Welcome.

Thank you for joining u for this community conversation about youth and mental health wellness.

I'm Robin Pizzo director of education here at WKAR.

Before we begin our program, we have a few housekeeping notes.

We are recording the panel discussion this evening.

Therefore, we request that you please take this moment to silence your cell phones.

May is mental Health Awareness Month, and May 9th is proclaimed as Mental Health Day for children, youth and families by Governor Whitmer.

Research show that mental health and wellness begin at birth.

This was a guiding understanding for the development of WKARs I Feel series that is now in its second season.

The I Feel series was produced to help children and their families grow together as they manage mental health, wellness and develop social emotional skills.

Today, we're here to talk with local experts about the importance of supporting youth and mental health, wellness.

Now to introduce our panel.

Doctor Fashin Aladé is an associate professor here at MSU's College o Communication Arts and Sciences.

Fashina is a children's media scholar who studies how kids and families use technology and its effects on child development.

Much of her research looks a how children learn from media, and how we can help children develop healthy habits around screen time.

Kris Amos-López is a licensed professional counselor and national certified counselor practicing in Michigan and Texas.

Kris works full time in MSU's Counseling and Psychological Services unit, providing individual group, and couples counseling to MSU students.

Doctor Andrea Calabrese is the chief operations officer at Child and Family Charities.

She brings over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience in mental health and addiction treatment, homelessness, and supportive housing.

She holds a doctorate in social Work, is a licensed clinical social worker and a certified alcohol and drug counselor and clinical supervisor.

Jenny Lee Metzmaker, is a mother and wife first, raising three adult sons while also serving as the founder and director of Positive Somebody and a dedicated mental health advocate.

She has transformed her painful childhood experiences into a powerful mission to help children and families learn healthy coping skills while creating access to crucial coping tools and mental resources.

Ada Scott is a Great Start to Quality, Central Resource Centers infant and toddler specialist and a quality improvement coach with a certification in Infant Mental Health.

With over 20 years of experience, Ada is an MSU graduate in Family Child Ecology and a dedicated early childhood educator passionate about fostering wonder in nature and everyday discoveries.

As a proud aunt, she brings both professional expertise and personal joy to nurturing young minds.

Without further ado, it is my pleasure to invite the panelists up to the stage.

Thank you all for joining us, and although I will start off asking the questions, we're saving 15 minutes at the end of the night for the audience to ask panel questions.

You will notice pins and pieces of paper on your chairs.

Please feel free to write down questions throughout the discussion to ask our panel.

Once you have your questions written down, please signal to our WKAR staff currently waving their hands and they will come collect your questions and bring them to me.

All right, let's begin to ground our conversation.

What is the most urgent challenge facing children and families today when it comes to mental and emotional well-being?

Id like each of you to briefly share your perspective.

And we'll start here and move down.

So I think the one of the most challenging issues that we face today, that children face today, when I think about what's happening since Covid, because we know that there's been a 40% increase in depression and anxiety even before Covid occurred, and it's not stopping.

So that is one challenge that we have with our kids, and what I see with the parents is finding the resources and accessing the resources that they need that are developmentall appropriate, that are available.

Thanks.

I think about the most urgent piece really for me comes down to connection.

Social connection.

It's something that I think all of us are struggling with, right?

Not just our kids.

Because there are so many demands on our time in our day to day.

And from the hat that I wear as a media researcher, right, I think, a lo about how media, you know, often is part of the problem for that missing connection piece that, you know, also like to think about how it can help foster connection.

To add on to what you're saying.

Both of those things are so powerful.

But I think we've also forgotten to look for joy in the everyday moments.

So having parents take the time to notice when their child sees joy, and celebrating those moments with them is so powerful and can build resistance tools that, can last a lifetime.

And also looking for providers that enjoy their children and enjoy.

Being able to build that sense of wonder in the world around them can be so powerful.

That's really good.

I like that.

I would say to, it's where do you start?

I think a lot of parents are like, where do I start with my child's mental health?

A lot of them don't know what resources are out there, but where do you begin?

So I think making sure tha we have a lot of the resources readily available for parents is really important because we need to help them begin.

Yeah.

there's, a lot of variability and in what's urgent.

Right.

So I think a lot of wha we're saying is very important.

And I also want to add on to like digital literacy as an I'm probably a concern that, maybe isn't really talked about as much.

So technology has evolved a lot since I've been on America Online.

When I was a kid.

And I think it is now you can't really, like, separate your digital life from your personal life anymore.

And I think the educatio part of it, is very important.

And I know we have our, reactions and feelings, and we really like living with this evolution of, technology.

So digital digital literacy is probably a very important conversation for kids and families.

Very good.

Thank you.

Building on that let's talk about what challenges young people are facing that impacts their mental health.

Kris, we'll start with you.

What mental health trend are you seeing among adolescents and young children, and what are some early warning sign that families should not ignore?

Yes, I, I've been at MSU for for a while and I, I've worked with, children's and like children's home.

I've done, some, you know volunteering with, with young, young kids.

And I think just comparing some of the earlier work to, to now, especially from a clinical perspective, like cannabis use and concerns about cannabis use has increased.

I think there's a perception that, you know, cannabis, is kind of like a harmless, like drug.

And, you know, I went to MSU to.

So I'm not going to like, sit here and, you know, act like I'm an innocent individual.

But I also want to highlight how the number of people, like 18 year olds, 19 year old, that come into my office and say, hey, I'm worried about, like, my cannabis use.

I feel like I have an addiction and they use that, that terminology.

And I think those those trends are, you know, starting to, change a lot.

And there's been, you know, recent changes with, like the federal like schedule scheduling.

And I think that gives more opportunity for like, research, funding just so we can understand it better and, you know, provide the education.

But I think cannabis use concerns and disorders, is, a trend that' been kind of like highlighting, some concerns that people have been coming in with.

Absolutely.

That's incredibly important, especially as many of these signs can go unnoticed when it comes to addiction as they escalate.

Right?

So mental health as essential health.

Let's shift into how we respond as families and communities.

Doctor Calabrese, why is i critical to treat mental health with same urgency as physical health?

And where can families turn when they need support for their children?

The mind and the body are connected.

So if some of you may have heard, Dr.

Bessel van der Kolk spoke that the body keeps a score or Dr.

Gabor Matés book, The Myth of Normal.

They both talk about the connection of the mind in the body.

You can't separate i because many symptoms of mental health can manifest physically and vice versa.

So not treating mental health will get worse and we'll see a physical response to it.

So I, I definitely feel it's essential.

It is connected.

The resources that depending on where the crisis lies.

So if we are in crisis there are hotlines nine, eight, eight emergency rooms, emergency psychiatry.

There is also what parents could access their pediatrician, local CMH, nonprofits.

Kris is a therapist.

There's therapists that work privately.

There's therapists that work with organizations.

And I think I would be remiss if I didn't say tha NAMI is a big support out there.

They do have a lot of support and resources for families who are work, who have family members with significant mental health issues as well.

Absolutely.

Access and awareness are key, and knowing where to go can truly make a difference.

Let's discuss the role of media in our children's lives.

So Doctor Aladé how does that type and quality of media children consume shape their emotional development?

And what should parents look for when choosing high quality media?

Yeah.

Thank you.

So one thing I do like to remind parents is that even though right no screen time feels so ubiquitous, it just feels like it's screen time is all the time.

But I do do like to remember that it is still like just one part of the puzzle.

And I think there's a lot of anxiety right now about, you know, how much where, how much our kids are using screens and screens all around and we do need to be aware of it or hate it.

But I do also just like to start with the caveat that it's a small part of the puzzle.

And at the end of the day if parents are reading to their reading to and with their kids and doing all these other developmentally appropriate activities, the probably the media is it's okay.

It's probably okay one way or another.

So I have to say that first.

But but of course, als I do think high quality content really matters a lot.

Having content that is designed ideally with, you know, developmental researchers at the start right and not just at the end.

And that's hard to sort of figure out, I think, from the from the parent perspective, from the public perspective.

There are there are some good resources that that can help you sift through what's out there.

You know, one of my and of course, we're not biased at all in this WKAR room, but I do often sell parents.

Well, PBS is known for.

Right, having research as part of their process.

I joke ish that, you know, you can just pretend PBS is all that exists for as long as possible, but now I that's there's also wonderful other great content in the world as well.

And I'll try to be quick bu but things that you can look for are when there are good like character role models.

That's something that not only just helps for engagement, right?

Of course, kids lov the characters that they love, but actually does help with learning.

So we know that and it's one of the, the effects of, you know, whether it's learnin math skills or science skills.

Those learning effects are going to be heightened when the kids do have these strong relationships with the character that are delivering the content.

And, and, and the last piece that I'll say is that sort of anything can be good content if it brings the family together.

Right.

So something that you enjoy watching together with your child, that can turn that into, you know, extended conversation at the dinner table, is right at the end of the day, that's probably more helpful, certainly than than any kind of harm that might come from that media being consumed in a vacuum.

So, those are my sort of quick tips on choosing high quality content, but I know that it's a big topic, and one that I would love to have lots more time to tell you about, but I'll pause there for now.

Love.

That is wonderful.

And now we didn't pay her about the PBS programing.

But we do believe in co-viewing and watching programing together.

That brings you all closer and helps support powerful conversations can be a truly powerful developmental tool in media.

I Feel talks, are short form videos presenting children who talk about 13 different topics that shape their feelings.

Each video empowers youth with language and strategies to identify, define, and manage their feelings in community with others.

Today, we will preview four of the 13 segments that we'll release throughout this month.

Let's talk about friendships.

A person who makes someone a good friend is whenever they stand up for you.

Whenever someone is either mean to you or rude to you.

They be nice to you.

They listen to you.

My best friend, he became my best friend right at the first day when I started preschool.

He's actually a really nice kid and I like him a lot.

When I met my best friend we've actually been best friends since I was two.

And he was three.

He's like my BFF.

I think it make someone a really good friend when they, like, share with you.

I think that it makes someone a really good friend when if you're sad, the like comfort you.

They're here for you through the ups and downs.

It feels good to have a friend because then you know, like you're not alone.

A friend is someone you enjoy spending time with.

Friends are caring and they like you just the way you are.

Making a friend can feel special and comforting because friends remind us we're not alone.

Friends can disagree, but they listen to each other and work it out.

Let's talk about new ventures.

Me and my family went to Texas because my brother, he was in the Air Force, and we went there for his basic training graduation.

So that was my first time flying and I was terrified, like during the takeoff.

But after that I was like, oh, this isn't nearly as ba as I thought it was going to be.

When I tried my first roller coaster.

I didn't know what it would be like.

So we were going up a hill and I was like, grabbing on to my seat.

And then when it went down, I just like, put my hands up.

And my mom was like, so it was really fun.

New adventures, like moving to a new school or trying a new food can feel exciting and a little scary at the same time.

That's normal.

Taking it step by step and asking questions can help you feel ready to give it a try.

And sometimes you might discover that a new adventure isn't right for you.

And that's okay too.

Let's talk about bullying.

Some of my friends.

They've been called bad names.

Maybe they're calling them a little kid.

I've had it happen before.

When I saw someone being treated unfairly.

It made me feel a bit sad.

I feel like bullies just want a reaction.

Don't be afraid to tell an adult.

Because you won't be thinking about anything else.

Telling an adult, will help you express your feelings.

Someone was like making it s that I could line up in my line.

And so someone had to com and help me stand up for myself.

You should keep telling an adult until someone believes you and helps out.

Bullying is when someone hurts you on purpose by using mean words or actions.

Over and over again, it feels terrible.

You might feel like a teapo boiling over, ready to scream.

If bullying happens, tell a trusted adult and keep telling until it stops.

Let's talk about dreams.

I dream about, like, coming.

Like a famous Musician.

I play, like, songs and stuff like that.

I really get interested in it.

Such as playing my drums.

I have my own set at home.

I wish I could do ballerina, cheerleading and science.

I want to be a singer dancer too.

One of my dreams was me becoming a famous artist, and I want to become a famou artist because I want to draw.

Drawing makes me feel good because I know, like, I'm like, it's sort of my comfort zone.

And so when I draw, it makes me feel happy and I can sort of like reset my brain.

Dreams or ideas about what you might want to do or become someday.

They often start with somethin you love or are curious about, and exploring those interests can lead to amazing possibilities.

Arent those wonderful.

We have several of our young talent in the audience.

If they will stand u so we can give them a pass.

Yay!

Hey, we understand the power of communication, and they were brave enough to have these conversations with 1 to 1 another so that all kids could learn that sharing their stories really can create a space for healing.

We really appreciate them being here today and participate.

And I feel talks season two.

So very excited about those.

You'll see them all over social media and broadcast and they actually show across the state of Michigan on our Michigan Learning Channel as well.

All right.

So let's keep going with our conversation.

Now let's bring this into the everyday moments, feelings and experience.

But first I'd love to hear your thoughts about the series that we just saw.

I thought that they were fabulous.

We already use the I feel series at positive somebody.

The the original ones, the OG ones.

So we're really excited to use the new ones.

They are a really great way to, help children understand emotions and how they're feeling.

So we love it.

I think, building off of that, it is very important for, kids to have that peer, relationship and an interaction.

So, like being able to interact with each other, communicate with each other and then see their peers, you know, performing that and providing that is very important.

Yeah.

And building on what you were saying, that emotion that, emotional coaching or leadership that goes on when or interactions that are very rich, when we have older children and younger children working together to achieve goals is so important.

Thank you guys for working together.

Yeah.

And I also love what a great little modeling moment it is fo for parents and caregivers too.

Right.

And in addition to the kids seeing it and, you know, just those reminders because we're all trying to do a million things all the time.

Just the reminder that, oh yeah, can ask my kids question like that, I think is wonderful.

I love that it's lik these little bite sized pieces.

And social emotional learning is so important because we've lost so much of that during Covid.

So it's nice to see you bring it back in a fun way.

Yeah.

Thank you so much.

We really considered our young audience, and how they view screen time.

Most of them are not sittin and watching half an hour, hour long programs or ten hour Ken Burns documentaries.

But those shorts, quick bite sizes really help captivate them.

And we try to keep exactly that audience in mind as we produce these, segments.

So I really appreciate how wonderful they are and how engaging they are.

All right, Jenny how can parents and caregivers help children recognize their emotions and build confidence to navigate them effectively?

Yes.

Helping your chil recognize their emotions is step one to having positive mental health.

And, at positive Somebody, we always say that there's no bad child.

So until a child can recogniz their emotions and effectively, relay that to you and cope in a positive way and they're gonna show it and maybe non-favorable ways.

So I would say that you should make sur that your home is a safe space.

And what that means i that you are allowing your child to navigate their emotions and you're helping them to learn what they're feeling to guide them, instead of punishing them because really, they're they're learning.

They're learning.

And so you have to have a safe space.

So I would say it's so important to make your home their safe space and that you're helping them learn their emotions, and then you're helping them find the right coping tools that's going to help them navigate their life.

Not every positive coping skil is going to work for everybody, so you have to kind of teach them, all of them, until they can figure out what works for them and they can implement them into their lives.

So safe space, help them recognize their emotions and then help them learn their coping skills.

That works for them.

That's really powerful.

I remember, my youngest son was like, picture perfect in school.

But when he got home, he was like, all over the place and full of big emotions.

And a dear friend of mine said it's a safe space in your home for all of those emotions to spill out that he's probably been holding in all day long while he was at school.

So that's a really great reminder.

Thank you so much.

And finally, let's go back to where it all begins with early childhood.

Ada how to early learnin environments and family supports lay the foundation for lifelong emotional well-being.

And what should families look for in quality programs?

Well, families and providers need to work together.

They are partners in in helping to support this young child and their social emotional journey.

So looking for a provider that is willing to work with you.

Keep in mind that not all quality centers are designed for every single family, so you need to look around.

One of the key things that I look for in a high quality center is looking for relationships being built between children, both verba children and nonverbal children, and their care providers looking for those moments of joy that are spontaneous.

When you walk into a room you see connections being made.

You see kids, kids might be acting out, but in their acting out, someone is working with them to help them regulate and to find the the meaning behind the behavior that is not desired.

So keep looking.

I highly recommend the great start to quality, website to look and see which, providers have gone through our self-reflection program.

And that because with learning and growing, as we all know, it's a lifelong journey.

And when you see providers willing to go through that reflection journey, you see people willing to learn and support young children as they're going through that.

Absolutely.

That foundation piece is so critical.

It shapes everything that comes after.

I know I taught eighth graders, I think we have some eighth graders in the room.

And so it can seem quite different at the early childhood developme I like to bring us together for one final question.

Everyone can answer, and we'll start at Kris and move down.

What is one simple, actionable step that parents or caregivers can take this week to support a child's well-being and mental emotional wellness?

Well, I want to, just kind of acknowledge the amount of information that's being like, put ou and the the amount of pressure that's just being put on parents to, to do, especially moms goodness, just to do everything.

Because that's where a lot of that pressure is falling.

So, I think the one thing would say is to build community, and there's, I don't know, maybe 50, 60 people in here.

It doesn't mean we have to like, you know, get to know each other and stand in the circle or anything like that.

But there's there's so many, like, talents, skills, knowledge, resources, and we can use that and support each other just so it doesn't feel so hard and stressful, like just everything we're seeing.

It's like, my kids are here.

So it's it's like, well you have to do this, this, this, this society doesn't really afford you the opportunity to, you know, be the best parent that you want to be.

And you all are here and being intentional about, you know, supportin your children and your family.

So, like, leaning on each other and kind of using that I think would, help us all.

That's really good.

I would say that it's really important, even when your child doesn't want you to.

You check in every day, you're checking in, even if they're like oh, dad, not again, or I'm fine.

No, keep checking in.

You're constantly checking in.

Even when they don't want you to.

You're always checking in with them.

Yeah.

To build on that, take those moments in the car.

We're so busy going from one place to another that we sometimes forget that it's okay if we're five minutes late.

Enjoy those 5 or 10 minutes.

Make sure you're regulated a a parent, but take a deep breath and bring up a question in the car.

Have a little lik you were saying, check in time and or even just silly question so that kids that might be under way somewhere know that you care enough to put forth effort and to find out more about what they're thinking in their inner life, becaus that inner life starts so early, and sometimes they just don't have a words to express that.

Yeah.

I'm actually going to build off of, Kris's earlier point on digital literacy.

Like, you're doing my job for me, but I appreciate it.

My charge for you all this week would be to take a moment to think about the medi that you use and how you use it.

Maybe, especially if you have kids were approaching the years where they might be using social media sometime soon.

Go through, sit down with your kid and go through your own social media feed and talk about what are you seeing, how did it get there?

Right?

What?

How did your algorithms get the way that they are, and how does it make you feel when you're scrolling?

So I think the best thing we can do for our kids is modeling healthy relationships with our devices, which is hard for all struggling with that.

But at least, you know, modeling, striving for that so that when they're reaching that time, you know, that they're able to see it.

And if they're no at the social media stages yet, it might be, you know, a TV show that you watched and how that made you feel.

But really modeling thinking about how our screens and devices are making us feel and talking about that with our kids.

So I guess I'll wrap it all up.

So taking all of this.

Yes, taking a moment.

That's distraction free or media free and, it can be a meal.

It can be a walk.

It could be going outside and playing.

But I love the question idea.

And I was listening to something recently where a family, gets together every day and everyone in the family talks about what was the highlight of their day and what was the challenging part of their day.

And they just liste and you just stop and you listen and you reflect back.

Because building tha relationship builds the safety.

Like Jenny said, that you need.

So that child and that person feels more comfortable going to you when they are in need.

Yes.

That was excellent.

Absolutely excellent.

And for those questions we did create some I feel talks cards that have questions on them.

You can keep them inside of your car or somewhere on your dining room table.

Make sure you grab one before you go.

And there are over 30 questions that will help foster those wonderful relationships and conversations and times of reflection.

Do we have any questions?

Okay.

All right.

So our panel is going to respond to these questions.

What should I do if a child in my life is struggling or going through a hard time?

Go ahead Kris.

I would sa should is an interesting word.

I think we can be present.

We can listen, and that alone can can say a lot.

Don't always have to be corrective.

Especially in the moment.

And I'm, you know, telling myself that as a, as a parent to, just like, oh, my goodness this is, you know, what impact is this going to have ten years from now?

And kind of makes me anxious sometimes.

But even just taking a step bac and just really absorbing that, that moment, with your chil listening, being there for them think it matters.

And it does a lot more than we're able to, like, realize or they're able to articulate but something just simple.

You one of the activities we do a positive somebody is we help children make a safe circle.

Who's in your safe circle?

So if you have a chil that's struggling in your life, make sure they know that you are in their safe circle and that you're there to listen.

So I would say again, check in.

But also just let them kno that you're there to help and, maybe that they will come to you when they need something.

So just make sure that you're vocalizing that with them.

Very good.

Thank you.

If each of you believe that sharing is caring when it comes to menta wellness, what do you feel young people should care about sharing the most?

I feel like a lot of times we have a tendency to focus on the common things that get us down, and, and really helping children see those little glimmers of joy that can so easily be missed.

Stopping as adults and celebrating those little glimmers of joy with them shows them that that's important.

Once you learn to look for those things, it can help you, develop a more positive mental outlook.

Your training, your brain, and.

I know that, encouraging young childre to have those vocabulary words by using them yourself and modeling what it might look like if you feel a certain way, and then how you cope with those feelings yourself can last a lifetime.

For young children.

Well, I would say to that, it's important for childre to know that it is okay to talk about their mental health.

And, you know, breakin that stigma is really important.

So if they're not having a good day and they're not feeling well, mentally that they're able to say that, and that's okay.

So if they hear their friends saying that, make sure that children know that that to be kind to that child, you know, to that friend, because we all don't have great days all the time.

And so we do need to look for the joy because that does help.

But we also need to be kind to people when they're not having a good day.

And that helps us break the stigma.

Absolutely.

I know whe my children were in the house, I have four that are all adults now.

I had a consistent mantr that even if you're not talking to me, you can talk to someone, you can talk to someone.

And making myself availabl to help them find that someone, because sometimes they automatically feel like as a parent, you're going to judge them, you're going to have a certain expectation, you're going to feel a certain kind of way.

And with my ow lived experience, having someone that allowed those barriers to fall away, was really, really helpful, right.

All right.

Can I. Absolutely.

I think the other thing is sometimes our kids don't have the words.

And so they express it in many different ways.

And I think, you know, encouraging art, encouraging theater, encouraging music, encouraging dance and validating that that is way to express what's going on.

Absolutely.

Sports too.

Right.

Taking around.

Absolutely.

And normalizing the expression as well.

Absolutely.

What role should schools play in mental health?

I really like this question.

I really believe that before a child can learn, academics, they need to be able to regulate their emotions.

And so I substitute teach a lot on the side.

I run a nonprofit, but I substitute teach a lot, and a child cannot learn, if they cannot regulate their emotions.

And so it does make for kin of a chaotic, classroom setting if you have a lot of children in there.

So I think schools need to focus a lot more on social emotional learning, to help children.

They I mean these children are bad children and they're not they just have not learned how to, recogniz their emotions, regulate them, you know, articulate what they're feeling and so they're just punished.

And I think that that's sad.

So I really do think that a lot lays on schools.

And I know that they have a lot to do.

But hopefully someday we can get back to helping a child learn their social, emotional, aspect of life before we shove the academic, to them.

So I think a big piece, my organization plays a part in with mental health in schools is we do have five mental health clinics in five high schools.

And the differenc that it's made for the students, for the teachers, it has broken down barriers.

There's now access to care.

We don't have to worry about transportation.

A lot of single parents struggle with trying to get their kids to the therapist, just, you know, having to work and have other kids and all of it.

So it's been a big help.

Yeah.

That's wonderful.

That is a wonderful resource for schools.

Have you?

I think this question is for me, have you considered creating or is those already a version of I feel tots for teens?

That is really powerful.

We did scale up in ag this year with the I Feel Talks, the original first series of I Feels really supports that preschoo to about first or second grade.

You see them identifying, defining and then discussing how those emotions fee in their bodies with the expert that comes along and provides some strategies.

At this year, we really wanted to focus on conversations and the power of those talking to one another as a space of healing and understanding that they aren't alone.

I wheelhouse at PBS kids.

Really is that birth to age eight?

And when we started this process, we were working with Great Start collaborative, which also targeted birth to age eight, healthy start, great start.

But, with the right funding, I'm sure we could probably, definitely look into the teenage years because we totally understand that it is necessary and would b an invaluable resource, right?

We know our teens are struggling tremendously, and just like you gave the statistic, mental health, struggles and anxiety with our teen population, we know how much we need to pour more resources, supports media, all that we can into helping them develop healthy and strong.

Oh, this is one good one.

And I'm going to use this one because this is one of the topics that I was kind of challenged when I wrote.

I feel talks.

There are 13 different topics that the children discuss with one another.

And one of those topics is weather and, you might not think weather would be connected to social emotional learning or mental health wellness.

So this question is wha is the impact of climate change on anxiety, depression rates and how children manage it?

Well, I love the weather piec because that positive somebody we use weather emojis to teach emotions.

So I love that.

But it is in Michigan we have four seasons.

And I would say that, you know, everybody has a little depression in the winter time.

And so the climate chang and different things like that, you're not getting with your friends, you know, as much and there's just a lot of different things going on.

A lot of kids use their social, atmosphere, in school.

And so you wouldn't think that summer is a depression time, but it is.

A lot of these kids don't have access to their friends in the summer.

So that that's really hard.

So there's a lot of different emotional, aspect to different, climate changes.

There's a lot of trauma connected to the environmental changes.

There's so many studie that are being done currently.

Did you want to add to that?

I actually am excited to see that research because I haven't seen th pieces connecting those things.

But, but also just thinking about how connected we are, our physical and mental health is.

You were saying that, right?

The more there are weather events that are preventing us from being outside, right?

Whether that's, you know, storms and air quality and things.

Right.

If we can't go outside and and walk and run and do these things right, that's of course taking a toll on ou both physical and mental health.

And so I do think there's, there's some real connection pieces and yeah, I'm excited to see what the what the literature says on it.

And this was a hard winter and it's been a very cold spring.

So it's been very difficult.

So I can see why someone brought up the environment.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Well, thank you to our incredible panelists for sharing your expertise and insights today.

What we've heard is clear supporting children's mental and emotional well-being takes intention, awareness and connection.

Whether it's the media we choose, the conversations we have, or the environments we create, every small action matters.

And to our audience, thank you for being par of this important conversation and for the work you do every day to support children and families.

Please, please, please stop by our partner tables.

We're extremely excited about them being in the space and offering supports and resources.

Our community partners are still available for about 15 minutes for you to connect with and pick up any resources they brought.

Events like this from WKAR are made possible with support from people like you.

Have a wonderful evening.