Deciding where to send your child to kindergarten has become one of the most high-stakes moments in many American families’ lives. A few factors have made selecting an elementary school particularly challenging in recent years. For one, there are simply more schools for parents to pick from over the past few decades, ranging from traditional public and private […] … learn more→

When the newly appointed chief executive of tracking app Life360 recently described the company as part of the “anxiety economy”, it sounded like a throwaway phrase. But it was also surprisingly candid. The app, which allows families to track their children’s (or parent’s) whereabouts in real time, is on one in ten phones in the US, according […] … learn more→

Stress on college students can be palpable, and it hits them from every direction: academic challenges, social pressures and financial burdens, all intermingled with their first taste of independence. It’s part of the reason why anxiety and depression are common among the 19 million students now enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities, and why incidents of suicide and […] … learn more→

Thanks to bestselling authors like Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge, the public has become increasingly aware of the rapid rise in mental health issues among younger people in many western countries. Their warnings about the destructive impact of social media have had an effect, reflected not least in a wave of schools across Europe banning smartphones. […] … learn more→

The world is transforming at a dizzying pace, presenting challenges such as an evolving labor market, climate change or the depletion of natural resources. Added to these challenges are more recent ones, such as the energy and economic crisis derived from the covid-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine. For millennials (born between 1983 and […] … learn more→

Whenever a school shooting takes place, school officials often arrange for grief counseling services to be made available for whoever needs them. But what exactly do those services entail? To answer that question, The Conversation reached out to Philip J. Lazarus, a school psychology professor at Florida International University who counseled students and educators affected […] … learn more→

The first signs were the half-eaten lunches coming home from high school. This was in stark contrast to the primary school years, where the box looked as if a demolition team had run through it with only a few crumbs left. The problem was finally disclosed over a quiet chat before bedtime when we did […] … learn more→

Many kids across Australia are heading back into classrooms after months of lockdowns and remote learning. Understandably, students may be anxious about what the uncertainty of the return may mean for them academically and socially. Some may have existing worries at home, such as financial strain in the family, that can impact on their mental […] … learn more→

As a child, I had a great deal of anxiety. If you’ve ever seen me speak in public, that might surprise you. But anxiety among children is extremely common and affects almost all children, to varying degrees. During pre-pandemic times, researchers noted that as many as 7% of children had a diagnosable anxiety disorder that disrupted their […] … learn more→

It’s normal to experience some anxiety when speaking a second language. When paired with large class sizes and limited opportunities for practice during class time, however, this anxiety can limit a person’s ability to perform in the language classroom. In order to become proficient in a second language, learners require extensive practice with the language such as with new vocabulary […] … learn more→