Children and teens have many stressors in life. Youth are struggling to understand their emotional and social world. Adolescents and children are struggling with academics, chores, family obligations, teachers, new schools, homework, peers, self esteem, hormone changes, body image issues, and much more. The last thing a child needs is to deal with bullying.

Children that are bullied need mental health counseling services at a rate of twice those that are not bullied. Bullying is associated with : depression, anxiety, cutting, self harm, and many other psychological mental health disorders.

Cyberbullying is happening with children and teens and is hidden from parents via: instagram, snapchat, Facebook, whatsapp, texting, and other applications on your child’s smartphone or electronic device. Ganging up on someone and victimizing them and humiliating them is abuse and it is not humor. Many children and teens have committed suicide based on cyberbullying. Parents can monitor and discuss above with their children and monitor their digital footprints.

Teens and children are spending between 6-9 hours per day on electronic devices. Youth in America according to a recent study of over 3000 youth show they are spending more time on media and electronic devices including phones than they are sleeping. The cell phone, Tv, You tube videos, cell phone games, texting , instagram, snapchat, video games, netflix , hula are distracting children from homework, exercise, and healthy face to face relationships. Children and Teenagers are in their room jumping from one electronic device to another and it is having a negative impact on learning and grades! I had a news reporter tell me that we do not know the impact of media on children. There are thousands of studies showing that children and teens are out of balance with media use, tv, cell phone use, and video games. The experts state children should be using no more than 1.5 hours per day . This includes the pediatric medical community. So media Health Care Doctors, Psychologists, Researchers, and world experts maintain we must limit the exposure to electronics. It impacts sleep, mood, performance, social skills, academic success and more in a negative manner.

Teenagers between the ages of 13-18 are spending on average nine hours per day on electronics: tv, netflix, texting, you tube, Facebook, instagram,social networking, snapchat, video games, online videos. Teens are rarely maintaining 7 hours of sleep per night during the school week.

Children are also using electronic media at a high rate. Youth ages 9-12 are averaging six hours per day of electronic media use nd this does not include time for homework.

Seventy percent of teens do not believe that watching tv, texting, playing video games, surfing the net impacts their ability to study and learn. Research shows this not to be the case in fact it is the opposite of what the teens believe.

Teen Boys are spending a great deal of time on video games. Male teens spend almost ten times the amount of time on video games and online gaming as well as cell phone gaming. Teen girls spend more time on social media than boys and girls spend more time reading than boys.

Parents are in a power position to set boundaries for: sleep, gaming, texting, Tv, Homework, and more. If parents do not set firm limits than an immature child will be sucked into the vortex of games and entertainment and will be in their rooms drunk with power. Family communication will deteriorate, grades will go south, negative behaviors will become more frequent, family stress will increase, and mental and physical health will be poor.

Being bullied and teens and school age children that are rejected lead to feelings of powerlessness and isolation. Victims often feel an extremely intense desire to regain their power and turn to violent behaviors to regain their power.

Twenty five percent of students are bullied and of these children seventy percent are bullied at school.

Studies show that students that have been bullied often are very likely to be vulnerable to: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, social isolation, sleep issues and disorders, substance and drug dependence and alcohol abuse, cutting, and more mental health issues. Post traumatic stress Disorder and suicide have also been linked to bullying. Long term psychological damage is linked to bullying and abuse ( emotional, verbal, physical, mental).

Gov legislation and laws have not stopped the violence. We have had 50 school shootings since Sandy Hook only a few years ago this is outrageous and sad and tragic.

We must teach children and teens mood management skills, stress management, social skills, healthy way to communicate thoughts and feelings and more. We need to teach children and teenagers: compassion, empathy, kindness, tolerance, respect, and coping skills for life. We must encourage youth to talk about bullying to parents and to share the info with the principal and all teachers and not look the other way. Cyberbullying also must be discussed it is happening with exponential frequency and is not ok.

Obtaining counseling for children and counseling for teens is important to address bullying to help youth learn skills to address this pain and provide parents solutions so your child does not suffer long term psychological disorders and other forms of harm to family, peers, or self.

Schools need to feel safe physically and emotionally for children and teenagers. Schools must be pro active with anti bullying programs and seminars and education on bullying on a regular basis. Schools should devote time to mental health issues since they will ooze out daily in the schools so it must be addressed!

A child that is victimized very likely will grow up and become a victimizer to peers, wives, friends etc. It is important to teach healthy boundaries( physical, mental, emotional) and healthy choices, right from wrong and also make sure your child is safe from bullying.

Lifeworksaz.com counseling has worked with children and teens that have been bullied or are victimizing others helping them create health and success in their lives.

Developmental psychologist state that toddlers that use physical aggression to get what they want are similar to typical 18 year old violent criminals .
Dangerous criminals do not turn violent according to mental health experts . This finding has been replicated in several research studies throughout the world .

Aggression and aggressive behavior starts as toddlers. Children learn through conditioning . We learn to use words to express ourselves and learn self control. Children learn to communicate vs using aggression .

Children learn strategies to meet their needs at age 3 . Children at 3 learn to assess situations and choose among what learned behaviors he or she can use to get what he or she desires .

Children that have aggressive / physical parenting have a higher propensity to use aggression in their daily behaviors .

Children will model parents communication techniques . If grabbing a child is your technique he or she will learn to grab siblings , peers , and family . At times their is a genetic component however a child can learn to control behaviors through behavior plans and conditioning .

Parents that yell loud and often will many times see a child that tells loud as well. Talking in a soft gentle voice with a behavior plan in place will create desired results for a life time .

Teenagers from all walks of life who believe people can’t change react more aggressively to a peer conflict than those who think people can change. And teaching them that people have the potential to change can reduce these aggressive reactions. Many children and teens see things in black and white categories. A person is either good or bad their is no grey areas. Cognitive distortions or twisted thinking is the root of many behavioral issues, mood issues, communication, social issues as well as aggressive behaviors. Individual counseling can address unhealthy thinking to reduce aggression. Lifeworksaz has worked with children ages 5-18 in this process.
Parents can learn behavior modification techniques at lifeworksaz so your child will not act out at school and at home with siblings and family members . Individual and family counseling show the best evidence based results for children . The family system must change  to obtain the desired results . Positive results and success can happen in a short time with an expert that sets the necessary treatment plan and knows how to execute it and has a history of expertise in this field . LifeworksAZ  has a great deal of experience in creating desired changes.

In 2010 a very large study was done on children and teens with mental health disorders. The study states that 20 percent of children and adolescents have a mental health disorder. Some of the most common mental health disorders included: ADHD, ADD, Behavioral disorders, Conduct disorders , anxiety, depression, substance use, Autism spectrum disorders, Aspergers, Tourette syndrome and more.

Between 2007 and 2010 alone mental health inpatient services increased 25 percent. Hospitalization for mood disorders in youth has increased over 79 percent in the same time period. Psychotropic medications increased at a very high level as well.

There are many components that can increase mental health disorders in children. There is a biological component however environmental components play a huge role. Death of a loved one or pet can cause great trauma and anxiety to a child. Children must address their emotional needs during times of a loss. A parent that withdraws emotionally can have a significant impact on a child. The loss may be due to; marital issues, unemployment , alcohol or substance use, health issues, and more.

Parents usually hope to shield children from conflicts involved in a marriage. Hostility , rage and anger is very destructive to children and  can rarely be hidden even though that is a parents true desire. Children very often feel: hopeless, helpless, and alone. Children need to feel secure and safe in this process and medication does not do so. Children that see physical and verbal violence often feel: helpless, humiliated, and terrified.

Children can be hurt with subtle changes in parenting. Contradictory parenting patterns, confusing parenting adversely will affect a child and adolescent.Children need an environment they can understand and that they can predict. An unpredictable environment makes them feel they can not do anything right. Self esteem, focus, and confidence are impaired and can develop hopeless responses to stressors.

Older children often can victimize younger sibling children. This can be traumatic and terrify children.

Changing schools can be extremely difficult and create social issues, anxiety, depressed mood, and more. Change is very hard for children and teenagers.

Major changes in family structure: births, remarriage, adoptions, blended families can create resentment, anger,anxiety, isolation and withdrawal fro children.

The cost of child mental health care costed over 250 Billion dollars in 2006. This included juvenile services, special education services, economic loss due to loss of productivity.  The great news is that their are tools out there to help your child and teen create: health, balance and success through coaching, counseling,a nd therapy ( individual and family counseling and therapy). Lifeworksaz has a great deal of experience with children in: Scottsdale, Arizona, tempe Arizona, Chandler Arizona, Ahwatukee Arizona, Glendale Arizona, Paradise Valley Arizona, Phoenix Arizona and more.

The Academy of Pediatrics suggest that children be limited to less than
two hours per day of TV and media. Research shows that media can
diminish a child’s vocabulary, math skills, and social skills. There is
a great deal of research that correlates : sleep problems, aggression,
anger, behavioral problems, ADHD, lack of attention at school, obesity
and more to children that are watching on average 32 hours of TV and
media per week. In most homes the TV is on for half the day if not more.

Children are not interacting with peers and family members. Children are
not eating dinner with families and communicating. The TV or technology
is the focus and healthy social and communication skills are eroding
exponentially. Children and teens are not exercising which is essential
for physical health as well as mental health. Children are not reading
books, playing instruments, playing with peers, joining groups and
organizations and are isolating in their rooms or homes watching media.

Obesity is an epidemic in the USA and this is no exception for children.
One out of three high school students are not involved in any exercise.
Many children and teens spend most of their time playing video games,
watching tv, or on the computer. Limiting media time is one huge piece
in decreasing weight and obesity problems among youth. Of course
exercise and healthy eating habits are important as well. The first step
is limiting media consumption.

Thousands of studies have been done on child aggression/ anger and TV
since he early 1950’s and only a couple dozen state that aggression and
TV watching frequency increase childhood aggression. TV desensitizes
children toward violence, anger, aggression, verbal abuse and more.
Children will be exposed to over 200,000 violent acts and over 15,000
murders before they reach age 18. Do you really want your children
exposed to this much violence?.

Tv research shows that exposure to alcohol and smoking increase the
likelihood your child will gravitate toward these products. This is why
advertisers spend Billions of dollars each year to increase sales and
exposure of their products.

Children and parents can learn healthy skills and tips in counseling at
LifeWorks AZ PLLC to create health and balance for a child, teen and
family. Learning healthy skills to promote health, manage mood, increase
social skills, manage behaviors in the home, increase success a school.
overcome negative thinking, address anxiety issues,increase self
esteem, manage depressed mood, increase motivation, make healthy
choices, manage anger and more.

Fighting test cheating is big business with the advances in technology . There are concerns such as wirelessly transmitting questions outside of an exam and hacking into the computer based tests .

Over 1.8 million children took the ACT a national college placement exam taken by high school students . The test will be computer based starting in 2015.

Test takers have used advanced technology to download questions or capture their images with digital cameras or other devices while taking a test and then they transmit them wirelessly outside of a testing room. These questions can end up for sale on various web sites.

Major testing companies like CTB/Mcgrawhill are developing security software to sell to schools and licensure boards to protect them from cheating .

Computer based exams are expanding rapidly . We are using technology for a large majority of life activities and this is why tests are becoming more computer based as well .

Wireless technology where students that are cheating have reached people outside of the classroom during a test has been a threat to test taking .

An Individual recently used a tiny video camera in his glasses to transmit questions on a drivers test to a person outside the test room who then was able to relay the correct answers for the test via a small earpiece .

Many educators in high schools prefer pencil and paper testing and are opposed to computerized tests due to : hacking , and the ability to cheat through technology .

Teaching children to be honest is important and that shortcuts will not help them in the long run . Cheating does not pay !

Lifeworks Az works with children , teens and families to create health and success in life . Contact lifeworksaz.com to set up an appointment .

Exercise at school has been reduced and is not a priority at most schools and childhood obesity is skyrocketing .

Drug abuse is pervasive with almost 70 percent of teens exposed to marijuana use . Alcohol use is on the rise and is easily accessible for youth.

Cyber bullying is on the rise with social media and it is impacting children in many negative ways . Many children have committed suicide do to online and in school bullying .

Creating structure and modeling healthy behaviors is a beginning to help your children.

Lifeworks Arizona provides therapy and counseling to kids , youth , children , adolescents, teenagers, in Phoenix , Ahwatukee, Scottsdale , Tempe Arizona