Cop Corner with S/Sgt Gandolfi: August 23rd, 2016

As August draws to a close, instead of talking about school zones or playground etiquette, I’d like to talk for a bit about the emotions of being a kid again and how we can all collectively help our kids better manage their emotions during the upcoming school year.  After all, if they’re heads are spinning on feelings and emotions, how much focus will they have on that chemistry problem or mathematical equation?

I hope we can all agree that (pardon the police analogy) kids are like fingerprints with no two kids being the same.  Emotions run high during our teen and pre-teen years and relationships are often challenging.  “Who’s your BFF?” is one of my all time favourites because it so subtly paints our kids into a relationship corner where the only good answer may be not to respond.  The challenge for us as parents is to guide our kids and help them understand juvenile relationships so they can better manage their emotions an find success at school.  Words like ego, jealousy, bullying, anxiety, and depression strike fear into most parents who often don’t know who to talk with about these issues.

My first piece of advice would be to find out what services we actually have here in Bonnyville and surrounding.  You may be surprised to hear that our mental health care workers are some of finest around and that our programs are actually very good.  Secondly, don’t discount what your family doctor can do for you in this area.  Hormones, serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, these are all chemical compounds found naturally in the human body that can contribute to mental health especially in children.  Sounds like a job for a doctor if you ask me.  Lastly, if you want to do a little research at home first try this website out: http://toronto.cmha.ca/mental_health/youth-zone/.  Check out some of the links at the bottom as they are a great resource and can give you and your child some tools to better manage emotions.  Juvenile relationships can be a handful, might as well go into it these conversations with a stacked hand.  As always, we’re here help in any way we can.

Stay safe.

*Cop Corner is written and provided by S/Sgt Luis Gandolfi with the Bonnyville RCMP Detachment. It has not been altered from the author’s original content.