You're an adult, but your brain might not be, experts say
(CNN)You're legally an adult when you turn 18, in most of the United States. However, from a scientific perspective, adulthood is an unsolved mystery.
Even neuroscientists don't know when adolescence ends and adulthood begins in the brain -- after all, our brains are constantly changing, according to a new opinion paper published in the journal Neuron on Wednesday.
"There is no agreed-on benchmark that, when reached, would allow a neuroscientist to say 'Aha! This brain is fully developed,' " said Leah Somerville, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard University, who wrote the paper.
"However, it is safe to say that by almost any metric, the brain is continuing to develop actively well past the age of 18," she said. "The reason I think it's important to discuss this issue is because policies impacting youth have begun to pay more and more attention to the concept of neurodevelopmental maturity, so neuroscientists have begun to get engaged in these complicated discussions," such as debates about when to charge a child with an adult crime or when to permit aging out of the foster care system.
So, why can't the brain reveal whether you're an adult or not? Different parts of your brain mature at different times, Somerville said.
"Brain development occurs in waves, with different brain regions having their major developmental events at different times," she said. "So, the measurements that index brain maturation will give you different answers depending on what measure you're focusing on and where in the brain you're looking."
In other words, since there is no definitive way to measure brain maturity, there is no definitive age in which your brain signals that you are an adult.
Your brain consists of two types of tissue, gray matter and white matter. In your first decade of life, the gray matter grows and expands rapidly as many new synapses, or connections between nerves, are being made. The gray matter grows as you learn and are exposed to new experiences as a child.
Then, as your body prepares for puberty, your brain starts to prune back some of that gray matter and amp up its production of white matter, which allows different parts of the brain to share information better and faster, said Dr. Jess Shatkin, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, who was not involved in the new paper.
"The brain volume, the total volume, doesn't really change, but we lose about 1% of gray matter starting around 13 and we gain about 1% of white matter at the same time, and that trade off keeps going," Shatkin said.
"There are big changes (in the brain) until the early 20s, and there may be pretty significant changes still until the early 30s," he said. "We're still learning. Whereas, once upon a time, we imagined adolescence to end at 18, now we don't really know when this process of development ends. ... Twenty-five, 26, 28, 30, 32? We don't know."
Shatkin added that this maturation process of the brain tends to appear in female brains earlier than male brains.
"There's been some neurological data showing that girls' brains may begin to prune earlier," he said. "This certainly goes along with what we typically observe clinically as well."
Overall, most neuroscientists agree that "there's no magic age at which the brain reaches adulthood," said Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a research professor of psychology at Clark University in Massachusetts.
"I've been waiting to see a paper like this, and have thought of writing one myself," he said. "I've done a lot of research on how people define adulthood, and people vary, but in general it's not an age, it's defined by qualities such as accepting responsibility for yourself and making independent decisions."
Even neuroscientists don't know when adolescence ends and adulthood begins in the brain -- after all, our brains are constantly changing, according to a new opinion paper published in the journal Neuron on Wednesday.
"There is no agreed-on benchmark that, when reached, would allow a neuroscientist to say 'Aha! This brain is fully developed,' " said Leah Somerville, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard University, who wrote the paper.
"However, it is safe to say that by almost any metric, the brain is continuing to develop actively well past the age of 18," she said. "The reason I think it's important to discuss this issue is because policies impacting youth have begun to pay more and more attention to the concept of neurodevelopmental maturity, so neuroscientists have begun to get engaged in these complicated discussions," such as debates about when to charge a child with an adult crime or when to permit aging out of the foster care system.
So, why can't the brain reveal whether you're an adult or not? Different parts of your brain mature at different times, Somerville said.
"Brain development occurs in waves, with different brain regions having their major developmental events at different times," she said. "So, the measurements that index brain maturation will give you different answers depending on what measure you're focusing on and where in the brain you're looking."
In other words, since there is no definitive way to measure brain maturity, there is no definitive age in which your brain signals that you are an adult.
Your brain consists of two types of tissue, gray matter and white matter. In your first decade of life, the gray matter grows and expands rapidly as many new synapses, or connections between nerves, are being made. The gray matter grows as you learn and are exposed to new experiences as a child.
Then, as your body prepares for puberty, your brain starts to prune back some of that gray matter and amp up its production of white matter, which allows different parts of the brain to share information better and faster, said Dr. Jess Shatkin, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, who was not involved in the new paper.
"The brain volume, the total volume, doesn't really change, but we lose about 1% of gray matter starting around 13 and we gain about 1% of white matter at the same time, and that trade off keeps going," Shatkin said.
"There are big changes (in the brain) until the early 20s, and there may be pretty significant changes still until the early 30s," he said. "We're still learning. Whereas, once upon a time, we imagined adolescence to end at 18, now we don't really know when this process of development ends. ... Twenty-five, 26, 28, 30, 32? We don't know."
Shatkin added that this maturation process of the brain tends to appear in female brains earlier than male brains.
"There's been some neurological data showing that girls' brains may begin to prune earlier," he said. "This certainly goes along with what we typically observe clinically as well."
Overall, most neuroscientists agree that "there's no magic age at which the brain reaches adulthood," said Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a research professor of psychology at Clark University in Massachusetts.
"I've been waiting to see a paper like this, and have thought of writing one myself," he said. "I've done a lot of research on how people define adulthood, and people vary, but in general it's not an age, it's defined by qualities such as accepting responsibility for yourself and making independent decisions."
What's the best work schedule for your age?
By Jacqueline Howard, CNN
The moment you may have been dreading is here. Lazy summer days have come to an end, and more structured back-to-work or back-to-school schedules have commenced.
But will your new daily schedule be the healthiest for your brain and body?Scientists have long known that you have an internal biological clock that regulates various physical, mental and behavioral changes your body experiences over a 24-hour cycle, called circadian rhythms.
Those circadian rhythms can slowly change as you age.
So you tend to require different work schedules and work hours throughout your lifetime. From your adolescence to post-40, here are the schedules that research suggests may be the best for your age:
Teens and young adults: Later may be better
Even though you are legally an adult when you turn 18, your brain may not grow out of adolescence until your mid- to late 20s, said Dr. Jess Shatkin, a psychiatrist at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center.
As a result, "adolescents have this desire to go to bed later and wake up later, and that's what most people do until they hit around 26," Shatkin said, and it partly comes down to melatonin, a hormone linked to your biological clock that influences when you start to naturally feel sleepy at the end of the day.
"Adolescents start to release melatonin later in the day than adults. They release around 10 o'clock at night, naturally, which means they then get sleepy later, and because they go to bed later, they wake up later," Shatkin said. He added that the amount of melatonin we release might drop by about 50% once we hit puberty.
So then, what would be the ideal work or school schedule for adolescents? "It's hard to say what's ideal, because people vary, of course," Shatkin said, "but I would say that for adolescents we really shouldn't be starting school (or work) before 9 a.m. and, ideally, start at 10 a.m. ... and let the schedules go later."
In a 2014 policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools delay the start of classes to 8:30 a.m. or later to align with the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents.
Delaying high school start times for a school district in Kentucky resulted in its students getting more hours of nightly sleep on average and its teen drivers having fewer car crashes, according to a 2008 assessment of the district published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
A separate two-year study of school districts in Virginia, published in the same journal in 2014, found similar results indicating a reduction in crash rates.
For both adults and adolescence, insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.This association especially emerges in adults who work late-night or overnight shifts.
Mid-20s and 30s: Shifting away from shift work
For most adults in their 30s and 40s, some studies suggest that ideal work schedules should mirror individual preferences, whether you are an early riser or a night owl. Research also indicates that these preferences are linked to your genes.
But whether you're more of a morning or evening person, many studies consistently show that irregular or overnight shift work can have a negative impact on your health.
"It is important to check on your familial predisposition for diseases that have been previously linked to working irregular shifts," said Christian Benedict, a researcher in Uppsala University's department of neuroscience in Sweden.
"In other words, do your grandparents or parents have type 2 diabetes, obesity or heart diseases? If yes, it might be better to go for a '9-to-5' schedule," he added. "If you are forced to working irregular shifts for the sake of money, make sure that you are physically and mentally active."
After all, shift work can impair not only your body but also your brain, according to a new study that Benedict co-authored and published in the September issue of the journal
Neurobiology of Aging.
For the study, self-reported data from more than 7,000 adults in Sweden were analyzed. The data then were compared with how each adult performed on a two-part test designed to screen for cognitive impairment, called the trail making test.
The researchers discovered that current shift workers and those who worked irregular shifts in the past five years were more likely to have a poorer performance on the test than their counterparts.
"In contrast, no difference was observed between non-shift workers and those who had quit shift work more than five years ago," Benedict said.
"The latter could suggest that it may take at least five years for previous shift workers to recover brain functions that are relevant to the performance on this test," he said. "However, as of yet, a mechanistic explanation as to why shift workers require at least five years of time-out to recover their cognitive performance is lacking, and as such warrants further investigation."
Sufficient sleep benefits the brain since, as you snooze, the organ can flush out cellular waste that builds up during wakefulness, previous research has shown.
Since shift workers often experience sleep disturbances or may not get enough sleep, their brains might not effectively remove waste, Benedict said.
"Some of these waste products can be harmful for your neurons," Benedict said.
40 and older: The 25-hour work week
Once adults are older than 40, however, the number of work hours packed into a daily schedule may have health effects similar to the schedule itself.
Research published in the Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series in February suggests that a three-day workweek could be best for adults 40 and older -- but that's the sweet spot.
Working more or less than about 25 hours each week could have negative impacts on cognitive functioning, said Shinya Kajitani, associate professor at Meisei University in Japan and a co-author of the paper.
Just last year, some companies in Sweden trimmed 40-hour work weeks to 30 hours for full-time employees, and they reported that workers were less fatigued, more efficient and happier.
"Work can stimulate brain activity, but longer working hours are more likely to cause physical and/or mental stress," Kajitani said.
"The point we are making in our paper is that work can stimulate brain activity and can help maintaining cognitive functions for elderly workers," he added. "At the same time, excessively long working hours can cause fatigue and physical and/or psychological stress, which potentially damage cognitive functioning."
The researchers analyzed household, income and labor data on about 3,000 men and 3,500 women 40 and older. They then compared that data with how the men and women performed on cognitive tests.
The researchers found that working up to 25 hours a week was linked to an improvement in cognitive performance, but when working hours exceeded 25 hours a week, there was a decrease in cognitive performance.
"We are a little bit surprised because our findings -- that the net positive effect of work peak around 25 hours a week and start declining thereafter -- are well captured for non-linearity in the effect of working hours on cognitive abilities," Kajitani said.
Could such working hours be linked to similar results in other age groups?
Women in their 20s, 30s and 40s who work an average of 60 hours or more per week may triple their risks of diabetes, cancer, heart trouble and arthritis, according to a separate study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine last month.
Additionally, a 2015 study published in the Lancet found that working more than 55 hours per week may be linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke in adults.
But to really examine differences in age groups, Kajitani said, more research is needed.
"We speculate that the positive impact of working hours on cognitive functioning may be different among the age groups, but unfortunately, we have not produced any evidence for this yet," Kajitani said. "We are currently doing some work on this issue."
By Jacqueline Howard, CNN
The moment you may have been dreading is here. Lazy summer days have come to an end, and more structured back-to-work or back-to-school schedules have commenced.
But will your new daily schedule be the healthiest for your brain and body?Scientists have long known that you have an internal biological clock that regulates various physical, mental and behavioral changes your body experiences over a 24-hour cycle, called circadian rhythms.
Those circadian rhythms can slowly change as you age.
So you tend to require different work schedules and work hours throughout your lifetime. From your adolescence to post-40, here are the schedules that research suggests may be the best for your age:
Teens and young adults: Later may be better
Even though you are legally an adult when you turn 18, your brain may not grow out of adolescence until your mid- to late 20s, said Dr. Jess Shatkin, a psychiatrist at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center.
As a result, "adolescents have this desire to go to bed later and wake up later, and that's what most people do until they hit around 26," Shatkin said, and it partly comes down to melatonin, a hormone linked to your biological clock that influences when you start to naturally feel sleepy at the end of the day.
"Adolescents start to release melatonin later in the day than adults. They release around 10 o'clock at night, naturally, which means they then get sleepy later, and because they go to bed later, they wake up later," Shatkin said. He added that the amount of melatonin we release might drop by about 50% once we hit puberty.
So then, what would be the ideal work or school schedule for adolescents? "It's hard to say what's ideal, because people vary, of course," Shatkin said, "but I would say that for adolescents we really shouldn't be starting school (or work) before 9 a.m. and, ideally, start at 10 a.m. ... and let the schedules go later."
In a 2014 policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools delay the start of classes to 8:30 a.m. or later to align with the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents.
Delaying high school start times for a school district in Kentucky resulted in its students getting more hours of nightly sleep on average and its teen drivers having fewer car crashes, according to a 2008 assessment of the district published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
A separate two-year study of school districts in Virginia, published in the same journal in 2014, found similar results indicating a reduction in crash rates.
For both adults and adolescence, insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.This association especially emerges in adults who work late-night or overnight shifts.
Mid-20s and 30s: Shifting away from shift work
For most adults in their 30s and 40s, some studies suggest that ideal work schedules should mirror individual preferences, whether you are an early riser or a night owl. Research also indicates that these preferences are linked to your genes.
But whether you're more of a morning or evening person, many studies consistently show that irregular or overnight shift work can have a negative impact on your health.
"It is important to check on your familial predisposition for diseases that have been previously linked to working irregular shifts," said Christian Benedict, a researcher in Uppsala University's department of neuroscience in Sweden.
"In other words, do your grandparents or parents have type 2 diabetes, obesity or heart diseases? If yes, it might be better to go for a '9-to-5' schedule," he added. "If you are forced to working irregular shifts for the sake of money, make sure that you are physically and mentally active."
After all, shift work can impair not only your body but also your brain, according to a new study that Benedict co-authored and published in the September issue of the journal
Neurobiology of Aging.
For the study, self-reported data from more than 7,000 adults in Sweden were analyzed. The data then were compared with how each adult performed on a two-part test designed to screen for cognitive impairment, called the trail making test.
The researchers discovered that current shift workers and those who worked irregular shifts in the past five years were more likely to have a poorer performance on the test than their counterparts.
"In contrast, no difference was observed between non-shift workers and those who had quit shift work more than five years ago," Benedict said.
"The latter could suggest that it may take at least five years for previous shift workers to recover brain functions that are relevant to the performance on this test," he said. "However, as of yet, a mechanistic explanation as to why shift workers require at least five years of time-out to recover their cognitive performance is lacking, and as such warrants further investigation."
Sufficient sleep benefits the brain since, as you snooze, the organ can flush out cellular waste that builds up during wakefulness, previous research has shown.
Since shift workers often experience sleep disturbances or may not get enough sleep, their brains might not effectively remove waste, Benedict said.
"Some of these waste products can be harmful for your neurons," Benedict said.
40 and older: The 25-hour work week
Once adults are older than 40, however, the number of work hours packed into a daily schedule may have health effects similar to the schedule itself.
Research published in the Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series in February suggests that a three-day workweek could be best for adults 40 and older -- but that's the sweet spot.
Working more or less than about 25 hours each week could have negative impacts on cognitive functioning, said Shinya Kajitani, associate professor at Meisei University in Japan and a co-author of the paper.
Just last year, some companies in Sweden trimmed 40-hour work weeks to 30 hours for full-time employees, and they reported that workers were less fatigued, more efficient and happier.
"Work can stimulate brain activity, but longer working hours are more likely to cause physical and/or mental stress," Kajitani said.
"The point we are making in our paper is that work can stimulate brain activity and can help maintaining cognitive functions for elderly workers," he added. "At the same time, excessively long working hours can cause fatigue and physical and/or psychological stress, which potentially damage cognitive functioning."
The researchers analyzed household, income and labor data on about 3,000 men and 3,500 women 40 and older. They then compared that data with how the men and women performed on cognitive tests.
The researchers found that working up to 25 hours a week was linked to an improvement in cognitive performance, but when working hours exceeded 25 hours a week, there was a decrease in cognitive performance.
"We are a little bit surprised because our findings -- that the net positive effect of work peak around 25 hours a week and start declining thereafter -- are well captured for non-linearity in the effect of working hours on cognitive abilities," Kajitani said.
Could such working hours be linked to similar results in other age groups?
Women in their 20s, 30s and 40s who work an average of 60 hours or more per week may triple their risks of diabetes, cancer, heart trouble and arthritis, according to a separate study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine last month.
Additionally, a 2015 study published in the Lancet found that working more than 55 hours per week may be linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke in adults.
But to really examine differences in age groups, Kajitani said, more research is needed.
"We speculate that the positive impact of working hours on cognitive functioning may be different among the age groups, but unfortunately, we have not produced any evidence for this yet," Kajitani said. "We are currently doing some work on this issue."
The Surprising Way Colleges Are Helping Their Students Sleep More
The whole point of this class is to fall asleep.
Multiple studies have shown adequate sleep for college-age students is about eight hours a night, yet as many as 70 percent of college students don’t get that much shuteye.
Experts and students agree the trend is not good — and there’s plenty of research to back up that claim. In response, some institutions are putting sleep on the curriculum with classes designed to teach students the basic neuroscience behind sleep and how it affects both physical and mental functions of our well being in our daily lives. It’s a growing trend that includes the University of Missouri, Stanford University, and New York University.
While some of the classes are recent — NYU first started offering their sleep course in 2012 — others are older. Stanford’s course, “Sleep and Dreams,” was one of the first of its kind in the country and has been offered since 1970. (It’s worth noting, though, that the demand for Stanford’s course has grown so much in recent years that it is now taught twice a year and is capped at 210 students per session, said instructor Rafael Pelayo, a clinical professor in the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. “We have a waiting list of students.”)
Students want to learn about sleep
“Sleep behavior is inherently interesting. Students want to learn about it — even though they do it every night, it’s a mystery to them,” said Dennis Miller, an associate professor of graduate and undergraduate studies in the department of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri who teaches a course called “Sleep and Sleep Disorders.” “Students learn a lot about themselves through the class; they gain insight into their own sleep behavior and about managing their daily lives better.”
Missouri offers the sleep class as an online course to any undergraduate student enrolled at the school and students enrolled in one of the university’s web-based Mizzou Online degree programs. The course is designed to teach students about the science of sleep, as well as its applications to students’ daily lives, Miller explained. Students learn what happens to the brain and the body when we sleep, what common sleep disorders are, and how sleep disorders are managed and treated.
Students learn about sleep science, hygiene, evolution, and dreams
NYU’s sleep course, “While You Were Sleeping” was inspired in part by the success of the course at Stanford, said Jess Shatkin, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatrics at the NYU School of Medicine. In addition to covering the science of sleep and how students can better manage their own sleep, Shatkin’s course also touches on the evolution of sleep, sleep disorders and treatments, and dreams, he explained.
“I wanted to build a class that was solid academically, but still fun,” Shatkin said. The course is structured so that students first learn about the science of sleep, then they learn about what happens to the body during sleep and the consequences of going without. Then, later in the course, they learn about sleep hygiene — and everything they can do to actually get better sleep, he said.
“We talk about everything from caffeine use and the role of exercise to what temperature your bedroom should be,” Shatkin explained. “And we teach relaxation exercises — meditation and breathing techniques — to help them fall asleep.”
“I learned basically everything about sleep” Cynthia Haddad, who graduated from NYU in 2015 and took the course over the summer of 2013, signed up because it was cross-listed under a minor she planned to pursue.
“I leaned basically everything about the significance of sleep,” Haddad told HuffPost. “We learned about how sleep affects our bodies. … We learned about how sleep affects us in our waking hours — the brain, the body, emotionally.
The course absolutely changed my sleep habits Cynthia Haddad, former student of NYU’s “While You Were Sleeping” course“The course absolutely changed my sleep habits,” Haddad added. “I learned the following and try to keep to these rules: Do not use devices up to an hour before bed; no caffeine past noon; and use the bed only for sleep and sex — so that when you get into bed, your body knows it wants to sleep.”
Students sleep 22 minutes longer
Haddad was not the only one who slept better after the course. To determine how effective the lesson plans were in actually improving sleep quality among students in the course, Shatkin and his colleagues compared sleep quantity and quality between NYU students enrolled in the class in the fall 2014 semester and NYU students enrolled in coursework other than the sleep course. They found sleep for the students taking “While You Were Sleeping” did, in fact, improve.
Students enrolled in the sleep course slept 22 minutes longer per night on average two months after taking the course compared with their sleep before the course, and the students fell asleep nine minutes faster per night after the course, according to the findings, which were presented at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s annual meeting last year. And better sleep hygiene for all of the students was associated with fewer depressive symptoms — meaning the results imply that the course, by improving sleep, could also help decrease depression and anxiety, Shatkin said.
Based on these findings, Shatkin and his colleagues hope to design a four-hour workshop that will focus on a similar teaching objective, but in a condensed format that can also help students improve their sleep.
The semester-long version of the class is planned to continue regardless. It is offered once a year, open to all undergraduate students, and typically enrolls between 150 and 250 students, depending on the number of seats in the lecture hall available, Shatkin said.
Sarah DiGiulio is The Huffington Post’s sleep reporter. You can contact her at sarah.digiulio@huffingtonpost.com.
The whole point of this class is to fall asleep.
Multiple studies have shown adequate sleep for college-age students is about eight hours a night, yet as many as 70 percent of college students don’t get that much shuteye.
Experts and students agree the trend is not good — and there’s plenty of research to back up that claim. In response, some institutions are putting sleep on the curriculum with classes designed to teach students the basic neuroscience behind sleep and how it affects both physical and mental functions of our well being in our daily lives. It’s a growing trend that includes the University of Missouri, Stanford University, and New York University.
While some of the classes are recent — NYU first started offering their sleep course in 2012 — others are older. Stanford’s course, “Sleep and Dreams,” was one of the first of its kind in the country and has been offered since 1970. (It’s worth noting, though, that the demand for Stanford’s course has grown so much in recent years that it is now taught twice a year and is capped at 210 students per session, said instructor Rafael Pelayo, a clinical professor in the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. “We have a waiting list of students.”)
Students want to learn about sleep
“Sleep behavior is inherently interesting. Students want to learn about it — even though they do it every night, it’s a mystery to them,” said Dennis Miller, an associate professor of graduate and undergraduate studies in the department of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri who teaches a course called “Sleep and Sleep Disorders.” “Students learn a lot about themselves through the class; they gain insight into their own sleep behavior and about managing their daily lives better.”
Missouri offers the sleep class as an online course to any undergraduate student enrolled at the school and students enrolled in one of the university’s web-based Mizzou Online degree programs. The course is designed to teach students about the science of sleep, as well as its applications to students’ daily lives, Miller explained. Students learn what happens to the brain and the body when we sleep, what common sleep disorders are, and how sleep disorders are managed and treated.
Students learn about sleep science, hygiene, evolution, and dreams
NYU’s sleep course, “While You Were Sleeping” was inspired in part by the success of the course at Stanford, said Jess Shatkin, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatrics at the NYU School of Medicine. In addition to covering the science of sleep and how students can better manage their own sleep, Shatkin’s course also touches on the evolution of sleep, sleep disorders and treatments, and dreams, he explained.
“I wanted to build a class that was solid academically, but still fun,” Shatkin said. The course is structured so that students first learn about the science of sleep, then they learn about what happens to the body during sleep and the consequences of going without. Then, later in the course, they learn about sleep hygiene — and everything they can do to actually get better sleep, he said.
“We talk about everything from caffeine use and the role of exercise to what temperature your bedroom should be,” Shatkin explained. “And we teach relaxation exercises — meditation and breathing techniques — to help them fall asleep.”
“I learned basically everything about sleep” Cynthia Haddad, who graduated from NYU in 2015 and took the course over the summer of 2013, signed up because it was cross-listed under a minor she planned to pursue.
“I leaned basically everything about the significance of sleep,” Haddad told HuffPost. “We learned about how sleep affects our bodies. … We learned about how sleep affects us in our waking hours — the brain, the body, emotionally.
The course absolutely changed my sleep habits Cynthia Haddad, former student of NYU’s “While You Were Sleeping” course“The course absolutely changed my sleep habits,” Haddad added. “I learned the following and try to keep to these rules: Do not use devices up to an hour before bed; no caffeine past noon; and use the bed only for sleep and sex — so that when you get into bed, your body knows it wants to sleep.”
Students sleep 22 minutes longer
Haddad was not the only one who slept better after the course. To determine how effective the lesson plans were in actually improving sleep quality among students in the course, Shatkin and his colleagues compared sleep quantity and quality between NYU students enrolled in the class in the fall 2014 semester and NYU students enrolled in coursework other than the sleep course. They found sleep for the students taking “While You Were Sleeping” did, in fact, improve.
Students enrolled in the sleep course slept 22 minutes longer per night on average two months after taking the course compared with their sleep before the course, and the students fell asleep nine minutes faster per night after the course, according to the findings, which were presented at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s annual meeting last year. And better sleep hygiene for all of the students was associated with fewer depressive symptoms — meaning the results imply that the course, by improving sleep, could also help decrease depression and anxiety, Shatkin said.
Based on these findings, Shatkin and his colleagues hope to design a four-hour workshop that will focus on a similar teaching objective, but in a condensed format that can also help students improve their sleep.
The semester-long version of the class is planned to continue regardless. It is offered once a year, open to all undergraduate students, and typically enrolls between 150 and 250 students, depending on the number of seats in the lecture hall available, Shatkin said.
Sarah DiGiulio is The Huffington Post’s sleep reporter. You can contact her at sarah.digiulio@huffingtonpost.com.
9 Things In Your Dorm That Are Wrecking Your Sleep
And what to do about them.
College dorm rooms bring on their own breed of sleep saboteurs — from the always-looming coursework to the impromptu Justin Bieber dance party happening down the hall.But anyone who has pulled or attempted an all-nighter has felt the dismal effects of getting too little sleep.
Sleep debt (i.e., not getting enough of it) has short- and long-term consequences for your body, your health and how you function, says Jess Shatkin, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine.
“Poor sleep affects everything from memory and neurological functioning to irritability, depression and anxiety,” he tells The Huffington Post. Recent studies have linked poor sleep to a wide range of health problems, from an inability to focus and pay attention to difficulty staying at a healthy weight. And even more research has shown when you don’t get enough sleep, you’re more likely to get sick, get emotional, have an accident and even look less attractive.
To help yourself get seven to nine hours of sleep a night (which is what the National Sleep Foundation recommends for anyone age 18 to 25), Shatkin and other experts say to watch out for these sleep wreckers:
1 Your cell phone
Sleep experts everywhere denounce using cell phones (or any screen for that matter) before sleeping because the light your devices project actually interferes with your body’s production of the hormone melatonin, i.e., the natural cue your body gets from darkness to go to sleep. But, Shatkin explains another reason having your cell phone in your room might be disrupting your sleep.
It’s completely normal for your body to wake up every one and a half to two hours during sleep for a couple of minutes and then fall back asleep, he says. “If we’re sleeping well, we probably don’t remember these awakenings.”
Typically you need to be awake about five or six minutes to be aware you are awake. But familiar stimuli (like your cell phone) can trigger you to start thinking about things you associate with those stimuli (work, classes, tests, deadlines!) and keep you awake. Getting your phone out of the room you sleep in is best, but if you’re living in cramped quarters (or a one-room dorm), sleep with your phone across the room and under a towel so you won’t see it, Shatkin suggests.
2 Your alarm clock
If you’re not using your phone as an alarm, good job! But if you’re using an alarm that has a digital face, you should be sure the light is amber-colored, not blue — because blue light is the type that can interfere with your ability to fall asleep.
3 Your TV
Your TV is just one more screen putting out sleep-wrecking blue light — the No. 1 reason you should leave it off before going to sleep and while you’re sleeping.
But if you’re someone who falls asleep with the television on “in the background,” listen up. Unlike soothing white noise from sound machines (or even the buzz of an air conditioner) that can help you tune out other noises distracting you from sleep, the sounds coming from your TV jump around in tone, pitch and volume and can potentially wake you up and interrupt sleep.
4 Your multipurpose bed
Your bed is not your living room — no matter how small your dorm is. And if you want to sleep well in your bed, save your bed for sleep (or sex), Shatkin says. Study in the library or at your desk and use common areas to hang out with your friends.
“You want to associate the bed with sleep,” Shatkin says. “Just like Pavlov’s dogs started drooling when they heard the bell, you want your head to drool for sleep when you see your bed.”
5 Your university-issued mattress
Regardless of whether it’s too soft, too hard or just too lumpy, your school-issued dorm mattress might literally be a pain in your neck.
“A poor quality mattress or any mattress that makes you feel uncomfortable in bed can be distracting and prevent someone from getting good quality sleep,” Shatkin says. Try adding a mattress pad or pillow top to make it more comfortable.
6 Your snooze button
Experts agree having a regular bedtime and wake time makes for the best sleep, but even if you end up joining your friends for that late night study session and end up hitting your sheets later than usual, getting out of bed on schedule the next morning will actually help keep you on a better sleep schedule overall, Shatkin says. “People make the mistake of staying in bed and whittling away their sleep cycle,” he adds.
He suggests getting up — and even if you do build up some sleep debt, you’ll sleep better the next night. And if you feel you can’t make it through the day, try a 20- to 30-minute nap before 4 p.m. to help yourself feel refreshed but not interfere with nighttime sleep.
7 Your roommate’s computer screen
You know computer, TV and cell phone screens are a no-no for good sleep, but that doesn’t mean your roommate is on your schedule. If a blue glow from your roommate’s laptop or TV (or ambient light from outside) is invading your sleep space, try sleeping with eyeshades.
“And not the free ones you get on long flights, which can lean against your eyes and might keep you awake,” Shatkin says. Look for the convex ones that allow you to blink underneath them.
8 Noise!
Whether it’s your roommate clicking away on a laptop or the muffled gossip session out in the hallway, there’s no need to let others interfere with your sleep. Get a pair of earplugs or try using a noise machine to drown them out.
And if the problem is your roommate, there is no substitute for good communication. Try having a conversation about regular dark or sleepy hours for your room, Shatkin says.
9 Dust
And before you tackle anything else, clean! But if allergies, asthma and/or nasal congestion are still keeping you awake after running the vacuum and wiping down surfaces, invest in an air purifier. These devices contain filters that help reduce the pollutants, pollen and other airborne allergens that you end up breathing in (and might be disrupting your sleep).
Sarah DiGiulio is The Huffington Post’s sleep reporter. You can contact her at sarah.digiulio@huffingtonpost.com.
And what to do about them.
College dorm rooms bring on their own breed of sleep saboteurs — from the always-looming coursework to the impromptu Justin Bieber dance party happening down the hall.But anyone who has pulled or attempted an all-nighter has felt the dismal effects of getting too little sleep.
Sleep debt (i.e., not getting enough of it) has short- and long-term consequences for your body, your health and how you function, says Jess Shatkin, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine.
“Poor sleep affects everything from memory and neurological functioning to irritability, depression and anxiety,” he tells The Huffington Post. Recent studies have linked poor sleep to a wide range of health problems, from an inability to focus and pay attention to difficulty staying at a healthy weight. And even more research has shown when you don’t get enough sleep, you’re more likely to get sick, get emotional, have an accident and even look less attractive.
To help yourself get seven to nine hours of sleep a night (which is what the National Sleep Foundation recommends for anyone age 18 to 25), Shatkin and other experts say to watch out for these sleep wreckers:
1 Your cell phone
Sleep experts everywhere denounce using cell phones (or any screen for that matter) before sleeping because the light your devices project actually interferes with your body’s production of the hormone melatonin, i.e., the natural cue your body gets from darkness to go to sleep. But, Shatkin explains another reason having your cell phone in your room might be disrupting your sleep.
It’s completely normal for your body to wake up every one and a half to two hours during sleep for a couple of minutes and then fall back asleep, he says. “If we’re sleeping well, we probably don’t remember these awakenings.”
Typically you need to be awake about five or six minutes to be aware you are awake. But familiar stimuli (like your cell phone) can trigger you to start thinking about things you associate with those stimuli (work, classes, tests, deadlines!) and keep you awake. Getting your phone out of the room you sleep in is best, but if you’re living in cramped quarters (or a one-room dorm), sleep with your phone across the room and under a towel so you won’t see it, Shatkin suggests.
2 Your alarm clock
If you’re not using your phone as an alarm, good job! But if you’re using an alarm that has a digital face, you should be sure the light is amber-colored, not blue — because blue light is the type that can interfere with your ability to fall asleep.
3 Your TV
Your TV is just one more screen putting out sleep-wrecking blue light — the No. 1 reason you should leave it off before going to sleep and while you’re sleeping.
But if you’re someone who falls asleep with the television on “in the background,” listen up. Unlike soothing white noise from sound machines (or even the buzz of an air conditioner) that can help you tune out other noises distracting you from sleep, the sounds coming from your TV jump around in tone, pitch and volume and can potentially wake you up and interrupt sleep.
4 Your multipurpose bed
Your bed is not your living room — no matter how small your dorm is. And if you want to sleep well in your bed, save your bed for sleep (or sex), Shatkin says. Study in the library or at your desk and use common areas to hang out with your friends.
“You want to associate the bed with sleep,” Shatkin says. “Just like Pavlov’s dogs started drooling when they heard the bell, you want your head to drool for sleep when you see your bed.”
5 Your university-issued mattress
Regardless of whether it’s too soft, too hard or just too lumpy, your school-issued dorm mattress might literally be a pain in your neck.
“A poor quality mattress or any mattress that makes you feel uncomfortable in bed can be distracting and prevent someone from getting good quality sleep,” Shatkin says. Try adding a mattress pad or pillow top to make it more comfortable.
6 Your snooze button
Experts agree having a regular bedtime and wake time makes for the best sleep, but even if you end up joining your friends for that late night study session and end up hitting your sheets later than usual, getting out of bed on schedule the next morning will actually help keep you on a better sleep schedule overall, Shatkin says. “People make the mistake of staying in bed and whittling away their sleep cycle,” he adds.
He suggests getting up — and even if you do build up some sleep debt, you’ll sleep better the next night. And if you feel you can’t make it through the day, try a 20- to 30-minute nap before 4 p.m. to help yourself feel refreshed but not interfere with nighttime sleep.
7 Your roommate’s computer screen
You know computer, TV and cell phone screens are a no-no for good sleep, but that doesn’t mean your roommate is on your schedule. If a blue glow from your roommate’s laptop or TV (or ambient light from outside) is invading your sleep space, try sleeping with eyeshades.
“And not the free ones you get on long flights, which can lean against your eyes and might keep you awake,” Shatkin says. Look for the convex ones that allow you to blink underneath them.
8 Noise!
Whether it’s your roommate clicking away on a laptop or the muffled gossip session out in the hallway, there’s no need to let others interfere with your sleep. Get a pair of earplugs or try using a noise machine to drown them out.
And if the problem is your roommate, there is no substitute for good communication. Try having a conversation about regular dark or sleepy hours for your room, Shatkin says.
9 Dust
And before you tackle anything else, clean! But if allergies, asthma and/or nasal congestion are still keeping you awake after running the vacuum and wiping down surfaces, invest in an air purifier. These devices contain filters that help reduce the pollutants, pollen and other airborne allergens that you end up breathing in (and might be disrupting your sleep).
Sarah DiGiulio is The Huffington Post’s sleep reporter. You can contact her at sarah.digiulio@huffingtonpost.com.
Selling a New Generation on Guns
Threatened by long-term declining participation in shooting sports, the firearms industry has poured millions of dollars into a broad campaign to ensure its future by getting guns into the hands of more, and younger, children.
The industry’s strategies include giving firearms, ammunition and cash to youth groups; weakening state restrictions on hunting by young children; marketing an affordable military-style rifle for “junior shooters” and sponsoring semiautomatic-handgun competitions for youths; and developing a target-shooting video game that promotes brand-name weapons, with links to the Web sites of their makers.
The pages of Junior Shooters, an industry-supported magazine that seeks to get children involved in the recreational use of firearms, once featured a smiling 15-year-old girl clutching a semiautomatic rifle. At the end of an accompanying article that extolled target shooting with a Bushmaster AR-15 — an advertisement elsewhere in the magazine directed readers to a coupon for buying one — the author encouraged youngsters to share the article with a parent.
“Who knows?” it said. “Maybe you’ll find a Bushmaster AR-15 under yourtree some frosty Christmas morning!”
The industry’s youth-marketing effort is backed by extensive social research and is carried out by an array of nonprofit groups financed by the gun industry, an examination by The New York Times found. The campaign picked up steam about five years ago with the completion of a major study that urged a stronger emphasis on the “recruitment and retention” of new hunters and target shooters.
The overall objective was summed up in another study, commissioned last year by the shooting sports industry, that suggested encouraging children experienced in firearms to recruit other young people. The report, which focused on children ages 8 to 17, said these “peer ambassadors” should help introduce wary youngsters to guns slowly, perhaps through paintball, archery or some other less intimidating activity.
“The point should be to get newcomers started shooting something, with the natural next step being a move toward actual firearms,” said the report, which was prepared for the National Shooting Sports Foundation and theHunting Heritage Trust.
Firearms manufacturers and their two primary surrogates, the National Rifle Association of America and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, have long been associated with high-profile battles to fend off efforts at gun control and to widen access to firearms. The public debate over the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., and elsewhere has focused largely on the availability of guns, along with mental illness and the influence of violent video games.
Little attention has been paid, though, to the industry’s youth-marketing initiatives. They stir passionate views, with proponents arguing that introducing children to guns can provide a safe and healthy pastime, and critics countering that it fosters a corrosive gun culture and is potentially dangerous.
The N.R.A. has for decades given grants for youth shooting programs, mostly to Boy Scout councils and 4-H groups, which traditionally involved single-shot rimfire rifles, BB guns and archery. Its $21 million in total grants in 2010 was nearly double what it gave out five years earlier.
Newer initiatives by other organizations go further, seeking to introduce children to high-powered rifles and handguns while invoking the same rationale of those older, more traditional programs: that firearms can teach “life skills” like responsibility, ethics and citizenship. And the gun industry points to injury statistics that it says show a greater likelihood of getting hurt cheerleading or playing softball than using firearms for fun and sport.
Still, some experts in child psychiatry say that encouraging youthful exposure to guns, even in a structured setting with an emphasis on safety, is asking for trouble. Dr. Jess P. Shatkin, the director of undergraduate studies in child and adolescent mental health at New York University, said that young people are naturally impulsive and that their brains “are engineered to take risks,” making them ill suited for handling guns.
“There are lots of ways to teach responsibility to a kid,” Dr. Shatkin said. “You don’t need a gun to do it.”
Steve Sanetti, the president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said it was better to instruct children in the safe use of a firearm through hunting and target shooting, and engage them in positive ways with the heritage of guns in America. His industry is well positioned for the task, he said, but faces an unusual challenge: introducing minors to activities that involve products they cannot legally buy and that require a high level of maturity.
Ultimately, Mr. Sanetti said, it should be left to parents, not the government, to decide if and when to introduce their children to shooting and what sort of firearms to use. “It’s a very significant decision,” he said, “and it involves the personal responsibility of the parent and personal responsibility of the child.”
Trying to Reverse a Trend
The shooting sports foundation, the tax-exempt trade association for the gun industry, is a driving force behind many of the newest youth initiatives. Its national headquarters is in Newtown, just a few miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where Adam Lanza, 20, used his mother’s Bushmaster AR-15 to kill 20 children and 6 adults last month.
The foundation’s $26 million budget is financed mostly by gun companies, associated businesses and the foundation’s SHOT Show, the industry’s annual trade show, according to its latest tax return.
Although shooting sports and gun sales have enjoyed a rebound recently, the long-term demographics are not favorable, as urbanization, the growth of indoor pursuits like video games and changing cultural mores erode consumer interest. Licensed hunters fell from 7 percent of the population in 1975 to fewer than 5 percent in 2005, according to federal data. Galvanized by the declining share, the industry redoubled its efforts to reverse the trend about five years ago.
The focus on young people has been accompanied by foundation-sponsored research examining popular attitudes toward hunting and shooting. Some of the studies used focus groups and telephone surveys of teenagers to explore their feelings about guns and people who use them, and offered strategies for generating a greater acceptance of firearms.
The Times reviewed more than a thousand pages of these studies, obtained from gun industry Web sites and online archives, some of them produced as recently as last year. Most were prepared by consultants retained by the foundation, and at least one was financed with a grant from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
In an interview, Mr. Sanetti said the youth-centered research was driven by the inevitable “tension” the industry faces, given that no one under 18 can buy a rifle or a shotgun from a licensed dealer or even possess a handgun under most circumstances. That means looking for creative and appropriate ways to introduce children to shooting sports.
“There’s nothing alarmist or sinister about it,” Mr. Sanetti said. “It’s realistic.”
Pointing to the need to “start them young,” one study concluded that “stakeholders such as managers and manufacturers should target programs toward youth 12 years old and younger.”
“This is the time that youth are being targeted with competing activities,” it said. “It is important to consider more hunting and target-shooting recruitment programs aimed at middle school level, or earlier.”
Aware that introducing firearms to young children could meet with resistance, several studies suggested methods for smoothing the way for target-shooting programs in schools. One cautioned, “When approaching school systems, it is important to frame the shooting sports only as a mechanism to teach other life skills, rather than an end to itself.”
In another report, the authors warned against using human silhouettes for targets when trying to recruit new shooters and encouraged using words and phrases like “sharing the experience,” “family” and “fun.” They also said children should be enlisted to prod parents to let them join shooting activities: “Such a program could be called ‘Take Me Hunting’ or ‘Take Me Shooting.’ ”
The industry recognized that state laws limiting hunting by children could pose a problem, according to a “Youth Hunting Report” prepared by the shooting sports foundation and two other groups. Declaring that “the need for aggressive recruitment is urgent,” the report said a primary objective should be to “eliminate or reduce age minimums.” Still another study recommended allowing children to get a provisional license to hunt with an adult, “perhaps even before requiring them to take hunter safety courses.”
The effort has succeeded in a number of states, including Wisconsin, which in 2009 lowered the minimum hunting age to 10 from 12, and Michigan, where in 2011 the age minimum for hunting small game was eliminated for children accompanied by an adult mentor. The foundation cited statistics suggesting that youth involvement in hunting, as well as target shooting, had picked up in recent years amid the renewed focus on recruitment.
Gun companies have spent millions of dollars to put their recruitment strategies into action, either directly or through the shooting sports foundation and other organizations. The support takes many forms.
The Scholastic Steel Challenge, started in 2009, introduces children as young as 12 to competitive handgun shooting using steel targets. Its “platinum” sponsors include the shooting sports foundation, Smith & Wesson and Glock, which donated 60 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistols, according to the group’s Web site.
The site features a quote from a gun company executive praising the youth initiative and saying that “anyone in the firearms industry that overlooks its potential is missing the boat.”
Larry Potterfield, the founder of MidwayUSA, one of the nation’s largest sellers of shooting supplies and a major sponsor of the Scholastic Steel Challenge, said he did not fire a handgun until he was 21, adding that they “are the most difficult guns to learn to shoot well.” But, he said, he sees nothing wrong with children using them.
“Kids need arm strength and good patience to learn to shoot a handgun well,” he said in an e-mail, “and I would think that would come in the 12-14 age group for most kids.”
Another organization, the nonprofit Youth Shooting Sports Alliance, which was created in 2007, has received close to $1 million in cash, guns and equipment from the shooting sports foundation and firearms-related companies, including ATK, Winchester and Sturm, Ruger & Company, its tax returns show. In 2011, the alliance awarded 58 grants. A typical grant: 23 rifles, 4 shotguns, 16 cases of ammunition and other materials, which went to a Michigan youth camp.
The foundation and gun companies also support Junior Shooters magazine, which is based in Idaho and was started in 2007. The publication is filled with catchy advertisements and articles about things like zombie targets, pink guns and, under the heading “Kids Gear,” tactical rifle components with military-style features like pistol grips and collapsible stocks.
Gun companies often send new models to the magazine for children to try out with adult supervision. Shortly after Sturm, Ruger announced in 2009 a new, lightweight semiautomatic rifle that had the “look and feel” of an AR-15 but used less expensive .22-caliber cartridges, Junior Shooters received one for review. The magazine had three boys ages 14 to 17 fire it and wrote that they “had an absolute ball!”
Junior Shooters’ editor, Andy Fink, acknowledged in an editorial that some of his magazine’s content stirred controversy.
“I have heard people say, even shooters that participate in some of the shotgun shooting sports, such things as, ‘Why do you need a semiautomatic gun for hunting?’ ” he wrote. But if the industry is to survive, he said, gun enthusiasts must embrace all youth shooting activities, including ones “using semiautomatic firearms with magazines holding 30-100 rounds.”
In an interview, Mr. Fink elaborated. Semiautomatic firearms are actually not weapons, he said, unless someone chooses to hurt another person with them, and their image has been unfairly tainted by the news media. There is no legitimate reason children should not learn to safely use an AR-15 for recreation, he said.
“They’re a tool, not any different than a car or a baseball bat,” Mr. Fink said. “It’s no different than a junior shooting a .22 or a shotgun. The difference is in the perception of the viewer.”
The Weapon of Choice
The AR-15, the civilian version of the military’s M-16 and M-4, has been aggressively marketed as a cool and powerful step up from more traditional target and hunting rifles. But its appearance in mass shootings — in addition to Newtown, the gun was also used last year in the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., and the attack on firefighters in Webster, N.Y. — has prompted calls for tighter restrictions. The AR-15 is among the guns included in a proposed ban on a range of semiautomatic weapons that was introduced in the Senate last week.
Given the gun’s commercial popularity, it is perhaps unsurprising that AR-15-style firearms have worked their way into youth shooting programs. At a “Guns ’n Grillin” weekend last fall, teenagers at a Boy Scout council in Virginia got to shoot AR-15s. They are used in youth competitions held each year at a National Guard camp in Ohio, and in “junior clinics” taught by Army or Marine marksmanship instructors, some of them sponsored by gun companies or organizations they support.
ArmaLite, a successor company to the one that developed the AR-15, is offering a similar rifle, the AR-10, for the grand prize in a raffle benefiting the Illinois State Rifle Association’s “junior high-power” team, which uses AR-15s in its competitions. Bushmaster has offered on its Web site a coupon worth $350 off the price of an AR-15 “to support and encourage junior shooters.”
Military-style firearms are prevalent in a target-shooting video game and mobile app called Point of Impact, which was sponsored by the shooting sports foundation and Guns & Ammo magazine. The game — rated for ages 9 and up in the iTunes store — allows players to shoot brand-name AR-15 rifles and semiautomatic handguns at inanimate targets, and it provides links to gun makers’ Web sites as well as to the foundation’s “First Shots” program, intended to recruit new shooters.
Upon the game’s release in January 2011, foundation executives said in a news release that it was one of the industry’s “most unique marketing tools directed at a younger audience.” Mr. Sanetti of the shooting sports foundation said sponsorship of the game was an experiment intended to deliver safety tips to players, while potentially generating interest in real-life sports.
The confluence of high-powered weaponry and youth shooting programs does not sit well even with some proponents of those programs. Stephan Carlson, a University of Minnesota environmental science professor whose research on the positive effects of learning hunting and outdoor skills in 4-H classes has been cited by the gun industry, said he “wouldn’t necessarily go along” with introducing children to more powerful firearms that added nothing useful to their experience.
“I see why the industry would be pushing it, but I don’t see the value in it,” Mr. Carlson said. “I guess it goes back to the skill base we’re trying to instill in the kids. What are we preparing them for?”
For Mr. Potterfield of MidwayUSA, who said his own children started shooting “boys’ rifles” at age 4, getting young people engaged with firearms — provided they have the maturity and the physical ability to handle them — strengthens an endangered American tradition.
Mr. Potterfield and his wife, Brenda, have donated more than $5 million for youth shooting programs in recent years, a campaign that he said was motivated by philanthropy, not “return on investment.”
“Our gifting is pure benevolence,” he said. “We grew up and live in rural America and have owned guns, hunted and fished all of our lives. This is our community, and we hope to preserve it for future generations.”
The industry’s strategies include giving firearms, ammunition and cash to youth groups; weakening state restrictions on hunting by young children; marketing an affordable military-style rifle for “junior shooters” and sponsoring semiautomatic-handgun competitions for youths; and developing a target-shooting video game that promotes brand-name weapons, with links to the Web sites of their makers.
The pages of Junior Shooters, an industry-supported magazine that seeks to get children involved in the recreational use of firearms, once featured a smiling 15-year-old girl clutching a semiautomatic rifle. At the end of an accompanying article that extolled target shooting with a Bushmaster AR-15 — an advertisement elsewhere in the magazine directed readers to a coupon for buying one — the author encouraged youngsters to share the article with a parent.
“Who knows?” it said. “Maybe you’ll find a Bushmaster AR-15 under yourtree some frosty Christmas morning!”
The industry’s youth-marketing effort is backed by extensive social research and is carried out by an array of nonprofit groups financed by the gun industry, an examination by The New York Times found. The campaign picked up steam about five years ago with the completion of a major study that urged a stronger emphasis on the “recruitment and retention” of new hunters and target shooters.
The overall objective was summed up in another study, commissioned last year by the shooting sports industry, that suggested encouraging children experienced in firearms to recruit other young people. The report, which focused on children ages 8 to 17, said these “peer ambassadors” should help introduce wary youngsters to guns slowly, perhaps through paintball, archery or some other less intimidating activity.
“The point should be to get newcomers started shooting something, with the natural next step being a move toward actual firearms,” said the report, which was prepared for the National Shooting Sports Foundation and theHunting Heritage Trust.
Firearms manufacturers and their two primary surrogates, the National Rifle Association of America and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, have long been associated with high-profile battles to fend off efforts at gun control and to widen access to firearms. The public debate over the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., and elsewhere has focused largely on the availability of guns, along with mental illness and the influence of violent video games.
Little attention has been paid, though, to the industry’s youth-marketing initiatives. They stir passionate views, with proponents arguing that introducing children to guns can provide a safe and healthy pastime, and critics countering that it fosters a corrosive gun culture and is potentially dangerous.
The N.R.A. has for decades given grants for youth shooting programs, mostly to Boy Scout councils and 4-H groups, which traditionally involved single-shot rimfire rifles, BB guns and archery. Its $21 million in total grants in 2010 was nearly double what it gave out five years earlier.
Newer initiatives by other organizations go further, seeking to introduce children to high-powered rifles and handguns while invoking the same rationale of those older, more traditional programs: that firearms can teach “life skills” like responsibility, ethics and citizenship. And the gun industry points to injury statistics that it says show a greater likelihood of getting hurt cheerleading or playing softball than using firearms for fun and sport.
Still, some experts in child psychiatry say that encouraging youthful exposure to guns, even in a structured setting with an emphasis on safety, is asking for trouble. Dr. Jess P. Shatkin, the director of undergraduate studies in child and adolescent mental health at New York University, said that young people are naturally impulsive and that their brains “are engineered to take risks,” making them ill suited for handling guns.
“There are lots of ways to teach responsibility to a kid,” Dr. Shatkin said. “You don’t need a gun to do it.”
Steve Sanetti, the president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said it was better to instruct children in the safe use of a firearm through hunting and target shooting, and engage them in positive ways with the heritage of guns in America. His industry is well positioned for the task, he said, but faces an unusual challenge: introducing minors to activities that involve products they cannot legally buy and that require a high level of maturity.
Ultimately, Mr. Sanetti said, it should be left to parents, not the government, to decide if and when to introduce their children to shooting and what sort of firearms to use. “It’s a very significant decision,” he said, “and it involves the personal responsibility of the parent and personal responsibility of the child.”
Trying to Reverse a Trend
The shooting sports foundation, the tax-exempt trade association for the gun industry, is a driving force behind many of the newest youth initiatives. Its national headquarters is in Newtown, just a few miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where Adam Lanza, 20, used his mother’s Bushmaster AR-15 to kill 20 children and 6 adults last month.
The foundation’s $26 million budget is financed mostly by gun companies, associated businesses and the foundation’s SHOT Show, the industry’s annual trade show, according to its latest tax return.
Although shooting sports and gun sales have enjoyed a rebound recently, the long-term demographics are not favorable, as urbanization, the growth of indoor pursuits like video games and changing cultural mores erode consumer interest. Licensed hunters fell from 7 percent of the population in 1975 to fewer than 5 percent in 2005, according to federal data. Galvanized by the declining share, the industry redoubled its efforts to reverse the trend about five years ago.
The focus on young people has been accompanied by foundation-sponsored research examining popular attitudes toward hunting and shooting. Some of the studies used focus groups and telephone surveys of teenagers to explore their feelings about guns and people who use them, and offered strategies for generating a greater acceptance of firearms.
The Times reviewed more than a thousand pages of these studies, obtained from gun industry Web sites and online archives, some of them produced as recently as last year. Most were prepared by consultants retained by the foundation, and at least one was financed with a grant from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
In an interview, Mr. Sanetti said the youth-centered research was driven by the inevitable “tension” the industry faces, given that no one under 18 can buy a rifle or a shotgun from a licensed dealer or even possess a handgun under most circumstances. That means looking for creative and appropriate ways to introduce children to shooting sports.
“There’s nothing alarmist or sinister about it,” Mr. Sanetti said. “It’s realistic.”
Pointing to the need to “start them young,” one study concluded that “stakeholders such as managers and manufacturers should target programs toward youth 12 years old and younger.”
“This is the time that youth are being targeted with competing activities,” it said. “It is important to consider more hunting and target-shooting recruitment programs aimed at middle school level, or earlier.”
Aware that introducing firearms to young children could meet with resistance, several studies suggested methods for smoothing the way for target-shooting programs in schools. One cautioned, “When approaching school systems, it is important to frame the shooting sports only as a mechanism to teach other life skills, rather than an end to itself.”
In another report, the authors warned against using human silhouettes for targets when trying to recruit new shooters and encouraged using words and phrases like “sharing the experience,” “family” and “fun.” They also said children should be enlisted to prod parents to let them join shooting activities: “Such a program could be called ‘Take Me Hunting’ or ‘Take Me Shooting.’ ”
The industry recognized that state laws limiting hunting by children could pose a problem, according to a “Youth Hunting Report” prepared by the shooting sports foundation and two other groups. Declaring that “the need for aggressive recruitment is urgent,” the report said a primary objective should be to “eliminate or reduce age minimums.” Still another study recommended allowing children to get a provisional license to hunt with an adult, “perhaps even before requiring them to take hunter safety courses.”
The effort has succeeded in a number of states, including Wisconsin, which in 2009 lowered the minimum hunting age to 10 from 12, and Michigan, where in 2011 the age minimum for hunting small game was eliminated for children accompanied by an adult mentor. The foundation cited statistics suggesting that youth involvement in hunting, as well as target shooting, had picked up in recent years amid the renewed focus on recruitment.
Gun companies have spent millions of dollars to put their recruitment strategies into action, either directly or through the shooting sports foundation and other organizations. The support takes many forms.
The Scholastic Steel Challenge, started in 2009, introduces children as young as 12 to competitive handgun shooting using steel targets. Its “platinum” sponsors include the shooting sports foundation, Smith & Wesson and Glock, which donated 60 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistols, according to the group’s Web site.
The site features a quote from a gun company executive praising the youth initiative and saying that “anyone in the firearms industry that overlooks its potential is missing the boat.”
Larry Potterfield, the founder of MidwayUSA, one of the nation’s largest sellers of shooting supplies and a major sponsor of the Scholastic Steel Challenge, said he did not fire a handgun until he was 21, adding that they “are the most difficult guns to learn to shoot well.” But, he said, he sees nothing wrong with children using them.
“Kids need arm strength and good patience to learn to shoot a handgun well,” he said in an e-mail, “and I would think that would come in the 12-14 age group for most kids.”
Another organization, the nonprofit Youth Shooting Sports Alliance, which was created in 2007, has received close to $1 million in cash, guns and equipment from the shooting sports foundation and firearms-related companies, including ATK, Winchester and Sturm, Ruger & Company, its tax returns show. In 2011, the alliance awarded 58 grants. A typical grant: 23 rifles, 4 shotguns, 16 cases of ammunition and other materials, which went to a Michigan youth camp.
The foundation and gun companies also support Junior Shooters magazine, which is based in Idaho and was started in 2007. The publication is filled with catchy advertisements and articles about things like zombie targets, pink guns and, under the heading “Kids Gear,” tactical rifle components with military-style features like pistol grips and collapsible stocks.
Gun companies often send new models to the magazine for children to try out with adult supervision. Shortly after Sturm, Ruger announced in 2009 a new, lightweight semiautomatic rifle that had the “look and feel” of an AR-15 but used less expensive .22-caliber cartridges, Junior Shooters received one for review. The magazine had three boys ages 14 to 17 fire it and wrote that they “had an absolute ball!”
Junior Shooters’ editor, Andy Fink, acknowledged in an editorial that some of his magazine’s content stirred controversy.
“I have heard people say, even shooters that participate in some of the shotgun shooting sports, such things as, ‘Why do you need a semiautomatic gun for hunting?’ ” he wrote. But if the industry is to survive, he said, gun enthusiasts must embrace all youth shooting activities, including ones “using semiautomatic firearms with magazines holding 30-100 rounds.”
In an interview, Mr. Fink elaborated. Semiautomatic firearms are actually not weapons, he said, unless someone chooses to hurt another person with them, and their image has been unfairly tainted by the news media. There is no legitimate reason children should not learn to safely use an AR-15 for recreation, he said.
“They’re a tool, not any different than a car or a baseball bat,” Mr. Fink said. “It’s no different than a junior shooting a .22 or a shotgun. The difference is in the perception of the viewer.”
The Weapon of Choice
The AR-15, the civilian version of the military’s M-16 and M-4, has been aggressively marketed as a cool and powerful step up from more traditional target and hunting rifles. But its appearance in mass shootings — in addition to Newtown, the gun was also used last year in the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., and the attack on firefighters in Webster, N.Y. — has prompted calls for tighter restrictions. The AR-15 is among the guns included in a proposed ban on a range of semiautomatic weapons that was introduced in the Senate last week.
Given the gun’s commercial popularity, it is perhaps unsurprising that AR-15-style firearms have worked their way into youth shooting programs. At a “Guns ’n Grillin” weekend last fall, teenagers at a Boy Scout council in Virginia got to shoot AR-15s. They are used in youth competitions held each year at a National Guard camp in Ohio, and in “junior clinics” taught by Army or Marine marksmanship instructors, some of them sponsored by gun companies or organizations they support.
ArmaLite, a successor company to the one that developed the AR-15, is offering a similar rifle, the AR-10, for the grand prize in a raffle benefiting the Illinois State Rifle Association’s “junior high-power” team, which uses AR-15s in its competitions. Bushmaster has offered on its Web site a coupon worth $350 off the price of an AR-15 “to support and encourage junior shooters.”
Military-style firearms are prevalent in a target-shooting video game and mobile app called Point of Impact, which was sponsored by the shooting sports foundation and Guns & Ammo magazine. The game — rated for ages 9 and up in the iTunes store — allows players to shoot brand-name AR-15 rifles and semiautomatic handguns at inanimate targets, and it provides links to gun makers’ Web sites as well as to the foundation’s “First Shots” program, intended to recruit new shooters.
Upon the game’s release in January 2011, foundation executives said in a news release that it was one of the industry’s “most unique marketing tools directed at a younger audience.” Mr. Sanetti of the shooting sports foundation said sponsorship of the game was an experiment intended to deliver safety tips to players, while potentially generating interest in real-life sports.
The confluence of high-powered weaponry and youth shooting programs does not sit well even with some proponents of those programs. Stephan Carlson, a University of Minnesota environmental science professor whose research on the positive effects of learning hunting and outdoor skills in 4-H classes has been cited by the gun industry, said he “wouldn’t necessarily go along” with introducing children to more powerful firearms that added nothing useful to their experience.
“I see why the industry would be pushing it, but I don’t see the value in it,” Mr. Carlson said. “I guess it goes back to the skill base we’re trying to instill in the kids. What are we preparing them for?”
For Mr. Potterfield of MidwayUSA, who said his own children started shooting “boys’ rifles” at age 4, getting young people engaged with firearms — provided they have the maturity and the physical ability to handle them — strengthens an endangered American tradition.
Mr. Potterfield and his wife, Brenda, have donated more than $5 million for youth shooting programs in recent years, a campaign that he said was motivated by philanthropy, not “return on investment.”
“Our gifting is pure benevolence,” he said. “We grew up and live in rural America and have owned guns, hunted and fished all of our lives. This is our community, and we hope to preserve it for future generations.”
Not Always Fun and Games
Walk into Walmart and you can usually find it: an aisle of weaponry, with names like the Firestrike, Rampage and Hail-Fire, advertising quick firing, ammunition clips and “semi-auto” capability. “Build your arsenal!” read the box for one, sitting next to a “tactical vest” meant to repel barrages of ... foam darts.
Those products, you see, are not actual guns but “blasters” made by Nerf, a brand of Hasbro and meant for children ages 8 and up. But in light of theshootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, such toys — and their seemingly quasi-militaristic marketing — have some parents mulling what to say when their children reach for the toy holster.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do when he asks for one,” said Brooke Berman, a New York writer with a 2-year-old boy.
“My initial impulse is to say: ‘No. We don’t play with guns. They’re not toys.’ But then, the fact is, they are toys.”
For its part, Hasbro agrees, and says its Nerf products, which can shoot darts, discs and water, simply “foster active play.”
“We feel that kids of all ages and parents understand that these are toys,” said John Frascotti, the chief marketing officer for Hasbro, adding that “parents actually want play that gets their kids off the couch,” especially indoors, where foam ammo is less likely to break the family china.
Still, Ms. Berman is not alone in questioning whether make-believe guns belong in the toy chest. Heather Whaley, the mother of a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, who lives about 10 miles from Newtown, Conn., said the killings there in December have reinforced a deep concern about the accessibility of real weapons in society and in people’s homes.
As for the pretend ones, Ms. Whaley said she would not even allow water guns in the house when her children were younger. “It’s dangerous to separate guns from what they actually do, which is kill things,” she said, adding: “If a child has grown up comfortable around guns, and has experienced picking up a gun and shooting it, then they will have that muscle memory. And it will be easier for them to shoot a real gun, if they find one.”
That argument has been echoed by a handful of anti-toy-gun activists, including the Alliance for Survival, a grass-roots group in California, which started a program this year to give merit awards to children who pledge not to have toy guns. Others have encouraged “toy gun exchanges,” where other playthings like Hula Hoops are given to children who turn in a toy gun.
Jerry Rubin, a peace activist and coordinator of the Alliance for Survival, said their message was that toy guns promote violence. “No one is saying that if you play with a toy gun, you’re going to grow up to be a violent killer,” Mr. Rubin said. “But the game is still the same: pretend to kill your friends, pretend to kill your classmates.”
He added that such toys could also endanger children carrying them because they could be mistaken for the real thing, particularly with law enforcement on guard against mass shootings. And indeed, last month the police locked down a high school in Elmont, N.Y., after a student brought a Nerf gun to school, even though it was lime green and bright yellow.
Complicating the debate is the fact that psychologists say it is difficult to assess the impact toy guns or even violent games may have on children’s minds, particularly young boys. Jess P. Shatkin, vice chairman for education at the New York University Child Study Center, said that “boys are in some real way engineered for physical activity and aggression” at a neurobiological level. “Just watch kids in the playground,” he said. “The boys are very often chasing, jumping, wrestling, pushing, etc.”
Still, Mr. Shatkin (who has a 12-year-old boy) added that he was not sure taking away the Nerf gun would curb violent play, advising instead that parents use “moderation and supervision.”
“I don’t think withholding a toy gun from a child is necessarily the answer,” he said. “It’s one possible answer. But they are still going to want to make guns from sticks and slices of cheese and anything else they can hold in their hands.”
Stevanne Auerbach, the founder and former director of the San Francisco International Toy Museum, who has organized “toy gun exchanges,” said she did not mind boys mimicking guns, if the play is based on their own invention — see finger, stick, cheese — rather than on the provision of actual physical (or virtual) toy guns.
But she added that parents are fooling themselves when they buy more cartoonish-looking guns like Nerf blasters, which are brightly colored and often oversize.
“They think it’s innocuous because it’s a cartoon,” she said. “But they’re buying something that is reinforcing shooting.”
Other parents question the notion that toy guns are somehow going to poison their children’s minds. Kate Moira Ryan, a playwright in New York and mother of a 13-year-old boy, Timothy, said she had forced him to sell his violent shooting video games after Newtown (“Life is too cheap in those games,” she said) but was less concerned about toy guns.
“Playing with a plastic Nerf gun didn’t turn Timothy into a violent person any more than me playing with a cap gun turned me into a mass murderer,” she said.
For his part, Mr. Frascotti of Hasbro said that the events in Connecticut had given him pause as a parent; he has four children, after all. But he added that he believed that the Nerf blasters, which have been around for 20 years, simply provided “fun play opportunities for kids.”
“I look at everything first and foremost as a parent,” he said. “And we believe that parents are the best ones to make decisions about what toys their children should play with.”
Shannon Watts, a stay-at-home mother from a suburb of Indianapolis, said she knows all about rambunctious children. Her 12-year-old son, Sam, has always been a fan of roughhousing and play battles. But she said she is always careful to explain to him and his friends why guns should not be part of it.
“You guys can play and wrestle and play fantasy, but part of that should not be to kill each other and pretending to end someone’s life,” Ms. Watts said.
Since Sandy Hook, Ms. Watts said, she has taken a big step in that regard, starting an organization called One Million Moms for Gun Control, for which she said tens of thousands of parents have signed up.
And while Sam enjoys playing with toy guns at friends’ homes, Ms. Watts does not allow them in hers.
“I don’t want him to act out something very dark,” she said.
By JESSE McKINLEY and MATT RICHTEL FEB. 8, 2013
Those products, you see, are not actual guns but “blasters” made by Nerf, a brand of Hasbro and meant for children ages 8 and up. But in light of theshootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, such toys — and their seemingly quasi-militaristic marketing — have some parents mulling what to say when their children reach for the toy holster.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do when he asks for one,” said Brooke Berman, a New York writer with a 2-year-old boy.
“My initial impulse is to say: ‘No. We don’t play with guns. They’re not toys.’ But then, the fact is, they are toys.”
For its part, Hasbro agrees, and says its Nerf products, which can shoot darts, discs and water, simply “foster active play.”
“We feel that kids of all ages and parents understand that these are toys,” said John Frascotti, the chief marketing officer for Hasbro, adding that “parents actually want play that gets their kids off the couch,” especially indoors, where foam ammo is less likely to break the family china.
Still, Ms. Berman is not alone in questioning whether make-believe guns belong in the toy chest. Heather Whaley, the mother of a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, who lives about 10 miles from Newtown, Conn., said the killings there in December have reinforced a deep concern about the accessibility of real weapons in society and in people’s homes.
As for the pretend ones, Ms. Whaley said she would not even allow water guns in the house when her children were younger. “It’s dangerous to separate guns from what they actually do, which is kill things,” she said, adding: “If a child has grown up comfortable around guns, and has experienced picking up a gun and shooting it, then they will have that muscle memory. And it will be easier for them to shoot a real gun, if they find one.”
That argument has been echoed by a handful of anti-toy-gun activists, including the Alliance for Survival, a grass-roots group in California, which started a program this year to give merit awards to children who pledge not to have toy guns. Others have encouraged “toy gun exchanges,” where other playthings like Hula Hoops are given to children who turn in a toy gun.
Jerry Rubin, a peace activist and coordinator of the Alliance for Survival, said their message was that toy guns promote violence. “No one is saying that if you play with a toy gun, you’re going to grow up to be a violent killer,” Mr. Rubin said. “But the game is still the same: pretend to kill your friends, pretend to kill your classmates.”
He added that such toys could also endanger children carrying them because they could be mistaken for the real thing, particularly with law enforcement on guard against mass shootings. And indeed, last month the police locked down a high school in Elmont, N.Y., after a student brought a Nerf gun to school, even though it was lime green and bright yellow.
Complicating the debate is the fact that psychologists say it is difficult to assess the impact toy guns or even violent games may have on children’s minds, particularly young boys. Jess P. Shatkin, vice chairman for education at the New York University Child Study Center, said that “boys are in some real way engineered for physical activity and aggression” at a neurobiological level. “Just watch kids in the playground,” he said. “The boys are very often chasing, jumping, wrestling, pushing, etc.”
Still, Mr. Shatkin (who has a 12-year-old boy) added that he was not sure taking away the Nerf gun would curb violent play, advising instead that parents use “moderation and supervision.”
“I don’t think withholding a toy gun from a child is necessarily the answer,” he said. “It’s one possible answer. But they are still going to want to make guns from sticks and slices of cheese and anything else they can hold in their hands.”
Stevanne Auerbach, the founder and former director of the San Francisco International Toy Museum, who has organized “toy gun exchanges,” said she did not mind boys mimicking guns, if the play is based on their own invention — see finger, stick, cheese — rather than on the provision of actual physical (or virtual) toy guns.
But she added that parents are fooling themselves when they buy more cartoonish-looking guns like Nerf blasters, which are brightly colored and often oversize.
“They think it’s innocuous because it’s a cartoon,” she said. “But they’re buying something that is reinforcing shooting.”
Other parents question the notion that toy guns are somehow going to poison their children’s minds. Kate Moira Ryan, a playwright in New York and mother of a 13-year-old boy, Timothy, said she had forced him to sell his violent shooting video games after Newtown (“Life is too cheap in those games,” she said) but was less concerned about toy guns.
“Playing with a plastic Nerf gun didn’t turn Timothy into a violent person any more than me playing with a cap gun turned me into a mass murderer,” she said.
For his part, Mr. Frascotti of Hasbro said that the events in Connecticut had given him pause as a parent; he has four children, after all. But he added that he believed that the Nerf blasters, which have been around for 20 years, simply provided “fun play opportunities for kids.”
“I look at everything first and foremost as a parent,” he said. “And we believe that parents are the best ones to make decisions about what toys their children should play with.”
Shannon Watts, a stay-at-home mother from a suburb of Indianapolis, said she knows all about rambunctious children. Her 12-year-old son, Sam, has always been a fan of roughhousing and play battles. But she said she is always careful to explain to him and his friends why guns should not be part of it.
“You guys can play and wrestle and play fantasy, but part of that should not be to kill each other and pretending to end someone’s life,” Ms. Watts said.
Since Sandy Hook, Ms. Watts said, she has taken a big step in that regard, starting an organization called One Million Moms for Gun Control, for which she said tens of thousands of parents have signed up.
And while Sam enjoys playing with toy guns at friends’ homes, Ms. Watts does not allow them in hers.
“I don’t want him to act out something very dark,” she said.
By JESSE McKINLEY and MATT RICHTEL FEB. 8, 2013
‘Take me shooting, Dad!’: US gun makers target pre-teens as clients
US gun manufacturers are aggressively courting underage customers in a bid to revitalize the ageing customer base. The industry spends millions on setting up competitions, publishing magazines and releasing games aimed at children as young as ten.
Rather than marketing guns directly to an audience that is legally too young to buy them, major arms producers have created a network of foundations and magazines that nudge children towards shooting as a hobby, stressing that guns teach “citizenship”, “responsibility” and “life skills”.
“Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a Bushmaster AR-15 under your tree some frosty Christmas morning!” reads one advert in industry-funded Junior Shooters magazine, which encourages children to ask their parents to purchase them weapons as gifts.
Meanwhile, the content of Junior Shooters is relentlessly upbeat, featuring a good mix of boys dressed as cowboys and wholesome All-American girls always smiling at the camera as they brandish guns wider than their arm span.
The New York Times has obtained a series of manufacturer-funded studies, consisting of thousands of responses from children asked how they feel about firearms.
The market research shows that manufacturers understand that shooting needs to be made less threatening, by starting children off on archery rather than with guns and never using human silhouettes for target practice.
It also advises how to approach parents (they need to be prodded with special events like “Take me Shooting!” – a family day out) and schools, who may be reluctant to see their children join rifle clubs en masse.
“When approaching school systems, it is important to frame the shooting sports only as a mechanism to teach other life skills, rather than an end to itself,” says one report.
“There’s nothing alarmist or sinister about it. It’s realistic,” said Steve Sanetti, the president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a manufacturer-funded non-profit with a budget of $26 million dollars.
One popular way to attract children has traditionally been through competitions.
As the popularity of PC shooters such as Call of Duty has risen, children do not want to shoot “uncool” single-shot hunting rifles. Instead, competitions featuring the semiautomatic AR-15 (a close relative of the M16 used by the US military which can shoot up to 800 rounds per minute and which Obama wants to restrict access to) have sprung up around the country.
“They’re a tool, not any different than a car or a baseball bat. It’s no different than a junior shooting a .22 or a shotgun. The difference is in the perception of the viewer,” said Junior Shooters editor, Andy Fink, when questioned about the popularity of semiautomatics among children.
Foundations have also developed several apps, such as Point of Impact, recommended for children aged 9 and up on the iTunes store, which combine the fun of arcade shooters with useful information about taking target practice offline.
To encourage more people to join in, organizations such as the Youth Shooting Stars Alliance, give out dozens of “grants” consisting of entire boxes of rifles and ammunition, paid for by the manufacturers. The makers hope the initial gift of a free gun for a child will guarantee them a life-long customer.
In fact, the National Rifle Association, which is funded by member subscriptions, but enjoys a close relationship with gun makers, spends over $20 million a year on buying guns for children.
The drive to recruit children is hardly surprising.
Hunting, the backbone of civilian arms sales, is a shrinking market. In the past twenty years the number of hunters has shrunk by 20 percent, with less than six percent of the US population saying they regularly engage in the activity, according to a National Survey conducted in 2011. Meanwhile, the average age of hunters has gone up – with more than half of them older than 45.
Whether it is safe is another question.
Dr. Jess P. Shatkin, the director of undergraduate studies in child and adolescent mental health at New York University says children “are engineered to take risks” – and that’s just the mentally stable ones.
He also doesn’t buy the responsibility-through-gun-ownership mantra of the myriad associations
“There are lots of ways to teach responsibility to a kid. You don’t need a gun to do it,” he told the New York Times.
Stephan Carlson, a University of Minnesota environmental science professor, who has extensively endorsed hunting in his research is alarmed by the shift of focus, and has one simple question.
“What are we preparing kids for?”
Try behavioral therapies first, then melatonin for pediatric insomnia
FEBRUARY 3, 2016
NEW YORK – In children with insomnia, melatonin is the appropriate first-line drug therapy, but pharmacologic treatments come after behavioral interventions, according to an evidence-based summary presented at a psychopharmacology update held by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
“Medication should rarely be our first choice. We should always be trying to combine it with behavioral therapies, because they work just as well and last longer,” reported Dr. Jess P. Shatkin, a professor in the department of child and adolescent psychiatry, New York University.
The number of randomized trials for sleep medications in children is limited, and there is no pharmacotherapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this indication, Dr. Shatkin said. Clinicians often extrapolate from adult studies, but Dr. Shatkin said these data are not necessarily transferable. He noted, for example, that a study of zolpidem in children, which is approved for adults, was negative.
The antihistamine diphenhydramine also has been studied in children, and results were mixed. In one of two double-blind, placebo-controlled pediatric studies, parents reported improvement in getting children to sleep. In the other, conducted in children aged 6 months to 15 months, no significant advantage was found for this agent over placebo.
“[Diphenhydramine] Benadryl may make your kids sleep, it may make your patients sleep, it may make you sleep, which is fine, but the data do not convince us that [diphenhydramine] Benadryl is a great treatment for sleep in children,” Dr. Shatkin reported.
Rather, the best data are with melatonin, an endogenous hormone produced on a circadian rhythm correlating with the end-of-day phenomenon known as dim-light melatonin onset (DLMO). In one study conducted in otherwise healthy children aged 6 to 12 years with chronic sleep-onset insomnia, the administration of exogenous melatonin decreased sleep-onset latency by 35 minutes as measured with actigraphy, according to Dr. Shatkin. Similar benefit has been observed in studies conducted in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
“Melatonin is efficacious in typically developing children and those with neurodevelopmental disorders. It imposes minimal effects on sleep architecture, it is associated with a low risk of side effects, the cost is low, and it is widely available,” Dr. Shatkin said. However, he advised against using this drug in children younger than 6 months old.
“The timing of the dosing [for treatment of delayed sleep phase disorder] is critical and should be based on DLMO,” Dr. Shatkin said. Specifically, he recommended a starting dose of 0.5 mg to 1 mg administered 3-4 hours before sleep time. The dose can be increased as needed by 0.5 mg per week to a maximum of 3.0 mg. Dr. Shatkin reported that there is “little evidence” to support extended-release formulations, but he did warn that over-the-counter preparations may vary in quality.
As an alternative, clonidine was listed as a second choice for treating insomnia in children. Although this therapy is not supported by controlled data, several open-label studies and chart reviews suggest benefit, and this therapy is less likely than diphenhydramine to produce next-day drowsiness.
Yet, he reiterated that the best evidence-based treatment of sleep problems in children is cognitive-behavioral therapy. He called the techniques – such as regular bedtimes, avoidance of stimuli, and creating a relaxing bedtime ritual – as easy to learn and teach to parents. Obvious problems in the sleep routine, such as irregular bedtimes, typically can be identified with a sleep history. There are numerous strategies to wean children from requiring the presence of a parent to fall asleep, such as “graduated extinction,” which involves incrementally distancing the parent from the child’s bedside.
Empathetic to the frequency of sleep disturbances in children, Dr. Shatkin cited data suggesting that 50% of preschool children, 30% of school-age children, and 40% of adolescents report sleep problems. A survey of child psychiatrists found that most acknowledged prescribing a sleep medication within the past month for pediatric insomnia, but Dr. Shatkin emphasized that behavioral therapies often may produce a longer-lasting result.
For treating pediatric sleep disturbances, “our educational and behavioral efforts really should trump our medications,” Dr. Shatkin said. “We should be using any medication sparingly.”
By: TED BOSWORTH, Family Practice News Digital Network
NEW YORK – In children with insomnia, melatonin is the appropriate first-line drug therapy, but pharmacologic treatments come after behavioral interventions, according to an evidence-based summary presented at a psychopharmacology update held by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
“Medication should rarely be our first choice. We should always be trying to combine it with behavioral therapies, because they work just as well and last longer,” reported Dr. Jess P. Shatkin, a professor in the department of child and adolescent psychiatry, New York University.
The number of randomized trials for sleep medications in children is limited, and there is no pharmacotherapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this indication, Dr. Shatkin said. Clinicians often extrapolate from adult studies, but Dr. Shatkin said these data are not necessarily transferable. He noted, for example, that a study of zolpidem in children, which is approved for adults, was negative.
The antihistamine diphenhydramine also has been studied in children, and results were mixed. In one of two double-blind, placebo-controlled pediatric studies, parents reported improvement in getting children to sleep. In the other, conducted in children aged 6 months to 15 months, no significant advantage was found for this agent over placebo.
“[Diphenhydramine] Benadryl may make your kids sleep, it may make your patients sleep, it may make you sleep, which is fine, but the data do not convince us that [diphenhydramine] Benadryl is a great treatment for sleep in children,” Dr. Shatkin reported.
Rather, the best data are with melatonin, an endogenous hormone produced on a circadian rhythm correlating with the end-of-day phenomenon known as dim-light melatonin onset (DLMO). In one study conducted in otherwise healthy children aged 6 to 12 years with chronic sleep-onset insomnia, the administration of exogenous melatonin decreased sleep-onset latency by 35 minutes as measured with actigraphy, according to Dr. Shatkin. Similar benefit has been observed in studies conducted in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
“Melatonin is efficacious in typically developing children and those with neurodevelopmental disorders. It imposes minimal effects on sleep architecture, it is associated with a low risk of side effects, the cost is low, and it is widely available,” Dr. Shatkin said. However, he advised against using this drug in children younger than 6 months old.
“The timing of the dosing [for treatment of delayed sleep phase disorder] is critical and should be based on DLMO,” Dr. Shatkin said. Specifically, he recommended a starting dose of 0.5 mg to 1 mg administered 3-4 hours before sleep time. The dose can be increased as needed by 0.5 mg per week to a maximum of 3.0 mg. Dr. Shatkin reported that there is “little evidence” to support extended-release formulations, but he did warn that over-the-counter preparations may vary in quality.
As an alternative, clonidine was listed as a second choice for treating insomnia in children. Although this therapy is not supported by controlled data, several open-label studies and chart reviews suggest benefit, and this therapy is less likely than diphenhydramine to produce next-day drowsiness.
Yet, he reiterated that the best evidence-based treatment of sleep problems in children is cognitive-behavioral therapy. He called the techniques – such as regular bedtimes, avoidance of stimuli, and creating a relaxing bedtime ritual – as easy to learn and teach to parents. Obvious problems in the sleep routine, such as irregular bedtimes, typically can be identified with a sleep history. There are numerous strategies to wean children from requiring the presence of a parent to fall asleep, such as “graduated extinction,” which involves incrementally distancing the parent from the child’s bedside.
Empathetic to the frequency of sleep disturbances in children, Dr. Shatkin cited data suggesting that 50% of preschool children, 30% of school-age children, and 40% of adolescents report sleep problems. A survey of child psychiatrists found that most acknowledged prescribing a sleep medication within the past month for pediatric insomnia, but Dr. Shatkin emphasized that behavioral therapies often may produce a longer-lasting result.
For treating pediatric sleep disturbances, “our educational and behavioral efforts really should trump our medications,” Dr. Shatkin said. “We should be using any medication sparingly.”
By: TED BOSWORTH, Family Practice News Digital Network
Try Behavioral Therapies First, Then Melatonin for Pediatric Insomnia
Inside The Teenage Brain
NOVEMBER 28, 2010
by Judith Newman
“I would rather give birth to a baby elephant than raise a teenager again. It would be less painful,” says Renee Cassis Hoering of New York City. “I cannot believe that my darling, sweet little girl has turned into a 16-year-old stranger who just wants money from me all the time.”
After seeing his son through the teen years, Bob Mittelsdorf is in favor of the Mark Twain approach to child-rearing: “When a child turns 12, he should be kept in a barrel and fed through the bung hole, until he reaches 16…at which time you plug the bung hole.”
The intensity. The sullenness. The drama. And it isn’t only the rebellious kids who suddenly turn on us. When my friend’s son — a straight-A student and all-around sweetheart — recently ended up in the hospital getting his stomach pumped because he went out drinking with friends for the first time and had no clue how much was too much, that’s when I realized: There is just no predicting. Even for the most responsible kids, there is always that combustible combination of youth, opportunity, and one bad night.
As recently as 15 years ago, parents (and even scientists) threw up their hands and cried, “Hormones!” when asked why our children become so nutty around the time of adolescence. Certainly an unholy passion for Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez doesn’t help, but it’s hardly the whole story. For that you have to turn to science.
In the past few years, research has shown that the brain of a teen really is different. Two technologies — PET scans (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) — have enabled us to study how the brain changes over time. What researchers have shown is that the teenage brain is still very much a work in progress and functions quite differently from an adult’s. True, there are areas (particularly those dealing with motor control and hand/eye coordination) that are as well-honed as they will ever be. (That is one reason why your teen can already whip you at computer games.) But there are other areas — not surprisingly, the ones responsible for things like planning ahead and weighing priorities — that continue to develop well into our 20s. Which is something to remember the next time you find your daughter posting Girls Gone Wild–ish videos of herself on YouTube and failing to realize that this footage will be available to the people who may be interviewing her not that many years from now at some white-shoe law firm.
Truth is, the teenage brain is like a Ferrari: It’s sleek, shiny, sexy, and fast, and it corners really well. But it also has really crappy brakes. Here’s what’s going on under the hood.
Why Is She Forgetting So Much of What She Knew?At birth, our brains have an operating system loaded and primed for growth. In a baby, each neuron (a cell that transmits electric signals) has around 2500 synapses; that increases over the next three years or so to around 15,000. These synapses are the wiring that allows our brains to send and receive information. Until recently, scientists thought this huge surge in brain wiring happened only once, when kids are young. Wrong. A study of 145 kids and adolescents scanned every two years at the NIH has shown that there’s another huge surge right before adolescence, followed by a process of “pruning” those connections in a kind of use-it-or-lose-it strategy. In other words, says Jess Shatkin, assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatrics at the NYU Child Study Center and host of the Sirius/XM Radio show About Our Kids, “If you’re a chess player or an athlete, the areas of the brain responsible for those skills will continue to develop — while other skills will fade away.”
The skills you practice as a child and pre-teen become much sharper in the teenage years; and those practiced reluctantly, if at all, will diminish on your brain’s hard-disk drive. “The brain is very efficient, allowing you to become more adept at the life skills you’re going to use — which is why these are the years to set good work habits in place,” notes Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. Adds Shatkin, “This synaptic pruning in a sense makes you become the person you’ll ultimately be.”
If He’s So Smart, Why Is He So Clueless?The phone rang at 2 a.m. Steven Weinreb, a physician in Hartford, Conn., answered, his heart pounding. It was two years ago, and his 18-year-old son, Jeff, was coming back from one of his band’s concerts. What was wrong? Car accident? Drug overdose? “Dad, we’re in New Jersey. We’re lost. I think we’ve crossed the river twice. What do I do?” Jeff said.
“This is a boy who had it together enough to book dates for his own band; he had a GPS in his car; he had maps; he could ask at a gas station,” Weinreb says. “Instead, he called me at two in the morning and practically gave me a heart attack. Oh, did I mention he got into Brown?”
Weinreb’s son is Ivy League, but his prefrontal cortex probably isn’t — yet. The frontal lobes, and particularly the prefrontal cortex, are one of the last areas of the brain to develop. Researchers now believe that the prefrontal cortex — responsible for things like organizing plans and ideas, forming strategies, and controlling impulses — is not fully developed until the late 20s.
Dopamine levels are also not yet at optimal levels during adolescence. Dopamine is the chemical messenger that allows us to do constant triage in day-to-day life, so we can figure out what to pay attention to and what is background noise. Without adequate levels, life can be a disaster. It’s like: I’m crossing the street. There’s a truck approaching me and…oh, look at the cute doggy!
Why Can’t She Rise and Shine, Darn It? Beginning in puberty and continuing into the early 20s, adolescents need from 8.4 to 9.2 hours of sleep on average a night, compared with 7.5 to 8 hours for adults. Perhaps even more critical — and obvious to anyone who has had to drag a once-perky kid out of bed by the heels at 7 a.m. — the circadian rhythms of teenagers shift.
In a pair of related studies published in 1993 and 1997 by Mary Carskadon, a professor of psychiatry at Brown University and director of the Sleep Research program at Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, Carskadon and colleagues found that more physically mature girls preferred activities later in the day than did less-mature girls and that the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin rises later in teenagers than in children and adults. Translation: Teenagers are physically programmed to stay up later and sleep later.
It’s no surprise, then, that previous research has shown that up to 20% of high-schoolers fall asleep during the first two hours of school. According to a study done by Kyla Wahlstrom at the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement at the University of Minnesota, later start times for high school students would be beneficial. Wahlstrom collected data from two districts in Minnesota that moved the start time for high school about an hour later; there was a significant reduction in dropout rates and depression.
Why Is He So Quick to Flip Out?You’re not imagining that teenagers often overreact to simple requests and misinterpret seemingly innocuous comments. Physiologically they may be less able than adults to accurately interpret facial expressions and the inflection in your voice.
University of Utah professor Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and a team of collaborators have been studying brain development. In an initial study at the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., they wanted to see how teenagers registered emotions compared with adults. They hooked up 18 children between the ages of 10 and 18 to an fMRI machine and showed them photos of people in different emotional states. When presented with a photo of a woman and asked what emotion she was registering, 100% of the adults said “fear,” which was correct. Only 50% of the teenagers correctly identified that emotion. Moreover, the teens and adults used different areas of the brain to process what they were feeling. Teens rely much more on the amygdala, a small almond-shaped region in the medial and temporal lobes that processes memory and emotions, while adults rely more on the frontal cortex, which governs reason and forethought.
This may explain the impulsiveness of some teens that has made headlines this year — like the tragic incident in September in which, allegedly, a Rutgers University student posted a video of his roommate kissing another boy, resulting in the roommate’s suicide. Were the students who posted the video incapable of considering the ramifications of their act? And what about the boy? One can’t help thinking that, with teenage lack of perspective, he imagined his family shamed and his life ruined — but could not imagine the agony his death would cause his parents.
So it is, too, with tragedies like Columbine. “There have always been adolescents who feel enraged, who want to get even, who feel ostracized. The adolescent brain is less able to control those stresses,” says Daniel Weinberger of the National Institute of Mental Health. “The difference is that while 50 years ago there might have been punches thrown, now there are automatic weapons. You put one of those in the hands of an immature prefrontal cortex, and it is more likely to go off.”
4 Stay-Sane Strategies
You will survive. We promise. These tips can help.
by Judith Newman
“I would rather give birth to a baby elephant than raise a teenager again. It would be less painful,” says Renee Cassis Hoering of New York City. “I cannot believe that my darling, sweet little girl has turned into a 16-year-old stranger who just wants money from me all the time.”
After seeing his son through the teen years, Bob Mittelsdorf is in favor of the Mark Twain approach to child-rearing: “When a child turns 12, he should be kept in a barrel and fed through the bung hole, until he reaches 16…at which time you plug the bung hole.”
The intensity. The sullenness. The drama. And it isn’t only the rebellious kids who suddenly turn on us. When my friend’s son — a straight-A student and all-around sweetheart — recently ended up in the hospital getting his stomach pumped because he went out drinking with friends for the first time and had no clue how much was too much, that’s when I realized: There is just no predicting. Even for the most responsible kids, there is always that combustible combination of youth, opportunity, and one bad night.
As recently as 15 years ago, parents (and even scientists) threw up their hands and cried, “Hormones!” when asked why our children become so nutty around the time of adolescence. Certainly an unholy passion for Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez doesn’t help, but it’s hardly the whole story. For that you have to turn to science.
In the past few years, research has shown that the brain of a teen really is different. Two technologies — PET scans (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) — have enabled us to study how the brain changes over time. What researchers have shown is that the teenage brain is still very much a work in progress and functions quite differently from an adult’s. True, there are areas (particularly those dealing with motor control and hand/eye coordination) that are as well-honed as they will ever be. (That is one reason why your teen can already whip you at computer games.) But there are other areas — not surprisingly, the ones responsible for things like planning ahead and weighing priorities — that continue to develop well into our 20s. Which is something to remember the next time you find your daughter posting Girls Gone Wild–ish videos of herself on YouTube and failing to realize that this footage will be available to the people who may be interviewing her not that many years from now at some white-shoe law firm.
Truth is, the teenage brain is like a Ferrari: It’s sleek, shiny, sexy, and fast, and it corners really well. But it also has really crappy brakes. Here’s what’s going on under the hood.
Why Is She Forgetting So Much of What She Knew?At birth, our brains have an operating system loaded and primed for growth. In a baby, each neuron (a cell that transmits electric signals) has around 2500 synapses; that increases over the next three years or so to around 15,000. These synapses are the wiring that allows our brains to send and receive information. Until recently, scientists thought this huge surge in brain wiring happened only once, when kids are young. Wrong. A study of 145 kids and adolescents scanned every two years at the NIH has shown that there’s another huge surge right before adolescence, followed by a process of “pruning” those connections in a kind of use-it-or-lose-it strategy. In other words, says Jess Shatkin, assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatrics at the NYU Child Study Center and host of the Sirius/XM Radio show About Our Kids, “If you’re a chess player or an athlete, the areas of the brain responsible for those skills will continue to develop — while other skills will fade away.”
The skills you practice as a child and pre-teen become much sharper in the teenage years; and those practiced reluctantly, if at all, will diminish on your brain’s hard-disk drive. “The brain is very efficient, allowing you to become more adept at the life skills you’re going to use — which is why these are the years to set good work habits in place,” notes Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. Adds Shatkin, “This synaptic pruning in a sense makes you become the person you’ll ultimately be.”
If He’s So Smart, Why Is He So Clueless?The phone rang at 2 a.m. Steven Weinreb, a physician in Hartford, Conn., answered, his heart pounding. It was two years ago, and his 18-year-old son, Jeff, was coming back from one of his band’s concerts. What was wrong? Car accident? Drug overdose? “Dad, we’re in New Jersey. We’re lost. I think we’ve crossed the river twice. What do I do?” Jeff said.
“This is a boy who had it together enough to book dates for his own band; he had a GPS in his car; he had maps; he could ask at a gas station,” Weinreb says. “Instead, he called me at two in the morning and practically gave me a heart attack. Oh, did I mention he got into Brown?”
Weinreb’s son is Ivy League, but his prefrontal cortex probably isn’t — yet. The frontal lobes, and particularly the prefrontal cortex, are one of the last areas of the brain to develop. Researchers now believe that the prefrontal cortex — responsible for things like organizing plans and ideas, forming strategies, and controlling impulses — is not fully developed until the late 20s.
Dopamine levels are also not yet at optimal levels during adolescence. Dopamine is the chemical messenger that allows us to do constant triage in day-to-day life, so we can figure out what to pay attention to and what is background noise. Without adequate levels, life can be a disaster. It’s like: I’m crossing the street. There’s a truck approaching me and…oh, look at the cute doggy!
Why Can’t She Rise and Shine, Darn It? Beginning in puberty and continuing into the early 20s, adolescents need from 8.4 to 9.2 hours of sleep on average a night, compared with 7.5 to 8 hours for adults. Perhaps even more critical — and obvious to anyone who has had to drag a once-perky kid out of bed by the heels at 7 a.m. — the circadian rhythms of teenagers shift.
In a pair of related studies published in 1993 and 1997 by Mary Carskadon, a professor of psychiatry at Brown University and director of the Sleep Research program at Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, Carskadon and colleagues found that more physically mature girls preferred activities later in the day than did less-mature girls and that the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin rises later in teenagers than in children and adults. Translation: Teenagers are physically programmed to stay up later and sleep later.
It’s no surprise, then, that previous research has shown that up to 20% of high-schoolers fall asleep during the first two hours of school. According to a study done by Kyla Wahlstrom at the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement at the University of Minnesota, later start times for high school students would be beneficial. Wahlstrom collected data from two districts in Minnesota that moved the start time for high school about an hour later; there was a significant reduction in dropout rates and depression.
Why Is He So Quick to Flip Out?You’re not imagining that teenagers often overreact to simple requests and misinterpret seemingly innocuous comments. Physiologically they may be less able than adults to accurately interpret facial expressions and the inflection in your voice.
University of Utah professor Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and a team of collaborators have been studying brain development. In an initial study at the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., they wanted to see how teenagers registered emotions compared with adults. They hooked up 18 children between the ages of 10 and 18 to an fMRI machine and showed them photos of people in different emotional states. When presented with a photo of a woman and asked what emotion she was registering, 100% of the adults said “fear,” which was correct. Only 50% of the teenagers correctly identified that emotion. Moreover, the teens and adults used different areas of the brain to process what they were feeling. Teens rely much more on the amygdala, a small almond-shaped region in the medial and temporal lobes that processes memory and emotions, while adults rely more on the frontal cortex, which governs reason and forethought.
This may explain the impulsiveness of some teens that has made headlines this year — like the tragic incident in September in which, allegedly, a Rutgers University student posted a video of his roommate kissing another boy, resulting in the roommate’s suicide. Were the students who posted the video incapable of considering the ramifications of their act? And what about the boy? One can’t help thinking that, with teenage lack of perspective, he imagined his family shamed and his life ruined — but could not imagine the agony his death would cause his parents.
So it is, too, with tragedies like Columbine. “There have always been adolescents who feel enraged, who want to get even, who feel ostracized. The adolescent brain is less able to control those stresses,” says Daniel Weinberger of the National Institute of Mental Health. “The difference is that while 50 years ago there might have been punches thrown, now there are automatic weapons. You put one of those in the hands of an immature prefrontal cortex, and it is more likely to go off.”
4 Stay-Sane Strategies
You will survive. We promise. These tips can help.
- Remind a distraught child that things will get better. Often during a rough spell, a teenager sees only his or her little world and can’t imagine a tough situation changing. “This is where you have to try and modulate the impulsiveness,” Shatkin says. “Give empathy but constantly reinforce adult perspective.”
- Ask your teen to come up with his own solution. “If your child is chronically ‘losing’ homework, for example, ask what ideas he has for making this better,” Galinsky advises. “Be open to trying different ideas. This feeds into the teen’s desire for autonomy without getting into a blame game.”
- Educate your child about sleep. Tell your kid you’re not trying to enforce a curfew just to be annoying. As little as 40 minutes less sleep a night can cause difficulties in school, including falling asleep in classes.
- Don’t excuse bad behavior. Understanding the complexities teenagers face isn’t the same as saying, “It’s fine if my kid is feral.” It’s not. “We aren’t saying teenagers can’t be responsible, can’t think ahead,” Weinberger says. “It’s just that their level of brain development makes it more difficult.”
Paris Jackson suicide attempt highlights association between cutting and suicide risk
People who engage in cutting and other forms of self-injury aren’t always at risk for suicide, but there is significant overlap between the two, experts say.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 3:11 PM
New evidence pointing to Paris Jackson's obsession with cuttingleading up to her suicide attempt paints a disturbing picture that may be especially alarming to parents of teenagers.
Cutting and suicide attempts don't always go hand in hand, but parents should be aware that the former can be a risk factor for the latter, experts say.Cutting is part of a category of behaviors called non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), defined as "any type of behavior that causes tissue damage with the intent of harming yourself," said Peggy Andover, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Fordham University.
As many as one in five people have engaged in NSSI at some point, including about 23% of teens and 38% of young adults — as well as nearly 8% of third graders, according to a 2012 study in the journal Pediatrics.Though cutting gets frequent mention, NSSI also includes things like skin-picking, scratching, biting and burning. Adolescent girls and women are more likely to cut, while men and teenage boys may be more likely to burn or hit themselves, Andover said.
As the name implies, many NSSIers have no intention of killing themselves. "For people that engage in this kind of behavior, it's generally not a suicide attempt," said Jess P. Shatkin, MD, vice chair for education at NYU Langone's Child Study Center. "It's an effort to relieve anxiety, lower tension, and deal with the frustration they may feel."
But some research shows an overlap between NSSI and attempted suicide. Among adolescents who seek to harm themselves, 14% to 70% report a history of both NSSI and suicide attempts, a broad range that bears further investigation, Andover said. "Clinically speaking, the behaviors themselves are considered to be very distinct," she said. "But despite that we know there is considerable overlap between NSSI and suicide."
NSSI "may actually be a pretty strong predictor" for suicide risk, Andover said. "We don't quite know which comes first. We do know that there's an association and we're doing a lot of research to see how it does work." NSSI has been linked to mental disorders such as depression, eating disorders and borderline personality disorder and is associated with poor impulse control, according to the Mayo Clinic. Teens at risk for NSSI behavior may exhibit characteristics like difficulty tolerating stress, frustration and anger or rage that causes them to shun relationships with others. Self-injury has become "a little bit 'popular'" in recent years, such that teens may hear about it from their friends and decide to try it for themselves, Shatkin said.
"Some people do it a few times and stop, but when some people cut, it seems to work and calm them down, and they have a very hard time stopping," he said. "It has a certain amount of reward associated with it." That can lead to further psychological damage as well as physical scars, as many people feel shame or guilt after harming themselves. As frequent cutters become more used to their behavior, it also ups the risk of accidental death. "They might cut too deeply, or cut while drinking or taking drugs and fall asleep," Shatkin said. "It's very clear some small percentage of people who cut do die in this accidental way. It's something they become very familiar with doing, so they're less fearful of it."
Regardless of whether their kids are suicidal, parents should take any form of NSSI seriously.
A study published by Andover and colleagues last year found that while suicide attempts tend to elicit compassion and concern, NSSI "often elicits responses involving disgust, fear, and hostility." Parents can start by asking about injuries that don't seem to be explained, or behavior such as wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants in the summertime, Andover said, as well as listening to their child's friends if they say something troubling is going on. Additionally, all kids who engage in NSSI should be given psychological care. Shatkin stressed that parents should seek out a trained child and adolescent psychologist to assess their child's mental health and direct them toward healthier coping mechanisms. "Talk to your kids, find out what's going on in their lives and why they're struggling," he said. "At the same time, get them an evaluation to make sure you understand the scope of the problem. "Are they more likely to try to kill themselves? Certainly more likely than the general population. How much more likely, I don't think we know."
tmiller@nydailynews.com
New evidence pointing to Paris Jackson's obsession with cuttingleading up to her suicide attempt paints a disturbing picture that may be especially alarming to parents of teenagers.
Cutting and suicide attempts don't always go hand in hand, but parents should be aware that the former can be a risk factor for the latter, experts say.Cutting is part of a category of behaviors called non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), defined as "any type of behavior that causes tissue damage with the intent of harming yourself," said Peggy Andover, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Fordham University.
As many as one in five people have engaged in NSSI at some point, including about 23% of teens and 38% of young adults — as well as nearly 8% of third graders, according to a 2012 study in the journal Pediatrics.Though cutting gets frequent mention, NSSI also includes things like skin-picking, scratching, biting and burning. Adolescent girls and women are more likely to cut, while men and teenage boys may be more likely to burn or hit themselves, Andover said.
As the name implies, many NSSIers have no intention of killing themselves. "For people that engage in this kind of behavior, it's generally not a suicide attempt," said Jess P. Shatkin, MD, vice chair for education at NYU Langone's Child Study Center. "It's an effort to relieve anxiety, lower tension, and deal with the frustration they may feel."
But some research shows an overlap between NSSI and attempted suicide. Among adolescents who seek to harm themselves, 14% to 70% report a history of both NSSI and suicide attempts, a broad range that bears further investigation, Andover said. "Clinically speaking, the behaviors themselves are considered to be very distinct," she said. "But despite that we know there is considerable overlap between NSSI and suicide."
NSSI "may actually be a pretty strong predictor" for suicide risk, Andover said. "We don't quite know which comes first. We do know that there's an association and we're doing a lot of research to see how it does work." NSSI has been linked to mental disorders such as depression, eating disorders and borderline personality disorder and is associated with poor impulse control, according to the Mayo Clinic. Teens at risk for NSSI behavior may exhibit characteristics like difficulty tolerating stress, frustration and anger or rage that causes them to shun relationships with others. Self-injury has become "a little bit 'popular'" in recent years, such that teens may hear about it from their friends and decide to try it for themselves, Shatkin said.
"Some people do it a few times and stop, but when some people cut, it seems to work and calm them down, and they have a very hard time stopping," he said. "It has a certain amount of reward associated with it." That can lead to further psychological damage as well as physical scars, as many people feel shame or guilt after harming themselves. As frequent cutters become more used to their behavior, it also ups the risk of accidental death. "They might cut too deeply, or cut while drinking or taking drugs and fall asleep," Shatkin said. "It's very clear some small percentage of people who cut do die in this accidental way. It's something they become very familiar with doing, so they're less fearful of it."
Regardless of whether their kids are suicidal, parents should take any form of NSSI seriously.
A study published by Andover and colleagues last year found that while suicide attempts tend to elicit compassion and concern, NSSI "often elicits responses involving disgust, fear, and hostility." Parents can start by asking about injuries that don't seem to be explained, or behavior such as wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants in the summertime, Andover said, as well as listening to their child's friends if they say something troubling is going on. Additionally, all kids who engage in NSSI should be given psychological care. Shatkin stressed that parents should seek out a trained child and adolescent psychologist to assess their child's mental health and direct them toward healthier coping mechanisms. "Talk to your kids, find out what's going on in their lives and why they're struggling," he said. "At the same time, get them an evaluation to make sure you understand the scope of the problem. "Are they more likely to try to kill themselves? Certainly more likely than the general population. How much more likely, I don't think we know."
tmiller@nydailynews.com
Helping Your Kids With Nightmares_
By Jennifer Anderson | Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH
Whether it's a piercing scream coming from your child's bedroom or finding your son or daughter at your bedside in tears, there are few everyday occurrences more distressing for parents and upsetting for kids than a nightmare. Nightmares may be a normal part of growing up, but when they happen, they can be disruptive, especially if they happen regularly.
There's some dispute about when children start having actual nightmares as opposed to night or sleep terrors -- short-lived events that can unsettle parents more than kids.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, nightmares are common during the preschool years as children begin to understand there are things in life that can hurt them.
Kyle P. Johnson, MD, director of the Oregon Health & Science University Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic in Portland, agreed, explaining that children develop vivid imaginations by age 3 and are more able to express their experiences.
“There is a sudden awakening from sleep and a scary story in their head,” Dr. Johnson said. Because very young children have trouble separating dreams from reality, they may wake up with intense feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness, or disgust. “They want to share it to be reassured,” he said.
Jess Shatkin, MD, MPH, an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the New York University Child Study Center, said that though preschool-aged children probably dream, most are too young to put stories together, and that when kids in this age group wake up terrified in the middle of the night, they're probably experiencing a sleep terror. During a sleep terror, a scary image has them sitting bolt upright and screaming, or even talking for 30 seconds or so, and waking up their parents before going back to sleep. In the morning, they won’t remember a thing.
The experience can be so intense that parents may worry their children are having a seizure, Dr. Shatkin said. As far as anyone knows, there are no long-term health effects.
Sleep terrors usually happen in the earlier part of the night, while children are in a deep sleep. By age 6, Shatkin said, most children have the mental ability to put a story together and remember a nightmare, which is more likely during the early morning hours when there's less deep sleep and more rapid-eye movement, or REM, sleep.
Nightmares: What's Behind Them
Though children can have nightmares at any time, certain triggers can make a child more prone to nightmares, Shatkin said.
Exposure to media — movies, billboards, video games, news shows — is one of the top causes for nightmares, he said. Bullying, divorce, and a move to a new neighborhood also can cause the type of anxiety in a child that will spawn nightmares.
Johnson added that routine sleep deprivation can also lead to nightmares, and that children who naturally are anxious are more prone to nightmares as well.
Sleep and Nightmares: It’s Just Your Imagination!
He estimated that about half of the children who have nightmares need their parents' help and that about 25 percent have recurring nightmares that leave them fearful of going to sleep.
Johnson advised parents to avoid a long discussion about the nightmare in the middle of the night. Rather, the goal should be to help children calm down and breathe easier and to reassure them they're safe so they can get back to sleep. “Concentrate on their basic needs,” he said.
The next day, talk to your child about the nightmare and help the child understand that it’s his or her imagination and not reality. If the nightmare turns up again and again, it may be helpful for the child to draw pictures about the dream and change the ending. “Maybe a superhero comes and saves them,” Johnson said. “Or if it’s a scary monster, the child could draw a picture of the monster and then tear it up.”
Reassuring Rituals for Helping Kids With Nightmares
A night light, stuffed animals or other security objects, or learning to roll over when bad thoughts creep in can all be helpful, Johnson said. He also recommended Native American dream catchers, which are hoops with a net or webbing that lets in the good dreams but traps the bad ones. They're decorative, come in a variety of sizes, and can be hung in the child's bedroom.
Routines can be helpful, too, such as using the same special flashlight to look under the bed or in the closet for monsters. “Just having that ritual can be reassuring,” he added.
If all else fails, he said, it may be time to visit the child’s pediatrician.
Whether it's a piercing scream coming from your child's bedroom or finding your son or daughter at your bedside in tears, there are few everyday occurrences more distressing for parents and upsetting for kids than a nightmare. Nightmares may be a normal part of growing up, but when they happen, they can be disruptive, especially if they happen regularly.
There's some dispute about when children start having actual nightmares as opposed to night or sleep terrors -- short-lived events that can unsettle parents more than kids.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, nightmares are common during the preschool years as children begin to understand there are things in life that can hurt them.
Kyle P. Johnson, MD, director of the Oregon Health & Science University Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic in Portland, agreed, explaining that children develop vivid imaginations by age 3 and are more able to express their experiences.
“There is a sudden awakening from sleep and a scary story in their head,” Dr. Johnson said. Because very young children have trouble separating dreams from reality, they may wake up with intense feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness, or disgust. “They want to share it to be reassured,” he said.
Jess Shatkin, MD, MPH, an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the New York University Child Study Center, said that though preschool-aged children probably dream, most are too young to put stories together, and that when kids in this age group wake up terrified in the middle of the night, they're probably experiencing a sleep terror. During a sleep terror, a scary image has them sitting bolt upright and screaming, or even talking for 30 seconds or so, and waking up their parents before going back to sleep. In the morning, they won’t remember a thing.
The experience can be so intense that parents may worry their children are having a seizure, Dr. Shatkin said. As far as anyone knows, there are no long-term health effects.
Sleep terrors usually happen in the earlier part of the night, while children are in a deep sleep. By age 6, Shatkin said, most children have the mental ability to put a story together and remember a nightmare, which is more likely during the early morning hours when there's less deep sleep and more rapid-eye movement, or REM, sleep.
Nightmares: What's Behind Them
Though children can have nightmares at any time, certain triggers can make a child more prone to nightmares, Shatkin said.
Exposure to media — movies, billboards, video games, news shows — is one of the top causes for nightmares, he said. Bullying, divorce, and a move to a new neighborhood also can cause the type of anxiety in a child that will spawn nightmares.
Johnson added that routine sleep deprivation can also lead to nightmares, and that children who naturally are anxious are more prone to nightmares as well.
Sleep and Nightmares: It’s Just Your Imagination!
He estimated that about half of the children who have nightmares need their parents' help and that about 25 percent have recurring nightmares that leave them fearful of going to sleep.
Johnson advised parents to avoid a long discussion about the nightmare in the middle of the night. Rather, the goal should be to help children calm down and breathe easier and to reassure them they're safe so they can get back to sleep. “Concentrate on their basic needs,” he said.
The next day, talk to your child about the nightmare and help the child understand that it’s his or her imagination and not reality. If the nightmare turns up again and again, it may be helpful for the child to draw pictures about the dream and change the ending. “Maybe a superhero comes and saves them,” Johnson said. “Or if it’s a scary monster, the child could draw a picture of the monster and then tear it up.”
Reassuring Rituals for Helping Kids With Nightmares
A night light, stuffed animals or other security objects, or learning to roll over when bad thoughts creep in can all be helpful, Johnson said. He also recommended Native American dream catchers, which are hoops with a net or webbing that lets in the good dreams but traps the bad ones. They're decorative, come in a variety of sizes, and can be hung in the child's bedroom.
Routines can be helpful, too, such as using the same special flashlight to look under the bed or in the closet for monsters. “Just having that ritual can be reassuring,” he added.
If all else fails, he said, it may be time to visit the child’s pediatrician.
Making the Transition to College: A Guide for Parents
Leaving for college is a major transition for both the teenager and the entire family. Some children may live at home or attend school nearby, whereas others may be relocating to different parts of the country. Regardless, going to college symbolizes that teenagers are separating from their parents and moving into adulthood. The transition to college, no matter how exciting, can also bring up feelings of sadness, loss, and concern to parents, caregivers and children. In particular, children or adults with a history of psychological difficulties, trauma, or loss may experience increased anxiety about such a major transition. The teenager may worry about family members they are leaving behind and the parents and/or caregivers may also have difficulty letting go, even though they are excited about their children's future. The following are some specific guidelines on preparing adolescents and their parents for college life.
Tips for Parents with Adolescents Preparing for College
Tips for Your Child's First Year in College
Indicators of Difficulty with College Adjustment
Tips for Parents with Adolescents Preparing for College
- Talk to your child. Openly discuss any concerns and fears your child has before leaving for college. Talk about your adolescent's thoughts and feelings regarding leaving the comfort and familiarity of school, friends, and routines. It is also important to express your expectations related to academic achievement, financial responsibility, safety precautions, and any other concerns with your child.
- Educate. Your adolescent is likely to face increased social pressures in college, with less adult supervision. Talk to your child in advance about sex, drugs, and alcohol on campus, and explain the consequences of risk-taking behaviors. Discuss ways in which your college student can ensure his/her safety while fully experiencing college life. It is helpful for your child to hear your perspective and point of view.
- Provide reassurance. Your adolescent may be concerned about how the family will function in his or her absence. Assure your child that although he/she will be greatly missed, both you and other family members will be okay. Express excitement and support for your college student in this important life transition. Respond positively to your college bound student's aspirations and expectations and, if applicable, share similar experiences from your college life.
- Engage in open communication. It is important that you address your college student's concerns and invite questions. The key is for you to create an environment in which your child feels supported and listened to, and that you are available to talk at any time. Show your child that you understand how he/she is feeling and he/she is being heard. For example, you can say: "I can see that you are nervous about leaving for school."
- Be proactive. Create a safety plan with your college student for the rare case of an emergency. Help your child create a list of emergency contacts and nearby supports, including the university counseling service, campus security, and health services phone numbers. Identify family members or friends who live closer to the college campus as emergency contacts. Set up a financial and practical plan for your college student to be able to return home in case of an emergency. Planning ahead will give both you and your child a sense of security and control regarding the transition to college.
- Make sure your child knows that help is always available. If your child has a specific need, investigate and inquire about available resources in the college campus' surrounding town or city. Specifically, if your college student requires services for a physical disability, learning disability, or psychological problem, plan ahead to ensure that necessary services are in place after your child moves to college. Make sure to include your college student in the decisions made regarding his/her treatment and special accommodations.
Tips for Your Child's First Year in College
- Strike a healthy balance. Encourage self-reliance and independence in your college-aged child. However, remind your child that you are there if needed. Allow your college student to set and pursue his/her goals for college and the future. It is important that college students handle some important decisions on their own, such as choosing a major and social activities. Encourage your child to take responsibility for his/her everyday living, including managing finances and meeting deadlines.
- Use and model coping skills. It is also important for parents to model the use of effective coping skills during times of stress. Relaxation techniques include taking slow, deep breaths from the diaphragm and visualizing a safe and calm place, such as a sandy beach or pleasurable memory. In addition, encourage your child to engage in distracting activities, such as sports or hobbies, when feeling overwhelmed or anxious.
- Stay in touch. Check in via phone or e-mail, and send cards and care packages to let your child know that you are thinking of him/her. It is important to maintain a healthy balance of communication, so as to allow your child a sense of independence. For example, set up a regular time to talk on the phone weekly, or to chat online. Make sure your child feels connected with the family by sharing events and activities at home.
- Keep your child in the loop. Even though your child may be living elsewhere, he/she needs to feel connected with his/her family. This will be especially important at times when your child is impacted by significant life events and during anniversaries and other important or meaningful occasions. Let your college-aged child know that he/she is still part of the family, and keep him/her informed and included in important family decisions, activities activities, and updates.
- Give your child options. Discuss with your college student how he/she will spend anniversaries, holidays, and other important dates. Give your child the option of spending these dates at home with you or maintaining his/her normal routine at school. It is important that your college student feels that he/she is able to make the choice.
- Promote positive relationships. Encourage your child to develop friendships and build a support system outside the family by getting involved in school activities and campus life. Ask your college student about his/her social life and friends, and invite friends to your home on weekends or holidays. Close social relationships and supports are very important during the potentially stressful college years.
- Encourage your children to give back. Children can feel a sense of empowerment, control, and accomplishment by participating actively in their community. Encourage your child to volunteer and help others.
- Help is available. Remind your college student regularly that help is available if he/she is feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious. Point out that he/she can seek out help and support from family, friends, and professionals. Many college campuses hold mental health screening days regularly during the school year. Discuss these screenings and services through the on campus counseling center with your college student.
Indicators of Difficulty with College Adjustment
- No matter how near or far adolescents go to college, parents generally stay connected and want to ensure their children's well-being and safety. It is important that parents stay in touch with their college students and be aware of signs of difficulty adjusting to college life and of potential stressors related to this very important transition. Possible indicators of distress and difficulties with college are listed below:
- An expressed need for help
- Prolonged sadness or depressed mood
- Tearfulness, crying, and frequent emotional outbursts
- Excessive irritability, hostility, anger, or resentment
- Loss of interest and pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Withdrawal from social interactions
- Statements of loneliness
- Difficulty developing a social network on campus
- Loss of energy and fatigue
- Agitation and restlessness
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Trouble concentrating or making decisions
- Missing class often
- Falling behind in schoolwork or failing classes
- Substantial changes in appetite, eating patterns, or weight
- Feeling of guilt, hopelessness, or worthlessness
- Risk taking behaviors, such as unprotected sex
- Excessive use of alcohol or drugs
- Hopelessness
- Thoughts or statements of death or suicide
- Speak to your child if you see any significant changes in emotions, behaviors, or social activities. If you notice a number of the risk indicators in your college student, you and your child are encouraged to seek professional help. You can also encourage your college student to speak to counselors at the university counseling center.
Taking Care of Yourself
During the important transition to college, parents are likely to have difficulty separating from their children. This is more prominent in families who have experienced significant life stressors, traumatic events, or loss. You may experience mixed feelings of sadness and excitement regarding your child's departure to college. In addition to missing your child and feeling concerned about your child's wellbeing and safety, you may have less daily responsibilities related to taking care of your child. Changes within the family structure may also be prominent, including increased responsibilities for siblings and changes in routines. It is important to spend your time productively and take care of yourself when your child goes off to college. Some tips include:
- Enjoy yourself. Explore or rediscover your own interests and new activities. By focusing on pleasurable activities and exploring your own interests, you are likely to experience an improved mood and sense of confidence and accomplishment. This also provides your child with a role model of positive coping and decreases the potential of your child feeling guilty about leaving the family home.
- Stay healthy. Even though your child has gone to college, he/she still needs you to be available to talk and to provide support and guidance. This is especially important in the beginning stages of college and if your child feels stressed or overwhelmed. Maintaining your physical and emotional health can ensure that you will have the resources necessary to support your child. Making a commitment to your health will also help you cope effectively with stressful events. Engage in healthy behavior such as eating nutritious meals, working out, and getting enough rest.
- Plan ahead. Make arrangements in advance to see your child for holidays and homecoming. Check with your child first to make sure the plans work with his or her schedule.
- Seek support. Spend time with friends and family and talk with other adults who understand what you are going through. If you are feeling overwhelmed, distressed, or upset and it is interfering with your daily functioning, consult with your physician or mental health professional.
Transition to College: Separation and Change for Parents and Students
Going to college is more than just "going back to school." The departure is a significant milestone in the life of a family and ushers in a time of separation and transition, requiring an adjustment on the part of parents, the college-bound teenager and the whole family.
College and careers
Students are apt to find their parents were right when advising them to get a college degree or at least obtain additional education after high school. In fact, those with a college degree will earn $500,000 more over a lifetime than their non-degree peers, and even technical jobs will require advanced learning of some kind. But college isn't the end of learning, and students don't necessarily have to have only one set career goal in mind. It's fine to use college as a way to explore areas of interest while keeping in mind that the average worker holds 10.8 different jobs between the ages of 18 and 42.2
Adjusting to college life
The stress levels of college students have been on a constant rise. A 2009 survey of 40 randomly chosen four-year colleges and universities found that 85% of the 2,240 undergraduates interviewed experience stress on a daily basis (up from 80% in 2008).3 The increased number of students feeling stressed has been accompanied by an increase in utilization of mental health and counseling services; one institution reported a 29% increase in the use of counseling and psychological services in the last four years and another reported that 40% of the first-year students visit their counseling center.
The impact of the student's move to college on parents
Moving on to college represents a significant step towards adulthood. Whether the student lives at home or goes away to attend college, the move represents an emotional separation for both parents and child. For most, the end of high school marks the symbolic end of childhood. This phase of life, especially when the student moves from home, is often referred to as "the empty nest." Many parents talk enthusiastically about the changes - they feel less constrained, have more free time and no longer endure loud music or competition for the phone, computer or car. But a sense of loss is apparent in comments such as, "It's so quiet around here" or, "I can't believe how much less I spend on groceries."
Challenges for parents:
Feeling a void
Feelings of emptiness characterize this stage of separation - there is vacant time and cleaned-out rooms. Parents may feel unprepared or uncomfortable without their roles as primary caretaker and protector. Parenting is a tough business and a double-edged sword; successful parenting requires devoting one's life to a totally dependent being to ensure a safe, independent departure into the world - leaving parents behind. Joy may be mixed with longing as the young adult takes flight from home base.
Feeling left out
Adjusting to being on the outside can be difficult when parents are no longer needed in the same ways. Even though students may have been somewhat independent while still under their care, supervision and roof, once in college parents are less privy to every aspect of their child's life; they no longer know the details of their son's or daughter's whereabouts and are not able to pass judgment on all their friends.
Relinquishing control
It is necessary to give up some parental control. Whether it's giving advice about selecting courses or drinking, parents have to come to realize that young adults must make their own decisions. Relationships grow and change as children grow and change.
What parents can do
The impact of college on the student
College provides a time of socially recognized independence from parental rules and restrictions. Although the legal age of adulthood varies for such things as voting and drinking, going to college is an obvious sanctioned move towards independence. However, independence is not conferred automatically at a certain age or in a specific place. It is achieved by practicing how to think for oneself and take responsibility for one's actions. College students can feel invincible and able to take risks. But both the opportunities and the consequences can be high. The college freshman will be confronted with abundant pressures related to social situations - sex, drugs and alcohol. With respect to academics, students today are feeling increasing pressure to know what they want to do, pick a career path and plan for their futures. This pressure is causing unfortunate substance abuse, anxiety and even depression.
Challenges for the college student
Fitting in
It can be daunting to leave the security of family and friends. When going to college, students often must leave, or give up, one group (of family and friends) then accommodate and learn about a new group. It can be stressful to analyze new social norms, learn a new set of behaviors, and consider adopting a particular identity and group affiliation. The opportunities can be exhilarating, but the choices should not be made hastily.
Balancing socializing and working
College offers an assortment of opportunities for advancement and distraction - there are so many potential friends, parties, courses, things to do and places to go. Not knowing what direction is best and not wanting to miss out on anything, students often try to be included in everything.
Knowing when help is needed
Students often doubt their ability to handle their course work and may be bothered by new and unexpected feelings, precipitating a downward spiral. There is also an increased risk of certain disorders in the teen and young adult years (e.g. depression, manic depressive illness and anorexia). Students may find themselves seeking out a mental health professional for the first time. The right help at the right time can prevent problems from snowballing.
What the college student can do
Advice for both parents and students:
Expect ups and downs
One minute college students are the models of independence, the next they call in tears. Parents may also try too hard to advise from afar. This back and forth is natural and expected, as both students and parents become more comfortable and confident in the ability of students to handle situations on their own.
Stay connected
Little things do count. There can be some truth to "absence makes the heart grow fonder," but parents may worry that "out of sight means out of mind." So parents and students need to determine ways to stay involved in each other's lives and remember to say and do the little things that remind someone of their love. Cards sent home, care packages sent to school, pictures of events that were missed, and e-mail provide a way to stay connected and involved.
Transition to College Course at NYU
Recognizing that many first year college students are not fully prepared for the emotional upheaval they will experience, the NYU Child Study Center, along with the Steinhardt School of Education, has developed a course to address this transition head-on. The course, entitled "Transition to College and Young Adulthood," is taught every semester and is open to all undergraduate students at New York University.
References
1. Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor. Labor force statistics from the Current Population Survey: College enrollment and work activity of year 2009 high school graduates. Available at: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm. Accessed August 18, 2010.
2. Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor. Number of jobs held, labor market activity, and earnings growth among the youngest baby boomers: results from a longitudinal summary. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/nlsoy.nr0.htm. Accessed August 19, 2010.
3. Associated Press. mtvU. College Stress and Mental Health Poll. Edison Research Economy. May 2009.
4. Altschuler, GC. College prep: Adapting to college life in an era of heightened stress. New York Times. August 6, 2000; Education Life supplement: 12.
College and careers
Students are apt to find their parents were right when advising them to get a college degree or at least obtain additional education after high school. In fact, those with a college degree will earn $500,000 more over a lifetime than their non-degree peers, and even technical jobs will require advanced learning of some kind. But college isn't the end of learning, and students don't necessarily have to have only one set career goal in mind. It's fine to use college as a way to explore areas of interest while keeping in mind that the average worker holds 10.8 different jobs between the ages of 18 and 42.2
Adjusting to college life
The stress levels of college students have been on a constant rise. A 2009 survey of 40 randomly chosen four-year colleges and universities found that 85% of the 2,240 undergraduates interviewed experience stress on a daily basis (up from 80% in 2008).3 The increased number of students feeling stressed has been accompanied by an increase in utilization of mental health and counseling services; one institution reported a 29% increase in the use of counseling and psychological services in the last four years and another reported that 40% of the first-year students visit their counseling center.
The impact of the student's move to college on parents
Moving on to college represents a significant step towards adulthood. Whether the student lives at home or goes away to attend college, the move represents an emotional separation for both parents and child. For most, the end of high school marks the symbolic end of childhood. This phase of life, especially when the student moves from home, is often referred to as "the empty nest." Many parents talk enthusiastically about the changes - they feel less constrained, have more free time and no longer endure loud music or competition for the phone, computer or car. But a sense of loss is apparent in comments such as, "It's so quiet around here" or, "I can't believe how much less I spend on groceries."
Challenges for parents:
Feeling a void
Feelings of emptiness characterize this stage of separation - there is vacant time and cleaned-out rooms. Parents may feel unprepared or uncomfortable without their roles as primary caretaker and protector. Parenting is a tough business and a double-edged sword; successful parenting requires devoting one's life to a totally dependent being to ensure a safe, independent departure into the world - leaving parents behind. Joy may be mixed with longing as the young adult takes flight from home base.
Feeling left out
Adjusting to being on the outside can be difficult when parents are no longer needed in the same ways. Even though students may have been somewhat independent while still under their care, supervision and roof, once in college parents are less privy to every aspect of their child's life; they no longer know the details of their son's or daughter's whereabouts and are not able to pass judgment on all their friends.
Relinquishing control
It is necessary to give up some parental control. Whether it's giving advice about selecting courses or drinking, parents have to come to realize that young adults must make their own decisions. Relationships grow and change as children grow and change.
What parents can do
- Redirect time and energy previously focused on the child. Taking stock of personal interests and assets will reveal areas of life that may have been neglected. It can be time to develop, reawaken and pursue old and new hobbies, leisure activities and careers.
- As they play a new role in their child's life, parents must readjust their identity as parents and as a couple. The goal is to develop an adult-to-adult aspect of the parent-child relationship. Children always need parents, but the relationship may become more peer-like. Accepting that adult children want more privacy in certain areas of their lives is part of this process. If there are other children still at home, the entire family structure will change.
- Ideally, discussions about values, which have occurred throughout the child's life, serve as a foundation. Before the send-off however, it is useful to re-discuss specific issues, since college students are usually confronted with situations involving sex, drugs and alcohol, as well as tough academic and interpersonal issues. Without moralizing or criticizing, even young adults benefit from hearing their parents' views on these issues.
- Address individual needs. Parents should investigate and inquire about available resources. Arranging for necessary services for a student with a learning disability, mental illness or physical condition should be done preventively. College staff are specially trained to work with students of this age and these specialists should be identified prior to arrival.
- In the event of a crisis, it is preferable to support the student's own coping and problem-solving abilities rather than to rush in as savior, however difficult it is to hear cries of distress. Crises described from afar often sound worse than they are and can often change dramatically in the course of a few minutes or days. Parents, however, know their child best and must assess when their child needs their more direct help.
- Guide rather than pressure. Communicating educational goals and expectations should be done in a manner respectful of the student's own style and interests. College students need to pursue their own passions. Although parental input can be useful, children should not be expected to live out their parents' dreams. Focusing on "my daughter the doctor" or "my son the lawyer" is unproductive. Parents must allow for the candlestick maker to emerge if that's what is best. College should be a time of self-discovery, even if the process is marked by some fits and starts.
- Plan ahead. In addition to all the details of hauling stuff off to campus and buying just the right desk lamp, deciding about such things as checking accounts, phone cards and spending money before hitting the road is useful.
- Determine appropriate expectations and guidelines and be explicit. Parents should anticipate future events and discuss issues such as curfews, financial contributions and roommate arrangements with romantic partners directly with the young adult. If parents expect or want a weekly phone call, they must say so. If parents and students want to spend a particular holiday together, they should plan ahead.
- Allow for mistakes. Parents must encourage and accept the child's ability to make independent decisions. Both the college student and the parents must realize mistakes will be made along the way - it's called life experience. Learning from mistakes is another type of learning.
The impact of college on the student
College provides a time of socially recognized independence from parental rules and restrictions. Although the legal age of adulthood varies for such things as voting and drinking, going to college is an obvious sanctioned move towards independence. However, independence is not conferred automatically at a certain age or in a specific place. It is achieved by practicing how to think for oneself and take responsibility for one's actions. College students can feel invincible and able to take risks. But both the opportunities and the consequences can be high. The college freshman will be confronted with abundant pressures related to social situations - sex, drugs and alcohol. With respect to academics, students today are feeling increasing pressure to know what they want to do, pick a career path and plan for their futures. This pressure is causing unfortunate substance abuse, anxiety and even depression.
Challenges for the college student
Fitting in
It can be daunting to leave the security of family and friends. When going to college, students often must leave, or give up, one group (of family and friends) then accommodate and learn about a new group. It can be stressful to analyze new social norms, learn a new set of behaviors, and consider adopting a particular identity and group affiliation. The opportunities can be exhilarating, but the choices should not be made hastily.
Balancing socializing and working
College offers an assortment of opportunities for advancement and distraction - there are so many potential friends, parties, courses, things to do and places to go. Not knowing what direction is best and not wanting to miss out on anything, students often try to be included in everything.
Knowing when help is needed
Students often doubt their ability to handle their course work and may be bothered by new and unexpected feelings, precipitating a downward spiral. There is also an increased risk of certain disorders in the teen and young adult years (e.g. depression, manic depressive illness and anorexia). Students may find themselves seeking out a mental health professional for the first time. The right help at the right time can prevent problems from snowballing.
What the college student can do
- Explore new interests, discover new place, and meet new people. These experiences contribute to college life, but getting an education should remain the student's foremost purpose.
- Before committing to any one group or trend, students should take their time getting to know other students, investigating different activities and deciding what makes them feel most comfortable. Affiliations change a great deal over the course of the first year as students become more knowledgeable and confident.
- Participate and prioritize. No one can do everything. When students narrow their focus they often feel less overwhelmed. Finding a passion is one of the most exciting aspects of the college experience.
- Personalize the experience. It's easy for students to feel lost in the crowd. Students who take responsibility for their education by seeking out particular adults often have the best experience. Getting to know professors will personalize college and help the student feel connected to an institution that may seem impersonal.
- Be patient. It takes time to understand the rhythm of a new academic life and for students to develop a personal learning/studying style. Over the first semester it becomes easier to understand the flow of work and realize how to accommodate different teachers' standards and course requirements.
- Evaluate the fit. Assessing how expectations meet reality during the first year is a necessary process. Some disappointment or surprises are not unusual and may require some fine tuning, such as adjusting one's course load, changing majors and/or rethinking involvement in activities. Sometimes a school turns out to be different from what was anticipated or students learn more about what will truly suit their needs. Students should get guidance and explore options and certainly consider changing schools if that's what seems best.
- Never ignore a problem. Both academic and emotional challenges are most successfully managed early when small.
- Know where to turn for help. Almost all institutions of higher learning provide a school counseling and/or wellness center where students can seek confidential guidance and advice from a variety of sources. Ask about the services that are offered and make use of them. Sometimes simply talking about a problem can make it more manageable, especially if the conversation is with an individual who is removed from the situation - be it a college counselor, academic advisor, religious counselor or clergy member, team coach, primary care practitioner, resident advisor, house master, sorority mom, etc.
Advice for both parents and students:
Expect ups and downs
One minute college students are the models of independence, the next they call in tears. Parents may also try too hard to advise from afar. This back and forth is natural and expected, as both students and parents become more comfortable and confident in the ability of students to handle situations on their own.
Stay connected
Little things do count. There can be some truth to "absence makes the heart grow fonder," but parents may worry that "out of sight means out of mind." So parents and students need to determine ways to stay involved in each other's lives and remember to say and do the little things that remind someone of their love. Cards sent home, care packages sent to school, pictures of events that were missed, and e-mail provide a way to stay connected and involved.
Transition to College Course at NYU
Recognizing that many first year college students are not fully prepared for the emotional upheaval they will experience, the NYU Child Study Center, along with the Steinhardt School of Education, has developed a course to address this transition head-on. The course, entitled "Transition to College and Young Adulthood," is taught every semester and is open to all undergraduate students at New York University.
References
1. Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor. Labor force statistics from the Current Population Survey: College enrollment and work activity of year 2009 high school graduates. Available at: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm. Accessed August 18, 2010.
2. Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor. Number of jobs held, labor market activity, and earnings growth among the youngest baby boomers: results from a longitudinal summary. Available at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/nlsoy.nr0.htm. Accessed August 19, 2010.
3. Associated Press. mtvU. College Stress and Mental Health Poll. Edison Research Economy. May 2009.
4. Altschuler, GC. College prep: Adapting to college life in an era of heightened stress. New York Times. August 6, 2000; Education Life supplement: 12.
Sleep Hygiene Tips
No, there is no “magic bullet” to make you instantly start to sleep better. Sorry. But, if you put a few of these tips into practice, you’ll find, over time, that your quality of sleep (and therefore, your productivity when you’re awake!) has greatly improved.Taking a brief nap (20-30 minutes) can improve your memory, cardiovascular and neuro-cognitive functioning.
Try progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing to help calm you down before bed.
Don’t worry about it!
- If you’re feeling a little sluggish or slow-minded, turn off the lights and close your eyes for half an hour. You’ll be surprised what a difference it makes!
- If you cannot wake yourself up after 30 minutes, don’t go to sleep! A longer nap will actually disrupt your sleep schedule and make it more difficult to go to bed that night. Also, a nap should not be taken within four hours of bedtime – it will interfere with falling asleep!
- Although you may feel well-rested after fewer hours of sleep, you’re not. Almost nobody is a “short-sleeper,” so if you’re getting less than 9 hours of sleep a night, you’re stocking up on some serious sleep debt. This prevents you from maintaining a better mood, increased concentration, and having more energy.
- Don’t do anything before bed that increases your core body temp, such as:
- Taking a long, hot shower or bath
- Eating a spicy meal
- Sleeping under electric blankets
- Exercising within 2 – 3 hours before bed
- To help yourself stay cool, or cool down, before bed, consider doing one of these things:
- Taking a brief hot shower or bath (5 minutes of less) within an hour of bed
- Taking a longer shower or bath (15+ minutes) two or more hours before bed (both of these things promote more rapid cooling of your core body temp)
- Wearing socks to bed
- Just do it.
Try progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing to help calm you down before bed.
- You need to practice before you need it.
Don’t worry about it!
- If you’re having trouble falling asleep because you’re feeling anxious about the amount of sleep you need to get, try to relax. Yes, you’re not asleep right now, which can seem like the end of the world, but in reality, it’s not going to kill you to miss out on a little sleep. No human ever died from lack of sleep. You’ll still be an incredibly high-functioning person the next day, and people will treat you the same way. Try to think about something else, focus on your breath, or distract yourself from ruminating on the next day.
Erika Christakis
Advance Praise for The Importance of Being Little
"Remarkably well-researched, erudite and concise, Erika Christakis offers parents and teachers alike a developmentally informed perspective on how preschool children learn best, along with a no-nonsense prescription for how to get them there…if only we adults with our love for top-down instructional methods and endless proliferation of testing can learn to activate out kids’ innate curiosity, support their natural scientific and philosophical wonder, and simply get out of their way."
--Jess P. Shatkin, MD, MPH, Vice Chair for Education, The Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU College of Arts and Science
NYSCCC
Recommended Reads Essential books recommended by the NYS Citizens’ Coalition for Children for foster/adoptive families and anyone else who can benefit from a greater understanding of adoption and foster care. A portion of books purchased through Amazon via our website links will benefit NYSCCC. Just click on one of the following titles to purchase a copy and Amazon will automatically send a donation to NYSCCC.
Adoption Books
Foster Care Books
Memoirs And Personal Stories
Mental Health and Trauma
Multi-Cultural Families
Adoption Books
- Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special-Needs Kids by Gregory C. Keck & Regina Kupecky
- Adopting The Older Child by Claudia L. Jewett
- Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today’s Parents by Deborah D. Gray
- Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self by David Brodzinsky, Ph.D., Marshall Schechter, M.D. and Robin Hening
- Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens by Debbie Riley
- Brothers and Sisters in Adoption by Arleta M. James
- Help I’ve Been Adopted by Brenda McCreight
- Love Me, Feed Me: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Ending the Worry About Weight, Picky Eating, Power Struggles and More by Katja Rowell, M.D.
- Nurturing Adoptions: Creating Resilience After Neglect and Trauma by Deborah D. Gray Perspectives Press, 2007
- Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow by Gregory C. Keck
- Parenting Your Adopted Older Child: How to Overcome the Unique Challenges and Raise a Happy and Healthy Child by Brenda McCreight, Ph.D.
- Real Parents, Real Children: Parenting the Adopted Child by Holly van Gulden and Lisa M. Bartels-Rabb
- Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child: Making Sense of the Past by Betsy E.Keefer and Jayne E. Schooler
- The Connected Child: Bring hope and healing to your adoptive family by Karen Purvis
- The Family of Adoption: Completely Revised and Updated by Joyce Maguire Pavao
- The Open Adoption Experience – A Complete Guide for Adoptive and Birth Families by Lois Ruskai Molina
- Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew by Sherrie Eldridge
- Wounded Children, Healing Homes: How Traumatized Children Impact Adoptive and Foster Familiesby Jayne Schooler
- A Child’s Journey Through Placement by Vera I. Fahlberg, M.D.
Foster Care Books
- A Child’s Journey Through Placement by Vera I. Fahlberg, M.D.
- A Guide to Foster Parenting: Everything But the Kids! by Mary Anne Goodearle, M.S.,
- A Guidebook for Raising Foster Children by Susan McNair Blatt, M.D.
- Advocating for Children in Foster and Kinship Care: A Guide to Getting the Best out of the System for Caregivers and Practitioners by Micheal Rosenwald, Phd and Beth Riley, MSW
- Another Mother: Co-Parenting with the Foster Care System by Sarah Gerstenzang
- The Foster Parenting Toolbox
- The Heart Knows Something Different: Teenage Voices from the Foster Care System by Al Desetta
- To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care by Cris Beam
- Families Change: A Book for Children Experiencing Termination of Parental Rights by Julie Nelson
- Kids Need to Be Safe: A Book for Children in Foster Care by Julie Nelson
- The Lost Children of Wilder: The Epic Struggle to Change Foster Care by Nina Bernstein
- Maybe Days: A Book for Children in Foster Care by Jennifer Wilgocki
- Parenting Someone Else’s Child by Ann Stressman
Memoirs And Personal Stories
- Are We There Yet?: Adopting and Raising 22 Kids! by Sue Badeau
- Beneath a Tall Tree by Jean A.S. Strauss
- Building A Bridge: Stories About Connections Between Parents and Foster Parents from Youth Communication
- Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island by Regina Calcaterra
- Wanting a Child by Jill Bialosky
- I’m Not Broken Just a Little Twisted: Scenes through the Mind of a Foster Child by Latasha Watts
- Ithaka: A Daughter’s Memoir of Being Found by Sarah Sarafin
- Somebody’s Someone by Regina Louise
- Be My Baby by Susan Anderson
- Tender Mercies: Inside the World of a Child Abuse Investigator by Keith N. Richards
- Life for Me Ain’t Been No Crystal Stair: One Family’s Passage Through the Child Welfare System by Susan Sheehan
- Pieces of Me: Who do I Want to Be Edited by Robert Ballard
- Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Scheeres
- Three Little Words: A Memoir by Ashely Rhodes Courter
- Black Baby White Hands: A View from the Crib by Jaija Joh
Mental Health and Trauma
- Child & Adolescent Mental Health: A Practical, All-in-One Guide by Jess Shatkin
- Helping Children Cope with Separation and Loss, Revised Edition by Claudia L. Jewett Jarratt
- The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook–What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing by Bruce Perry
Multi-Cultural Families
- Of Many Colors: Portraits of Multiracial Families by Gigi Kaeser and Peggy Gillespe
- Black White Other Biracial Americans by Lise Funderberg
- I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla: Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious Worldby Marguerite A. Wright
- Boys Into Men: Raising Our African American Teenage Sons by Nancy Boyd-Franklin
- Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption Edited by Jane Jeong Tranka
- Inside Transracial Adoption by Gail Steinberg
- Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son: Abandonment, Adoption, and Orphanage Care in China by Kay Ann Johnson
- Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural by Claudine O’Hearn
- The Interracial Adoption Option by Marlene G. Fine