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Month: August 2026

Thriving Kids Podcast Provides Tips on How to “Future Proof” Children

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August 18, 2026

Thriving Kids Podcast Provides Tips on How to “Future Proof” Children

While no caregiver can know what their children will face in the years to come, that uncertainty doesn’t prevent them from doing what they can to prepare them for the future.

In a new episode of the Thriving Kids podcast, Dave Anderson, PhD, senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education for the Child Mind Institute, discusses the concept of “future proofing” children with Lisa Damour, PhD, a psychologist and best-selling author.

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The list of things that Anderson and Damour discuss that caregivers can do to support their children in the long run includes protecting sleep, prioritizing family meals, encouraging meaningful hobbies, and practicing flexible thinking and emotional durability.

The podcast provides several tips on building sustainable habits and fostering curiosity and resilience, including:

  • Protect your child’s sleep like it’s nonnegotiable: Set a consistent bedtime and stick to it. Build in screen-time before bed, so children are already winding down. Keep the bedroom cool, dark, and free of distractions such as glowing screens or exciting toys. Try to reserve the bed for sleep only, so it doesn’t become a place where homework or scrolling happens.
  • Build in regular, low-key time together: Aim to eat together regularly – it doesn’t have to be dinner and it doesn’t have to be every night. Keep phones and screens off during designated family time, even if you aren’t having a big talk. 
  • Support pursuing hobbies for fun: Encourage children to try new things simply because they are curious, not because it will look good on a resume. Help them to find something that’s genuinely theirs. Celebrate their effort and progress – and not just the end result – to help build their confidence and take on bigger challenges.
  • Model adaptability and resist the urge to prevent every hiccup: Help children understand how to adapt to change by showing them what to do. It’s OK to get frustrated when plans fall through, but show how you’re going to adjust so children have a template. When children are faced with a problem, resist the urge to overprotect or overdirect – let them navigate small setbacks on their own first.

To learn more, listen to the latest Thriving Kids podcast episode.

IECMH Shares Resources on Building Self-Esteem and Independence in Children

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IECMH Shares Resources on Building Self-Esteem and Independence in Children

The Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMH) program has provided resources for July on how to promote independence in children and help them to develop self-confidence.

The program notes that caregivers can begin nurturing a child’s self-esteem from the moment they are born. It suggested several resources by age group that include books and activities that caregivers can use early on to help build confidence. These include:

A child’s self-esteem, the IECMH notes, is rooted in the strong, loving relationships they experience at an early age. This foundation can set them up for long-term success as they grow and face challenges.

Resources on Self-Esteem and Building Independence

The program shared several resources on self-confidence, self-esteem, and helping children to gain independence. These include:

Child Mind Institute Resources Focus on Dissociation in Children

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August 17, 2026

Child Mind Institute Resources Focus on Dissociation in Children

Dissociation might sound like a frightening word when applied to children but, according to a new series of resources from the Child Mind Institute, it can cover a variety of behaviors, many of which aren’t great causes for concern.

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While some children describe dissociation as feeling spaced out, numb, or disconnected from themselves or their surroundings, others might say they feel as if they are watching themselves from outside their body or that the world around them doesn’t feel real.

But in milder and more common forms, it might show up as daydreaming. However, when children dissociate a lot, it can be distressing and it could be a sign that they feel overwhelmed by strong feelings or are struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, or panic attacks.

The Child Mind Institute has provided resources for caregivers on how they can model healthy ways to cope with powerful emotions. For teens, the institute provides techniques that can be used to calm down and ground oneself when feeling stressed or detached. There are also suggestions for how to respond effectively when children diagnose themselves after watching TikTok videos.

The resources include:

Kidsburgh List from Mother’s Group Includes Pittsburgh Region’s Best 19 Parks and Playgrounds

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Kidsburgh List from Mother’s Group Includes Pittsburgh Region’s Best 19 Parks and Playgrounds

Kidsburgh has put together a list of 19 parks and playgrounds that a Pittsburgh group of mothers cited as being the region’s best.

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Recently, Kidsburgh posted on the Facebook page Pittsburgh Moms Connect to ask local mothers which local parks and playgrounds were the best.

The 19 parks and playgrounds that the mothers listed include:

  • Avonworth Community Park (Avonworth)
  • Wightman Park (Squirrel Hill)
  • Blueberry Hill Park (Franklin Park/Sewickley)
  • War Memorial Park (Sewickley)
  • O’Hara Township Community Park (Fox Chapel)
  • Allegheny RiverTrail Park (Aspinwall)
  • Adams Township Park (Mars)
  • Northmoreland Park (Westmoreland County)
  • Boyce Park (Plum/Monroeville)
  • New Stanton Park (Westmoreland County)
  • Founders Park (Greensburgh)
  • Chippewa Park (Beaver County)
  • Anderson Playground (Schenley Park)
  • Moon Park (Moon Township)
  • Highland Park (Pittsburgh)
  • Casey’s Clubhouse and Wiltshire Park (Upper St. Clair)
  • Foster Park (Ingram)
  • Cranberry Community Park (Cranberry Township)
  • Annie’s Field of Dreams (Fox Chapel)

Mothers who took part in the survey cited different reasons for their choices. One picked Avonworth Community Park because it was one of the only wooden parks left in the area, while another chose O’Hara Township Community Park because it is a disability-inclusive park.

Adams Township Park was cited because it includes a mini-water park for children and a playground, while Boyce Park was chosen by one mother because it includes winter activities during that season and a rock climbing playground during the summer.

To view the entire list and the descriptions for why they were chosen, check out Kidsburgh’s article.

Allegheny County Health Department: Caregivers Should Not Delay with MMR Vaccination for Children

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August 14, 2026

Allegheny County Health Department: Caregivers Should Not Delay with MMR Vaccination for Children

The Allegheny County Health Department recommends that caregivers do not delay their child’s vaccinations for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).

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The health department made the announcement in the wake of a recent federal announcement that the department notes may have created confusion about routine childhood vaccinations.

The federal government recently called for exploring separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines – however, single-antigen measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines are not available in the United States, the health department said.

The department notes that the MMR vaccine remains the recommended method to protect children against the three serious diseases. Therefore, families should not wait for a hypothetical future vaccine option when the MMR vaccine is available and has a long history of protecting children, the department said.

Measles is highly contagious, and cases continue to occur in communities across the country and Pennsylvania. 

“Measles is not an abstract or distant threat – it is at our doorstep and vaccination is the best way to protect children and prevent outbreaks in our community,” said Dr. Jillian Irwin, medical director and deputy director for clinical services at the Allegheny County Health Department.

Trying Together Responds to Proposed Changes to Head Start Performance Standards

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August 12, 2026

Trying Together Responds to Proposed Changes to Head Start Performance Standards

Trying Together encourages public comment from administrators, teachers, former Head Start children and families, caregivers, and community members regarding proposed changes to the Head Start Performance Standards by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Head Start Performance Standards

Head Start is a core part of the early care and education landscape across the nation, providing quality care and comprehensive support for children and families for more than 60 years. In addition to education, it provides physical and mental health support, family engagement, nutrition, and developmental screenings.

Last week, the HHS published proposed changes to the Head Start Performance Standards, which serve as the foundational regulations to provide guidance on how to implement the Head Start program’s comprehensive services. However, the changes are only in the proposal stage. Head Start programs should continue to operate as usual and not make any changes based on the proposed changes. 

It is important to note that the proposed changes are to the Head Start Performance Standards – not The Head Start Act, which is the law and can only be changed by Congress. The Performance Standards define the quality – and provide clarity and guidance for implementation – of services at the local level. The standards cannot reduce the quality, scope, or types of services in The Head Start Act.

Proposed Changes

The Head Start Performance Standards are based in child development science. Proposed changes would eliminate a majority of the standards, such as:

  • Removing the mention of standards related to health, mental health, oral health, and developmental screenings, including details about how to provide services, the timeline, and requirement for follow-up
  • Eliminating class size and staff-to-child ratios
  • Weakening parent voice and decision making in local programs
  • Making it more difficult for families to prove eligibility, which may result in a reduction of service to families experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, or immigrant families
  • Removing services for pregnant women, expectant families, and newborns
  • Reducing administrative cap from 15% to 5%, creating more burden for programs to operate 
  • Requiring teaching and learning to only be in English
  • Removing additional services for children with disabilities and the ban on suspension/expulsion

Trying Together’s Response

Trying Together is working with state and national partners to gain a better understanding of the proposed changes.

“Trying Together is concerned that the proposal weakens health, safety, and quality standards for Head Start and creates more challenges for programs to operate,” said Emily Neff, Trying Together’s director of public policy. “As we continue to hear about rising costs for families and challenges to find quality child care, efforts to dismantle core components of a quality care and education program like Head Start further worsen the child care crisis.”

Neff said any attempt to weaken health and safety standards raises concerns about the wellbeing of young children and the de-professionalization of the early childhood field. She added that proposed changes aim to increase classroom sizes to serve more children without increasing investments for the program as well as remove credentials for teachers and pathways for families to be decisionmakers in local programs.

“While HHS frames the proposed changes as providing more flexibility and reducing administrative burden, in reality it proposes a reduction in services, larger class sizes, and fewer staff – and, ultimately, will help to justify why less funding will be needed for programs to operate in our communities,” Neff said.

Trying Together will continue to provide updates and resources in the coming weeks about the proposed changes – including ways that educators and caregivers can voice their concerns. 

Review Period

The deadline to submit comments is Tuesday, October 6. Trying Together encourages former Head Start children and families, administrators, teachers, caregivers and parents, and concerned community members to provide comments.

Regulatory changes at the federal level go through a process known as Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Now that proposed changes have been made, anyone can comment during a 60-day period.

After the comment period, HHS must review and respond to comments before issuing a final rule. Changes only take effect after a final rule is published and an effective date is announced, which will likely take several months.

Trying Together’s policy team – and its partners at the Pennsylvania Head Start Association, Pre-K for PA, and Start Strong PA – will offer support and provide templates for public comment.

Further Resources

Caregivers Should Lead with Joy and Curiosity When Children Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten

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Caregivers Should Lead with Joy and Curiosity When Children Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten

Caregivers with children transitioning from pre-k to kindergarten this fall should approach the milestone with an excited and curious mindset – but also emphasize practicing the life skills needed for this transition, rather than focusing on academic abilities.

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Valerie Williams, Trying Together’s kindergarten transition program director, said that a caregiver’s view of the transition shapes the child’s experience.

“We know sometimes caregivers feel nervous, but it’s also an exciting transition, so approaching it with an excited and curious mindset is important,” she said. “Sometimes, caregivers think it’s all on the school district, but we want them to think of themselves as partners.”

Williams emphasized that while there are skills that children ideally would have before this transition, a child will not be denied entry into kindergarten if they have not mastered a specific skill.

“The life skills need to come before academic skills,” she said. “Parents often focus on the academic pieces – counting one to 10 or learning the alphabet – but teachers are prepared to teach all that stuff. The important stuff for children is self-regulation, social skills, managing emotions using words, listening when someone is talking, knowing how to express feelings with words, keeping our hands to ourselves, or being potty trained. Children should be ready to sit at circle time and be able to be quiet for five or 10 minutes to listen. There’s also functional stuff such as being able to follow a routine or schedule, or being ready to make it through the day without a nap.”

Williams said that caregivers can help train children for such things during the summer – for example, shortening the daily nap by 10 minutes and then by another 10 minutes, so by the time they get to school, they don’t need a nap.

The Importance of Routines

Williams added that caregivers should try to get children into a daily routine – for naps, snacks, or other activities – to prepare them for kindergarten.

“Routines are important, not because we want children to be regimented, but because it gives them a sense of psychological, emotional, and physical safety,” she said. “It promotes brain development, so they can be well-regulated.”

Following a routine can help children to know to expect certain things at a certain time of day. If, for example, they feel hungry but know that snack time is coming up, they will learn to regulate themselves. Routines can also help to prevent meltdowns, Williams added.

Register Early

Williams said that school districts frequently hold events prior to the first day of kindergarten to help children and families prepare. This is why it is important for caregivers to register their children for school as early as possible.

“Schools do transition events during the summer,” she said. “You want to make sure you’re getting contacted about open house days during the summer, so the first day the child is walking into the school is not actually the first day of school.”

She noted that it is important for children to feel confident entering the classroom or taking part in such daily routines as transitioning to lunch with a group of other children or taking a bathroom break with a group of peers, rather than having a teacher take the lead.

Leading with Joy and Learning Through Play

Williams said one of the most important things for caregivers to remember is that they should lead by coaching the behavior they want to see. For example, telling a child that you like it when they engage in a particular behavior makes it more likely that they will continue to do so.

“What you model is what your children will do,” she said. “Speak to your children as if they are the most wonderful, brilliant people – for what they believe is what they will become. We should be prepared and lead with joy. Make this transition exciting for them. You can be brave and scared at the same time.”

It is also important to remember, Williams added, that children learn best through play. She said that caregivers and educators should focus less on sitting them at a table and drilling information into them – but rather incorporating play into teaching as much as possible.

“Everything you teach should be playful in nature,” she said. “They learn best in their natural environment.”

Further Resources

Some further resources for caregivers whose children will transition from pre-k to kindergarten this fall include:

Educators Seeking Knowledge of State and Federal Policy Can Apply to EPLC Fellowship

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August 11, 2026

Educators Seeking Knowledge of State and Federal Policy Can Apply to EPLC Fellowship

Those looking to deepen their understanding of state and federal education policy can now apply for the 2026-27 Pennsylvania Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPLC).

The program is an eight-month professional learning experience for education, policy, community, and advocacy leaders whose experiences reflect strong leadership abilities and a concern for issues relating to children and education. Participants will be able to expand their knowledge of state and federal education policy, refine leadership qualities and communication skills in the advocacy sector, and expand their network of professional contacts.

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The EPLC is a diverse cohort of professionals from education, human services, government, business, and community organizations. 

Sponsored by the Education Policy Leadership Center (EPLC) since 1999, there are more than 700 graduates of the program who are leaders in diverse organizations and programs at the local, state, and federal level. 

To qualify for the program, applicants must have:

  • A full-time professional position and substantive work experience
  • A bachelor’s degree or its equivalent
  • The endorsement and financial support of their employer or sponsoring organization
  • A commitment to personal and professional learning

Program Details

The program will include cohort learning with K-12 and higher education leaders, policy makers, advocates, and others interested in learning about public education policy. Highlights of the program include:

  • Two day in-person opening session in Harrisburg in September
  • Two day, multi-state leadership forum at Gettysburg battlefields and Carlisle’s U.S. Army War College in October
  • 14 three-hour virtual sessions on Friday mornings from November through May
  • A mid-program, in-person session in Harrisburg in January
  • A two-day visit to Washington D.C. to meet with legislators in April
  • A day at the capitol in Harrisburg to meet with legislators in May
  • Graduation and an annual recognition reception in May

Those interested in the program can apply on the EPLC website.

Child Mind Institute Resources Focus on Negative Impacts of ‘Looksmaxxing’

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Child Mind Institute Resources Focus on Negative Impacts of ‘Looksmaxxing’

A trend known as “looksmaxxing” has drawn attention due to influencers who have utilized the extreme grooming, fitness, and occasionally extreme cosmetic practices associated with the subculture.

In a new set of resources, the Child Mind Institute discusses why such extreme self-improvement routines can have a negative impact on boys’ self-esteem and mental health.

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“Looksmaxxing” has become a trend due to the practices of popular online influencers, who have used extreme measures such as “bone smashing” to try to alter their facial structure. There has also been a rise in social media content that encourages teenage boys to engage in self-improvement routines to meet a narrow and exacting standard of attractiveness.

The trend, which has been around for nearly a decade and stems from the belief that women choose romantic partners based on physical traits alone, can be especially damaging to young boys during puberty. 

The Child Mind Institute’s resources examine how “looksmaxxing” affects boys and how to help teens navigate current beauty standards. Clinicians have raised concerns that the trend can exacerbate certain mental health disorders – such as body dysmorphic disorder – in teenagers.

The resources also include information on how social media use can lead to self-doubt in teens and how to monitor what they are doing online, while also respecting their independence. There is also a piece on the challenges of early adolescence and how to help boys build confidence during that time.

The Child Mind Institute’s resources include:

OCDEL Provides Information on How to Remove Ticks from Children

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August 10, 2026

OCDEL Provides Information on How to Remove Ticks from Children

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning’s (OCDEL) Bureau of Certification has provided tips on how to remove a tick from a child and which symptoms to keep an eye on.

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Ticks have eight legs, are very small, and can attach to a person to suck blood. In Pennsylvania, many ticks carry diseases and can be found outdoors in areas with long grass and weeks, leaf piles, the woods, or in the backyard.

It is important to remove a tick as soon as the insect is found embedded in the skin. The longer a tick is attached to a child or adult increases the risk of Lyme disease transmission.

Removing a Tick

Early childhood educators who are removing a tick from a child should:

  • Use tweezers and grasp the tick close to the skin (on its head).
  • Hold the tweezers sideways next to the skin surface.
  • Pull the tick straight upward without twisting or crushing it.
  • Maintain a steady pressure until it releases its grip.
  • If you don’t have tweezers, you can use your fingers.
  • It is not helpful to cover the tick with petroleum jelly, nail polish, rubbing alcohol, a soapy cotton ball, or a hot or cold object.

If the tick’s head breaks off in the skin during removal, caregivers should remove any large parts, clean the skin with rubbing alcohol, or use clean tweezers to uncover the head and scrape it off.

If the tick is so small that tweezers or fingers don’t work, use the edge of a credit card to scrape it off the skin. If a small piece of the head remains, the skin will slowly shed it.

After Removing a Tick

After the tick has been removed, early childhood educators should:

  • Wash the wound and your hands with soap and water after removal. This helps to prevent catching any disease carried by the tick. 
  • Inform the parent or guardian that you have removed a tick from the child. Alert them to watch the bite area for the appearance of a rash. If a rash appears or the child becomes ill, the child will need medical care.

Tick bites typically don’t hurt or itch – which is why they are not often noticed. If the tick transfers a disease, a rash will appear in the next two to four weeks.

Caregivers should contact a health care provider if they can’t remove the tick, fever or rash occurs in the next four weeks, or the bite starts to look infected. 

To prevent tick bites, perform daily checks on children after outdoor play. Children should wear light clothing, so ticks can be spotted and tuck their socks into pants, avoid tall grass, and stay on clear paths outdoors.