When we rush to relieve our children's discomfort, we rob them of building distress tolerance. They don't learn that uncomfortable feelings pass, that they can survive not getting what they want.

As a parent, you can hold the discomfort with your child, stay present and manage your anxiety when they are upset. By doing this, you convey that you believe your child is strong enough to learn how to tolerate not getting what they want.

For parents whose child is in residential treatment, wilderness, or a hospital, the holiday season feels very different. Instead of joy, there's often a heavy mix of grief, guilt, and quiet relief that your child is somewhere safe, even if that "somewhere" is far from home.

Wishing you small gifts of simplicity this week — the kind that make the season feel more spacious, more grounded, more human. And if you need to step outside for a breath (or an entire Tennessee-style tech hiatus), consider this your invitation.

Hope for the global teen mental health crisis: Dartmouth College is hosting a groundbreaking three-day symposium that underscores how seriously the global community is taking youth mental health. "A Global Turning Point: Why Youth Well-Being Is in Crisis—and What We Must Do About It" will bring together dozens of leading international scholars, physicians, advocates, experts, and policymakers from around the world, including six former U.S. Surgeons General.

If you've noticed your teen struggling more, withdrawing from friends, constantly on their phone, irritable, anxious, and you think they might suffer from depression or anxiety, you're not alone. Read here.

Protecting Teens in an Age of AI and Online Exploitation

The digital landscape our kids are navigating has become more dangerous than most of us realize, particularly now with AI and Fake Nudes.

Effective strategies to parent your “hard to parent” teen. Sharing hard-earned lessons.

Kindness doesn't just make the world slightly better for others. It measurably improves our physical and mental health, reduces our stress reactivity, provides our children with concrete evidence that they have power to create good in the world, creates a ripple effect that touches givers, receivers, and observers alike, and literally retrains our brains to notice positive interactions instead of only threats and problems.

The cultural climate and our own adverse experiences (like divorce or a loss of a job) has an impact on adults, but children, especially neurodivergent children, are particularly vulnerable to the anxiety and confusion it creates. Kids are incredibly sensitive to their environment, so to the best you can, be mindful of what they are exposed to, and have age-appropriate conversations with them to help them process and understand

If your teen seems to lack motivation, change the focus from "how can we make you change" to "what do you actually want for your life?"

Lasting motivation doesn't come from consequences or rewards. It comes from understanding what matters and choosing to act in alignment with those values, even when it's hard.

Rituals are a meaningful anchor in schools and help teachers create the culture that builds thoughtful community members and resilient learners.

Seeing the forest through the trees: when your child or young adult may need a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation.

Strategies for Communicating with your Teen or Young Adult Child Photo by: Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Photo by Sean Foster on Unsplash

When a family comes to me sharing the story of their child who is struggling, I also ask, "And, how is this impacting you, their parents, your marriage, and especially their siblings?"

As a clinical social worker trained in family systems, I look at the health of the entire family system. When one child struggles, requiring more of their parents' attention and emotional energy, the siblings will be impacted. It's not a matter of if – it's a matter of how.

Whether your child needs the intensive support described in Autism Out Loud or different kinds of help along their journey, the mama bear instinct remains the same: fierce, protective, and willing to do whatever it takes.

Trust your mama bear heart. It knows the way. And remember – you are not alone in this. Reach out to jennifer@teamcrossbridge.com

Trusting a school or therapeutic program with your child can be unnerving. You’re asking strangers to care for and understand your most cared for human.

But a trusting partnership among the adults is really the only way that our kids have the chance to grow and transform in their new environment.

If you've a child with special needs, you've likely been following the news about proposed changes to federal education oversight and funding. I won't lie - it's concerning. The potential downsizing of the Department of Education, shifting oversight responsibilities, and reduced federal enforcement could impact the services our kids depend on.

But here's what we want you to remember: your child still has rights, and you still have power as their advocate. The federal laws that protect students with disabilities - IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA - are still in place. What's changing is how they might be enforced and funded. We aim to keep you informed.