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Mental health programs increased emotional problems in English schools
Programs designed to improve students' mental health made things worse in the long run, reports a study in England.
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 82 min read
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'Give yourself a break' is bad advice: Do difficult things!
Young people need to believe they can do difficult things. Don't tell them they're fragile.
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 62 min read
4 comments


The Mild Bunch: Teens don't like to take risks
Teenagers in 2024 are less likely to use drugs, alcohol or nicotine and many are postponing driving, work and sex.
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 22, 20241 min read
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Anxious about math? Learn your times tables and it won't seem so scary
Memorizing times tables has returned to Virginia's Standards of Learning, after a six-year exile, writes Todd Truitt. But he fears...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 10, 20241 min read
2 comments


The anti-anxiety experiment: Friends without phones, adult-free camping
British mother persuaded teens to go smartphone-free for a month, then camp out for the weekend on their own.
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 15, 20243 min read
1 comment


Growing up is hard to do: 'Puberty hits like a wrecking ball'
Pixar's new Inside Out 2 is about dealing with puberty and growing up, writes Emma Camp on Reason. Inside Out, released in 2015, featured...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 30, 20241 min read
9 comments


No phones, no Moms, just kids playing in the park
Parents should band together to "say 'no' to smart phones and social," writes Laura Yuen in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. She dreams of...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 23, 20242 min read
7 comments

Digital addiction starts early: 30% of K-2 kids use TikTok
Young children are becoming digital addicts, hooked on fast-paced scrolling, swiping and mini-rewards designed into platforms such as...
Joanne Jacobs
May 4, 20242 min read
4 comments


How to succeed at college: Try doing the work
Anxious about their children's anxiety, parents are going into crisis mode when their 18-year-olds face the normal challenges of college...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 14, 20242 min read
6 comments


Maybe the cure to math anxiety is to teach kids math
Timed tests cause math anxiety, according to Jo Boaler, a Stanford math education professor who's been charged with "reckless disregard...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 1, 20242 min read
4 comments


Childhood's end
Phone-centered childhood is a disaster, writes Jonathan Haidt in The Atlantic. In the early 2010s, "adolescents in rich countries traded...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 24, 20243 min read
1 comment


Four years after 'two weeks to flatten the curve' ...
Four years ago, schools across the country closed their doors. It was supposed to be for two weeks or three or . . . Most schools stayed...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 22, 20242 min read
9 comments


Teens love their smartphones -- but some say it's 'peaceful' to be phone-free
Seventy-two percent of teenagers say they often or sometimes feel "peaceful" when they're without their smartphones, according to a Pew...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 13, 20242 min read
1 comment


If you want to climb a mountain, don't go two steps and ask, 'How do I feel?'
Nearly all public schools offer some type of counseling, mental health or "wellness" lessons, writes Abigail Shrier in Free Press. But...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 29, 20243 min read
5 comments


Ban phones in school: The experiment with kids' minds has failed
Smart phones are making students less smart, writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic. Student achievement has been falling around the world...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 23, 20232 min read
6 comments


Scared and sad: Gen Z fears the world
The world is a dangerous place, teenagers and young adults believe. Members of Gen Z -- those born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 16, 20232 min read
13 comments


The therapist is online
New York City is offering free online therapy to teenagers 13 to 17 years old, reports Michael Elsen-Rooney on Chalkbeat. Teenagers can...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 19, 20231 min read
1 comment


Tutors for toddlers: Crazy parents will raise crazy kids
"The race to the Ivy League starts early," writes Asia Grace in the New York Post. Affluent parents are hiring tutors for their toddlers...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 12, 20232 min read
4 comments


Teen angst is normal: 'Wellness' may backfire
Mental health doesn't mean feeling good all the time, writes psychologist Lisa Damour in The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 11, 20232 min read
1 comment


'Smartphones are kryptonite for learning'
Schools are going phone free to remove distractions in class and encourage students to socialize in their free time, report Meg Oliver...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 20, 20231 min read
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