by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Dec 11, 2017 | In The Media, Project Access
The Project Access report has been released click here to view
We’re pleased to provide you with a link to the results of a year-long research undertaking called Project Access, which has been supported by the Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund of the Long Island Community Foundation.
We surveyed almost 650 respondents across Long Island about their experiences regarding the ease or difficulty with which they were able to access mental health and addictions care. As the results of our study show, far too many people are having trouble finding timely, affordable, quality care for themselves and their loved ones. Access delayed is access denied.
We hope that you will find this report affirms what many of us know anecdotally regarding the impediments we and our neighbors experience when seeking to access care. Please feel free to forward this and to make your legislator aware of it.
by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Dec 6, 2017 | Blog
Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or another holiday this time of year, one thing is for certain: You (hopefully) have fond memories of the traditions that your family followed when you were young.
There are several ways in which celebrating your family’s own unique traditions are beneficial to you and your children. First, holidays typically mean the coming together of family and friends with the intention of sharing loving, joyful feelings and rituals.
“The holidays are a great time to help your child connect to elders in the family,” says Regina Barros-Rivera, Associate Executive Director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center. “If your child has a hobby or activity that they can enjoy with their grandparents, they can create long-lasting memories.”
Cooking was the activity that bonded Barros-Rivera’s son to his grandmother, and the joy born of those early experiences has lasted throughout many years. “He’s 26 today and loves to join the family in preparing special holiday meals. His memories of my mother are forever special, and the moments for her were priceless.”
Another great way to build connections with significant others in the family is through storytelling. “That’s a wonderful way of giving rooted, positive foundations for present and future relationships,” says Barros-Rivera. Consider videotaping these conversations so you can hold onto them when the storyteller is no longer with you.
Although your family may have many holiday traditions in place, here are five ideas for creating new special memories that will carry over for generations:
- Ask your family how they can help others during the holiday season. That might be sending cards to soldiers, working in a soup kitchen or gathering warm coats for those in need. Creating a tradition of giving may be the most important lesson you impart to your children.
- Far away from family during the holidays? Why not open your house to others who may be solo during this season and host a potluck? No one should be alone during this time of celebration.
- Find out how other cultures all around the world celebrate the season. You might even want to add one of their rituals to your own.
- One of the nicest things about the holidays are the sometimes elaborate displays put up by your neighbors. Take a walk or a drive (bring the hot cocoa along) and take in the beauty that comes only during this time of year.
- Does Grandma have enough mittens to last a lifetime? Instead of giving tons of gifts, consider donating to your family member’s favorite charity. It just might be their very favorite gift of the season!
by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Dec 4, 2017 | In The Media
Click Here to Watch the Video on News12
Facebook’s first president Sean Parker said Wednesday that the social media giant was designed to exploit “human vulnerability.”
“We needed to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever,” Parker said at an Axios event in Philadelphia. “It’s a social validation feedback loop. It’s exactly the kind of thing that a hacker, like myself, would come up with because you’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.”
He went on to say the “[The inventors] understood this, consciously, and we did it anyway.”
Parker says he now wonders about the consequences of Facebook on future generations.
“God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains,” he said.
Mental health experts say it’s having a negative impact. Andrew Malekoff, of the North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center, says those overly absorbed in the site often become isolated, anxious and disconnected.
Malekoff says parents should consider putting limits on the time their children spend on social media.
by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Dec 4, 2017 | Anton Media
North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center recently hosted psychotherapist, author and parenting expert Sean Grover for a workshop titled “When Your Child Relates Better to Screens than Human Beings.” We were pleased to offer this program to help fortify parents during these difficult times.
As tech-dependence increases, many kids move through the world in a self-centered bubble, separated from their own thoughts and feelings, as well as the thoughts and feelings of others. As conversation skills and positive interactions crumble, technology even starts to change kids’ sense of humanity; they are less compassionate and sensitive to others. The workshop explored these vital issues and offered advice about what parents can do to help.
“Everywhere you look, children are staring into cell phones, screens, computer screens, tablets, iPads and more,” said Grover, who has appeared on the Today Show, in the New York Times and in many other media outlets. “While some kids use technology as a pastime, others are absorbed by it. Technology devours their lives. They can’t put it down or turn it off. These kids tend to be more isolated and anxious, have poor people skills, difficulty maintaining friendships or an unstable sense of self.”
In his workshop, Grover gave parents guidelines on how to take back control and help their offspring wean off their technology addiction. Here are some of his tips:
Tech Blackouts
Set aside specific times at home when no one (parents included) uses technology. Cell phones, computers, iPad…everything is off. If you want your kid to be less tech-addicted, you must lead the way. Tech-free time can be spent reading, talking, playing games, cooking, making art…anything creative or social will do.
Tech Hours
Kids resist structure—but fall apart without it. Technology needs limits. For instance, I often recommend that families establish tech hours; time for homework, gaming or surfing the Internet. Scheduling tech time will help to limit battles by setting clear guidelines. For instance, when it comes to gaming, many parents may allow thirty minutes a day during the school week and two hours a day on the weekends.
Tech Spaces
When possible, keep all technology in a common space like the living room — not in a child’s bedroom. Establish communal places for tech time; try to avoid allowing your kid to disappear for hours behind a closed door.
Tech Limits
There are plenty of online services that can filter out inappropriate or violent material. These services can also limit Internet access by scheduling times that the Internet is available and times when it is not. One example of such a service is Net Nanny.
If you haven’t already read between the lines, you should know that how you use tech devices influences your ability to effectively guide your kids. Although your example is not the sole factor, keep in mind that as distant as some kids become from adults as they are moving through their teen years, they continue to observe you, and more closely than you know.
As the lyrics from the 1970s-80s new wave rock band the Police advise: “Every breath you take, Every move you make, Every bond you break, Every step you take, I’ll be watching you.”
Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children and their families. Visit www.northshorechildguidance.org for more.
