The coronavirus pandemic has been difficult for everyone. Parents have lost jobs, families have had to quarantine and children have been cut off from their friends. Internet usage has spiked, and for many teens, it is causing underlying mental health issues to increase. What actions can parents take to help mitigate the negative impacts and support their teens?

Praise from trusted adults helps children feel good about themselves and motivates them to accomplish things. And while it can feel great for them, knowing your own strengths and feeling a sense of fulfillment and achievement is pretty great too! There can be some pitfalls to the use of praise, but with a few slight changes or new additions to your collection, you might just see a whole lot of individual, internal growth from the littles in your life!

Open dialogue about sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior by adults is an important tool of institutional abuse prevention. Educating your foster child about healthy boundaries with other adults in their life ensures that they are able to recognize potentially dangerous behaviors and situations easily and quickly.