

Depression and Anxiety in One-Third of Teens?

How to Address Mental Health with Teens

Teen Felt the One Thing She Could Control during COVID was Food

Why Eating Disorders Have Skyrocketed during the Pandemic

Meet Teen Whose Eating Issues Spiraled during the Pandemic

How Teen Brothers are Helping Peers with Mental Health Issues

Teen Brothers Share Their Song about Mental Health

Mom and Daughter Share Immune-Boosting and Healing Soups

Eating Disorder Warning Signs for Parents

When to Talk to Your Kids about Adult Content

Power Life Creator Tony Horton’s 3 Tips for Staying Healthy

The Fight for a Tobacco-Free Generation!

Why Did Your Diet Fail?

Woman Returns with Her Brand-New Smile

Woman Gets a Total Smile Makeover for Her Wedding

Could Laws Help Prevent the Next Generation from Smoking?

Are You Working Out Too Much?

The Unwanted Lessons Your Child Could Learn from Adult Content

Practical Tips to Surviving a House Fire

Watch a Woman Undergo Mini Filler ‘Glow Up’
Author of “The Good News About Bad Behavior” Katherine Reynolds Lewis joins The Doctors to discuss her thoughts on what parents are doing that may actually be contributing to the spike in adolescent mental health issues.
ER physician Dr. Travis Stork shares that today nearly 1 in 3 teens in America now meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder and 32% of them report feeling persistently sad or hopeless. Katherine adds the striking statistic she found in her book research -- 1 in 2 kids will have a mood or behavior disorder or substance addiction by time they are 18.
Watch: What your Teen's Social Media Could Be Telling You
Coupled with the increase in suicide rates, which have doubled in the last decade for children between the ages of 10 to 14 and climbed 41% for teens ages 15 to 19, Katherine says, “You have to admit something significant has changed and there’s been a shift in the way we parent which is just not helping our kids.”
Watch: 4 out of 5 Teens Who Attempt Suicide Gave Clear Warning Signs
There are 3 factors Katherine says may be to blame for the increase in mental health diagnoses in kids:
- Play has almost disappeared from kid’s lives. They no longer have unstructured and outdoor playtime. She attributes this to a fear-based parenting culture where parents act as “helicopter parents” and kids miss the opportunity to learn from those experiences where they mess up, make mistakes or get hurt.
- Social media. Parents have to put limits on phones and have conversations with kids about using social media responsibly.
- There is a focus on achievement instead of contribution. Katherine encourages parents to do chores alongside their kids.