Two Investments Prevent Can Make To Prevent Their Kids from Crashing

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Some leading indicators are pointing out that kids are in steady decline. My husband is in the medical field and he couldn’t help but comment this week on a disturbing trend he’s consistently seen in the teens he sees.

When noting medical history, he said the number of youth on at least one anti-depressant, if not two or three is striking. As I looked into it, I found that both physicians and mental health professionals are using the word “epidemic” as they speak of depression, self-harm, self-medication, grossly inappropriate, destructive and aggressive behaviors being exhibited by the next generation.

There’s not one of us that can argue the headlines, from recent stories about nudity and lewd party pictures being displayed on Twitter, the University of Pennsylvania freshman student-athlete who jumped to her death a few months ago, local Heroin overdoses, to those of shooting rampages that end tragically.

Because the problem is seen as a mental health concern, a presidential commission is recommending that every child under 18 be screened for depression. Since 2000, anti-depressants are the single best selling prescription.

What’s wrong? What’s the cause? What’s missing?

A commission of 33 distinguished physicians and mental health doctors, research scientists and youth service professionals from prestigious institutions were gathered by the Dartmouth Medical School and Institute for American Values over concern of the epidemic of mental illnesses, behavioral issues and emotional distress of those under 21 years.

After extensive research, a link was discovered between 2 specific types of experiences and the proper development of neuropathways responsible for emotional health. It was discovered that during nurturing and authoritative encounters with parents and transcendent spiritual experiences, hormones and chemicals were released necessary for proper brain development.

When nurturing relationships and spiritual connectedness were absent, anxiety, self-medication, depression, aggression, poor impulse control, inability to form meaningful relationships, have empathy, or experience or express emotions resulted. We cannot ignore the connection between biological, emotional and spiritual aspects of our children’s development. Their well-being depends on meaningful relationship with us and the awe of spiritual experiences. Our children need us to invest in them.

Two investments will pay lifelong dividends and potentially prevent a slide into depression: nurturing our children and sharing in awe-inspiring spiritual encounters with them.

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3.1.2014 Diane RungeDiane Runge writes about helping children find their physical, mental, spiritual and emotional balance. The mother of three gifted athletes; a son who played baseball for Bucknell University, a daughter who swims for the University of California – Berkeley swim team while she trains for the Summer Olympics in 2016, and a daughter training for the United States Swimming Jr. National Championship this Spring, Diane Runge believes every child has potential that ought to be maximized. A 1979 graduate of Coatesville High School, Diane went on to earn a Master’s degree in Education from Elizabethtown University in Lancaster County. Her Sportsmomia blog is read by parents around the world. Runge and her husband Scott reside in West Fallowfield.

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