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Research-informed newsletter on youth development, student success,
mental health, and career readiness.
– Issue 60 –
Hello friends and colleagues,
 
There's a lot in this issue for parents: raising healthy strivers, teaching gratitude, and resources on how to ensure digital thriving. There are many take-aways for educators, too.
 
Enjoy the content below and share widely!
- Konrad

01 | PARENTING for POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Raising a grateful child involves more than teaching basic manners. According to Andrea Hussong, it is about modelling gratitude, creating opportunities for children to experience gratefulness, and talking to them about it. Gratitude helps children find people who care about them, strengthens relationships, and provides social support.

02 | STUDENT SUCCESS
According to Angela Duckworth, we should encourage young people to keep a gratitude journal. The feeling of gratitude is uplifting, reinforces social connections, brings about a sense of indebtedness that motivates action, and heightens connections and feelings of indebtedness to others. It can also lead to generosity.

03 | ADOLESCENTS AND TECHNOLOGY
Educators and parents can play a vital role in empowering young people to safely navigate digital spaces and avoid “thinking traps”. These traps are defined as negative thought patterns that can be aggravated by technology and are commonly experienced by many teens in online spaces and through online interactions.

04 | STUDENT SUCCESS
Raising children to be “healthy strivers” helps them become successful and resilient. That's because healthy strivers are self-motivated, do not base their self-worth on their accomplishments, and are supported by “mattering” – feeling valued by family, friends, and community.

05 | MENTAL HEALTH
A new survey on adolescent girls' well-being has identified a significant drop in girls' self-confidence between 2017 and 2023. Social media amplifies existing challenges, such as constructing one's identity in relation to others and allowing feedback from others to shape how girls perceive themselves. Adults can help by offering meaningful opportunities to experience success, feel competent, and capable.

Missed the previous issue? Find it here.

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