Personal and professional experience combined with healthy discernment can inform suicide prevention initiatives, which emphasize society-wide knowledge, skill, and ability where it matters.

People seem to want kids to be emotionally neutral in the classroom. The idea is that if they aren’t emotionally settled or calm (aka emotionally regulated), then they cannot learn. But cognitive processing does not require emotional neutrality. People are always thinking and feeling—emotion is not a barrier to learning (Pessoa, 2013). In many situations, it is a part of learning. Adults habitually trying to get kids “regulated” by teaching them “self-regulation strategies” a

Why I stopped trying to “overcome” and started building environments that work.

Social media can be unreal - almost a nonsensical satire —a statement is made, then one reaction sparks a cascade, and suddenly the noise is everywhere. When the reels from Literacy Now, Together dropped and the conversation on X started, I felt my nerves kick in.

Welcome to the debut of Raising Moxie's Avatar! We want to know what you think we should name her! Get back to us and let us know!

Words shape advocacy. Let’s name pain with precision—honoring dyslexic experiences without diluting the meaning of trauma.

Over- & under-accommodation both harm. Let’s stop patching symptoms & start building real support. Every child deserves to be seen.

As a psychologist, I strongly oppose the universal application of coping-focused training—especially for children. Whether tied to thoughts or not, scripted “calm-down plans” reflect what people do when they’re overwhelmed and out of depth.

As someone who consults with schools during moments of crisis, I’m often asked whether a student who posed a threat or has caused harm should return to the school. It’s a question that carries enormous weight—for the student in question, for their peers, and for the adults trying to do right by everyone.

I’ve been diving into updates in the literature and recently came across The Complicated Rise of Social Emotional Learning in the United States (Dalrymple & Phillips, 2024), published in the Harvard Educational Review.

A raw and resilient personal story from Dr. Karin Hodges—of surviving trauma, swimming to safety, and choosing to dive back in to rescue others. A narrative of persistence, purpose, and systemic reform.

Assuming their basic needs are met, children are naturally emotionally contained by their environment. However, life happens—stress and challenges arise, such as loss, transgressions, or upcoming challenges—and kids will feel emotions!

School systems need community practices, but these should align with our best understanding of child development. It’s important to remember that what feels good to adults or works for adults in schools isn’t necessarily beneficial for children.

Stress is neither good nor bad - it is an adaptive response to an internal or external stressor. Some stressors have use - like exercise that grows strength and fitness and meaningful schoolwork that enhances learning. Other stressors seems useless. They only tax the system for no other gain. And these can add up. Here are six causes of non-productive stress - those useless stressors in kids’ lives.

Encourages adults to support kids by breaking from experimental social-emotional programs and running towards evidence-based principles.