileen Hanning 2021-10-14T17:34:09-04:00

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