Nurturing Resilience

Raising children to be competent and caring.

Michael Ungar Ph.D.

Sexually Active Teens and the Risk of Sexual Violence

A child who has experienced abuse or neglect, or witnessed domestic violence, is more likely to become the victim of sexual violence in an intimate relationship.

Why Doesn’t Santa Bring Girls Toy Trucks? Boys Toy Ovens?

Santa’s toy choices are heavily influenced by the gender stereotypes of parents. Research shows that the stories we tell about toys decides which toys children get to play with.

Will Our Kids Become Fascists or Support Democracy?

When we fail to teach children how to be good citizens, we risk raising a generation that will tolerate politicians who lie and the tyranny of zealots.

Why Did Walmart Buy a Plus-Size Women’s Fashion Line?

The self-help industry has profited from making us believe that change is an individual responsibility. Skyrocketing rates of obesity prove otherwise.

Fathers Are Doing More Childcare Than Ever Before

When fathers take paternity leave, there's more gender equality. But with equality has also come pressure on men to meet expectations at home and on the job.

Could More Sex Education Prevent Child Abuse by Clergy?

Sex education is under attack, while a Pennsylvania report tells us children are vulnerable to sexual abuse by clergy. The take away: Kids need information.

More Chores, Less Play: Teaching Children Self-Regulation

Chores provide children a powerful opportunity to learn social and emotional life skills, and may even improve their school performance.

Should Children of Illegal Immigrants Be Used as Deterrence?

There is plenty of research on children separated from their parents and the results are seldom good for them, or their communities.

Should Babies Consent to Diaper Changes?

Deanne Carson, a sex educator, is getting ridiculed. The real issue is that we should be teaching children empowerment and responsibility for themselves and others.

Handmaids Tale Gets One Thing Very Wrong

Extreme stress on mothers would decrease fertility and result in children with psychological and behavioral disorders. Gilead is doomed to fail.

A Resilient Pregnancy

There are plenty of things that cause trauma during pregnancy and childbirth, but good relationships, better health care, and psychological treatment can prevent a new mom's PTSD.

Ice Cream Shops Can Fight Youth Suicide, Too

We need ways to talk about suicide year round if prevention campaigns are going to work. Corporate partners can help.

Teens and Dangerous Levels of Cell Phone Use

If we’re going to prevent children putting themselves at risk for mental disorders, parents and communities are going to have to impose some rules and take a lesson from Iceland.

Santa Must Be a Woman

If we look at the science of gift-giving and expectations for who does what over the holidays, then Santa has to be a woman. Men just aren't up for the task.

Mass Shootings, Compassion Fatigue (or Why I Stopped Caring)

How do we not feel helpless, or worse, blame the victims of mass shootings for the violence that killed them? Emotional numbness grows when we lack control. There are solutions.

Lawyers Shouldn’t Tell Us How to Raise Our Kids

Lawyers look only at immediate risk of harm, not the secondary harm that results from not letting children do what they need to do to grow up healthy.

Does Your Child Have Enough Friends?

Some children are shy and happy to be alone. Many others struggle to make friends and are at risk for depression. Parents can teach children what they need to be more social.

Coal Miners and Resilience

Making families and communities resilient when industries are in decline is possible but we have to give people the resources they need to build new lives.

Kids Need to Eat Dirt and Get Dirty

There is good science showing that when children get outdoors and encounter more microbes, their ability to cope with stress is improved for a lifetime.

Pathological Resistance to Change Does Not Make Us Great

Looking backwards won't make us great. We need innovation to tackle big problems like energy outages and their impact on the elderly. Our collective resilience depends on it.

Free Health Insurance Makes Kids Resilient

In the debate over health insurance, we’re forgetting that research proves that children with access to health care out-perform children with none.

What the World Needs Now Is… Beer?

At a time when there is cause to be pessimistic, beer commercials suggest most of us want peaceful co-existence.

Refugees Make Great Neighbors

Over time, refugees outperform native-born citizens academically, use health services less, and are less likely to commit crime. Inviting them into our communities is a win-win.

Just Wear it? Tech Won’t Improve Your Fitness On Its Own

Using wearable tech is unlikely to solve the obesity crisis, but it might prevent obesity among those who have less risky lifestyles.

Ending Sexual Abuse of Our Children

While we still don’t know much about how to prevent child sexual abuse, there are things families and communities are doing to keep our kids safe and avoid a lifetime of problems.

Keeping New Year's Resolutions Is Rarely Under Our Control

This year, try changing the world a little if you want to change yourself a lot.

Our Oh So Violent Holidays at Home

Child abuse, assaults with guns and knives, and other types of domestic violence are much more likely to occur during the holidays when families spend more time together.

For Christmas, I Gave My Child An Empty Box

This Black Friday, avoid the mall. Instead, give your child gifts this Christmas that build real creativity and are good for them, physically and intellectually.

Stop Blaming the Kids, Start Blaming Bad Social Policies

Resilience is political. Good social policies may be the most important factor for raising mentally and physically healthy children.

Why Are Kids So Anxious These Days?

New research shows that more and more adolescents are at risk of mental illness. The solution may not be more treatment but changing children’s environments to be less stressful.

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