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Over the past two and a half years, we’ve been living in a pandemic. This has impacted our children in so many ways, particularly the state of their mental health. As we continue to see a rise in mental health concerns with children, we have to collectively pay attention to this crisis, and determine how we can offer support.

When a child’s mental health is impacted in a way that is harmful to themselves or those around them, it can be challenging to alter that behavior or even discuss it. Dr. Hoet is on the podcast today to discuss how we can help our child who has a mental health disorder, or strong emotions, and how we can work through them.

Ariana Hoet, PhD, is the clinical director of On Our Sleeves and a pediatric psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Hoet is deeply passionate about making sure everyone has a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible and that people of all backgrounds are accepted and celebrated. Her personal experience as an immigrant from Maracaibo, Venezuela, has helped to fuel that passion.

Becoming a psychologist and working in the health field only increased her understanding of the importance of working toward inclusion and equity in our society. She hopes to further the mission of On Our Sleeves by providing inclusive resources helpful to all adults caring for children.

In today’s episode we also discuss how we can help a child who is feeling thoughts of suicide or other harmful emotions, and the best ways to go about being there for them.

In this episode we discuss:

• The pandemic being a chronic stressor.
• Why Dr. Hoet started On Our Sleeves.
• How to validate a child’s heavy emotions.
• Details of “Operation Conversation”.
• Reviewing warning signs if our child is feeling suicidal.

Resources:

• Read about the estimates of children affected by Covid-19
• On Our Sleeves
• TableTopics cards
• Connection Cards for Kids

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Questions:

1. Why do you think the pandemic heightened children’s mental health?
2. What needs to happen to address this crisis and break the stigma of talking about children’s mental health?
3. What can we do as parents to start a conversation with our children to understand how they are feeling without them having to ask?
4. When children are teenagers, is it easier to have an open conversation on a daily basis about their day?
5. What do you say to your child when they are having trouble opening up?
6. What is “Operation Conversation”?
7. if my child is already in therapy for anxiety, is it too late to open up and have conversations?
8. How can I help my child with anxiety or depression when I haven’t experienced it myself?
9. What are your top three things we can do for our kids to encourage a strong self worth?
10. How can we prepare and educate our children to be aware of surroundings as in COVID, gun violence, etc. without instilling anxiousness?