Author Archives: koyrob

In more than 40 years of tracking today’s adolescents are smoking and drinking less and doing fewer drugs than their predecessors.  Some researchers speculate this may be a positive side effect of video games and social media.  It keeps kids busy and away from peer pressure to use alcohol and illicit drugs.  We do not …

Continue reading “Good news about teenagers!”

Statistics released by crisis and suicide prevention lines indicated calls surged after the election Tuesday evening.  Most callers said they were calling in regards to the election but typically they were dealing with preexisting depressive, anxiety or other mental health conditions.  These are the issues they ended up discussing with the crisis counselors.   Hopefully, there is …

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Researchers at Syracuse University have found that 6th Graders do better and feel safer when they are in a K-8 school versus the  bottom dogs in Middle School.  Seventh and 8th Graders benefit as well.  At this age bottom dogs do worse in school and are more likely to be bullied and get in to …

Continue reading “Is it time to rethink Middle School?”

Fall Newsletter

Actress Glenn Close  was diagnosed with Depression in 2008 and 2010 and told USA Today that  the “most powerful tool to breaking the barriers caused by stigma are personal stories.”  In addition to Close celebrities like Selena Gomez, Kristin Bell, Demi Lovato, Dwayne Johnson and Darryl McDaniels have shared their stories.  By opening up and sharing their …

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Hope everyone had a great first day! Here’s my own 8th Grader and 4th Grader.

Allison Schmitt is competing in her third Olympics and has won six medals.  However, her greatest achievement in my opinion is her fight against depression and especially it’s stigma.

Summer Newsletter 2016 I hope everyone enjoys some relaxing time with their family!  

I’m sure we could’ve all guessed this was a growing problem.  But the fact that 80% of adolescents indicate they check their phone hourly is disturbing although not surprising.  It’s an issue for us as parents as well!  We could all use some of the digital detox suggestions from the article.  Limiting social media posts …

Continue reading “Half of teens addicted to their phones”

Another reason adolescents need more sleep was discovered in a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The CDC analyzed 50,000 questionnaires given to adolescents.  Teens who got less than 7 hours sleep were more likely to engage in risky behavior versus those who slept 9 hours a night.  This type of …

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