Raleigh parents speak with experts about children’s mental health challenges :: WRAL.com

A new school year means big and exciting changes for
many of our kids. 

Change can also mean stress that is difficult for
kids to manage and just as hard for parents to help with. 

That’s why 5 On Your Side invited a doctor, a social worker, a
counselor and five parents to the WRAL studios to talk through those challenges and
how parents can approach them.

The parents: Emily Stagg, Carolyn Naseer, Janna Elliot,
Shannon Starbuck and Marie Dexter are all local to the greater Raleigh area and
have children ranging in age from pre-school to adults with children of their
own.

They were able to ask three providers from Avance Care any
questions they had about children’s mental health and wellbeing. The providers
then shared their personal opinions on those subjects.

The video of their full conversation is playable at the top of
this story.

Providers shared their insights on a wide range of topics,
including:

Starting a dialogue

“Normalizing talking. I think that’s something that we
don’t do. We always want to have the right question, the right answer. Did I
throw a strike? Just throw the ball.” – Loryn Jones, Licensed Clinical
Social Worker, Avance Care

Knowing when something’s wrong

“[Look for] changes in behavior, changes in meal
patterns, how much they eat, losing weight. Acting out, those things can come
later. You’ll often feel it first. I think parents get into a pattern of
not wanting to cry wolf. There’s so much to cry wolf about as a parent. I say
when you feel something is wrong, there’s plenty of out there and it’s pretty
easy to get.” – Dr. Scott Swartzwelder, Associate Vice President for
Neuropsychology and Child & Adolescents Services, Avance Care

Dealing with stress

“Grounding techniques, find your coping skills, what
works for you? There’s a lot of strategies you can do in class, and no one will
ever know. I’ve done it five times since I’ve been here.”  – Tamekia Powell, Licensed Clinical
Mental Health Counselor, Avance Care

For those in search of mental health resources, here are
local and national options:

Watch: Back-to-school mental health conversation

· Back-to-School Mental Health Convo: What
parents and educators can do to help kids and themselves

· Back-to-School Mental Health Convo: Keys
in the transition for young kids starting school

· Back-to-School Mental Health Convo: Where
to start with mental health conversations for your child

· Back-to-School Mental Health Convo:
Technology to help your kid transition back to school

· Back-to-School Mental Health Convo: How
to talk to older kids about health