Managing Challenging Behavior in Kids During Stressful Times – Shrinking It Down

Parents having serious conversation with teenage child with problem solving attitude

By Gene Beresin, Executive Director, Sara Rattigan, Communications Director and Josh Eng, Communications Coordinator

These past months and weeks have put tremendous stress on families across the country, on top of the daily challenges we were already navigating. And under tremendous stress, it can become even harder to regulate our emotions, leaving our kids – and even us – struggling with challenging behavior.

In today’s episode, Dr. Stuart Ablon, Director of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital, joins Gene to talk through strategies to help you and your kids do the best you can right now. A huge part of this is changing our mindset to remember that challenging behavior is about skill, not will – none of us act out on purpose. Kids behave well if they can, and so do parents. Tune in for ways to focus your energy on building new coping skills for the whole family.

Thank you for joining in this conversation. Have questions or comments about addressing kids’ climate anxiety? Write to us!

Media List

THINK:Kids (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Helping Kids with Challenging Behavior, featuring Stuart Ablon, PhD – Shrinking It Down (MGH Clay Center)
Guide to Mental Health Resources for COVID-19 (Massachusetts General Hospital)
George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life (BBC News)
Calling out racism isn’t political. It’s our moral imperative. (The Week)
The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health (American Academy of Pediatrics)
How Racism Harms Children (Harvard Health Blog)
Rethinking Challenging Kids – Where There’s A Skill, There’s A Way (TEDx Talks)
Getting It Right: Collaborative Problem Solving for Criminal Justice (National Institute of Corrections)
Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators Toolkit: Reducing the Use of Isolation (National Institute of Corrections)
The Importance of Sleep for Kids’ Emotional Well-being (MGH Clay Center)
Calming Your Anxious Mind Through Rhythmic Movement (ACES Connection)
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Wikipedia)
Collaborative Problem Solving Trainings (Think:Kids)

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Episode edited by Joshua Eng

Music by Gene Beresin

Was this article helpful ?
Yes No

Thanks for visiting the Clay Center. We are entirely funded by visitors like you. We receive no financial support from Massachusetts General Hospital or Harvard Medical School. Your support of our work helps us to continue to produce content on mental health topics that support the emotional well-being of young people everywhere.

Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Gene Beresin, M.D. is executive director of The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a staff child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also a ...

To learn more about Gene, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team.

Sara Rattigan, Communications Director

Sara Rattigan, M.S. is the communications director for The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a public health communicator whose passion has always centered around innovative a...

To learn more about Sara, or to contact her directly, please see Our Team.

Josh Eng, Communications Coordinator

Joshua Eng is the communications coordinator for The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)....

To learn more about Joshua, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team.

Managing Challenging Behavior in Kids During Stressful Times – Shrinking It Down