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“It can be very tricky getting the balance right between offering support without prying,” Tunstall says.
This often takes pressure off the situation and makes conversation easier and more accessible.
“They will talk and listen while they are softened by a fur baby,” Stenner says.
When that conversation is flowing, Jonnalagadda urges parents to listen without judgment or interruption.
And keep in mind that you don’t need to know all the answers.
“Seek out your childs pediatrician or a mental health provider.”
In seeking out those answers, Jonnalagadda recommends steering children away from chatrooms and online forums.
“Lean on trusted sites like theAmerican Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,” she says.
Tunstall first introduced the concept of gratitude lists, inviting her daughter to list things she was thankful for.
Now, they journal together regularly, often side by side.
At the start of the pandemic, the practice was a lifeline, she says.
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Bastiampillai T, Sharfstein SS, Allison S.Increase in US suicide rates and the critical decline in psychiatric beds.JAMA.
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On Our Sleeves Survey.
Nationwide Children’s Hospitals.
