Youth Mental Health and Wellness

The start of a new school year can bring a mix of emotions for you and your child. Excitement, joy, nervousness, and even a little sadness are all normal emotions during times of change. As a parent or caregiver, you play a key role in helping your child feel prepared and supported. By having age-appropriate conversations, offering reassurance, inviting questions, and validating your child’s feelings, you can help make the transition smoother.

To support you and your student, we’ve created tools tailored to different age groups:

For parents of elementary schoolers:

You’ll find a set of tips and a customizable morning routine to help ease the back-to-school transition.

For middle and high school students:

We’ve included helpful tips written directly for students, a transition chart for parents, along with a school info sheet to stay organized.

For all grade levels:

Setting a few simple goals at the start of the year can go a long way. This goals sheet can help you or your student get started.

Bullying can have a serious impact on youth mental health, leading to depression, anxiety, loneliness, and even suicidal thoughts. As a parent, caregiver, or trusted adult, you can play a powerful role in helping young people navigate these challenges.

To support you, we’ve created resources for both parents and youth:

• Bullying vs. Conflict Situational Cards – Use these cards with your child to talk through real-life scenarios, helping them understand the difference between conflict and bullying and how to respond.

• Parent Cyberbullying Guide – Learn how to recognize the signs of cyberbullying and find strategies to support your child if they are experiencing it.

• Be an Upstander Worksheet – Encourage your child to take an active role in preventing bullying by speaking up or telling a trusted adult. This activity helps define what it means to be an upstander and explores the character traits that support it.

• Teen Cyberbullying Self Check-in & Action Plan – A tool for teens to reflect after a cyberbullying incident, process their feelings, seek support, and practice self-care.

These resources are designed to help you—and the young people in your life—build skills, resilience, and confidence when facing bullying.

Eating disorders affect many young people, including adolescents of all genders. While girls and young women are more commonly diagnosed, boys and young men can also struggle, sometimes in ways that look different and may be harder to recognize.

Knowing the signs and seeking help early can make a meaningful difference in recovery and long-term well-being. As a parent, caregiver, or trusted adult, your awareness and support matter.

To help guide you, we've created resources on:

• Types of eating disorders and treatment options

• Common signs and symptoms to watch for

• Do's and don'ts for talking with your child about eating concerns

• Body positivity vs. body neutrality, and how to help young people develop a healthier relationship with their body

These tools are designed to help you start supportive conversations, recognize concerns early, and connect young people with the care they need.

While adults often focus on resolutions for their mental and physical well-being, children and adolescents can also use the beginning of the year to build purpose, set meaningful goals, and develop positive daily habits.

To support you and the young people in your life, we’ve created three resources focused on personal growth and resilience:

• Setting daily intentions for children and adolescents

• Building mastery by developing skills over time

• Creating a longer-term goal to encourage motivation and direction

Young people can also take our short quiz to explore these tools and identify which resource best aligns with what they’d like to work toward or accomplish this year.

For many, the holidays can trigger feelings of grief or bring reminders of a loved one who has passed on.  

Grief manifests differently for everyone and is not a linear process. To support families during this time, we've created a resource to help identify signs and symptoms of grief in children and adolescents, along with tips for parents or caregivers on how to support their child. Additionally, we have included an activity page designed to help young people process their grief.

With the increased holiday pressures, managing stress and staying present can be tough for parents. To help, we've created a fun stress-buster activity that encourages families to engage in short, daily activities throughout the holiday season. We've provided some ideas, but feel free to add your own!

Helping children and teens understand their emotions, build healthy coping skills, and recognize the connection between mind and body can support lifelong well-being.

To help young people explore these topics, we've created workbooks designed specifically for children and adolescents that focus on:

• Understanding mental health and emotional well-being
• Learning how the mind and body work together
• Building healthy coping skills to manage strong emotions

These resources are designed to help young people better understand themselves, express their feelings, and develop tools to support their mental health every day.
 

Building Coping Skills: Children's Workbook

Building Coping Skills: Teen Workbook

Neurodivergence—including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other developmental differences—is a natural and valuable part of human diversity. It's a time to recognize and celebrate the many ways young people think, learn, and experience the world.

Some neurodivergent young people may also experience mental health challenges like anxiety or depression. With the right understanding and support, they can build confidence, connection, and strong self-awareness.

To support you and your child, we've created resources focused on:

• Masking and authenticity — Helping young people understand masking and feel more comfortable being themselves
• Sharing differences with friends — Supporting conversations that build connection and understanding
• Parent and caregiver self-care — Recognizing signs of burnout and creating a sustainable self-care practice

As a parent or caregiver, you often take on many roles: advocate, coordinator, and steady source of support. Taking care of yourself is an important part of caring for your child.

By recognizing and valuing these differences, we can help create more inclusive, understanding, and supportive communities for all young people.

Gratitude helps young people build perspective, strengthen relationships, and nurture emotional well-being. By encouraging your child to practice gratitude, you can help them experience more happiness, less worry, and a greater appreciation for the small things in life.

To support you, we’ve created two gratitude workbooks designed to help children and teens build a simple daily gratitude habit:

• For ages 3–10: A playful, age-appropriate guide to noticing and expressing thankfulness.

• For ages 11–18: A reflective journal to help older kids explore gratitude and mindfulness in their everyday lives.

During adolescence, emotions can feel intense and overwhelming. When young people don't yet have the coping skills or support they need, some may turn to self-harming behaviors as a way to manage difficult feelings.

Self-harm, also known as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), involves deliberately damaging body tissue without suicidal intent. These behaviors are often an unhealthy attempt to cope with or regulate overwhelming emotions.

To help families navigate this topic, we've created resources for both parents and young people:

• Parent and caregiver guide – Learn what self-harm is, why it occurs, and how to support a young person who may be engaging in these behaviors.

• Youth resources – Helps young people better understand their window of tolerance and develop healthier coping skills to manage strong emotions.

These tools are designed to help families recognize warning signs, build healthier coping strategies, and support young people through difficult emotions.

For those looking for additional support and research-based information, the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injury and Recovery is a valuable resource.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people, and rates have risen sharply in recent years. Parents, caregivers, trusted adults, and friends can all play a role in noticing warning signs and offering support.

To help, we’ve created:

• A parent's guide to recognize the difference between typical adolescent behavior and signs a child may be thinking about suicide, plus action steps to provide support.

• A youth guide to help young people recognize when a friend may be struggling and how to respond.

• A safety plan template to use once a young person is connected to mental health support, offering a roadmap for managing crises.

Together, these resources offer practical ways to recognize, respond to, and support the young people in your life.

Summer is a time for fun, connection, and making memories. For children and teens, the season often brings more freedom and time with friends. For parents and caregivers, however, summer can also bring new challenges, from disrupted routines and increased screen time to the added stress of planning activities and managing busy schedules.

The good news is that small changes can have a big impact. Spending time outdoors, staying active, connecting with others, and taking breaks from screens can support both mental and physical well-being for the whole family.

To help you make the most of the season, we've created:

• The Touch Grass Challenge – A fun activity that encourages children, teens, and families to step away from screens and engage with the world around them. See how many activities you can complete this summer!

• A Parent & Caregiver Summer Wellness Guide – Practical tips and resources to help your family find balance, build healthy habits, and support well-being all summer long.

These resources are designed to help your family enjoy a healthy, connected, and memorable summer together.

Common Thread is focused on helping educators build trauma-informed learning environments that recognize how a student's life experiences can influence their learning, behavior, and relationships. A trauma-informed classroom helps students feel both safe and seen.

To support educators, we've created resources on:

• What is a trauma-informed classroom? – An overview of what it means to create a trauma-informed learning environment, including the key characteristics that help students feel safe, supported, connected, and ready to learn.

• Trauma-informed communication – A tip sheet with practical language shifts that help foster trust, connection, and emotional safety.

• De-escalating student behavior – A guide to help educators look beyond challenging behaviors and respond with empathy, curiosity, and effective support.

These resources are designed to help teachers build stronger relationships with students and create classroom environments where every child has the opportunity to thrive.