Positive Parenting Toolkits strengthen kids’ safety net

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—the perfect time to share with your employees some brand-new, free resources available for their children and teens. Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield now has a special section for children and adolescents on mymindhelp.com, our site connecting members to available mental health resources that may be on their plan. Sharing these new resources with your workforce can help parents better understand their children’s behavioral health and can help prevent crises from developing.

In addition to pediatric mental health information, the new site includes free, age-specific Positive Parenting Toolkits that help address children’s mental and behavioral health needs. These downloadable booklets are filled with activities and suggestions for strategies that families can easily try at home, such as:

• Ages 2-5: safety scavenger hunt, connection through play, early reading, community engagement, a bedtime chart and parent support
• Ages 6-12: video safety, emergency response worksheet, relationship discussion, cooking activity, community photo adventure and parent support
• Ages 13-17: thoughtful boundaries, driving agreement, relationship building, community connections map, exploring careers and parent support

With the information from Arkansas Blue Cross, your organization can be confident the strategies you share with your workforce are rooted in medical evidence and can help build protective factors around children and teens.

Highlighting Pediatric Resources

When it comes to supporting children and families in your workforce, having a starting place matters. Chad Sievers helps lead the Arkansas Blue Cross whole-person behavioral health team, which directs members to behavioral health care and resources to meet their needs.

“Health insurance plans have historically been designed with adults in mind, often making it difficult for families to navigate benefits for their children,” Sievers said. “While children’s needs aren’t forgotten, they can sometimes be overlooked in the broader system. This website is our way of making sure your organization’s families have clear, easy access to the behavioral health benefits available to them—so they can make an informed decision.”

Addressing the Need

As always, early intervention is key. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, taking a proactive approach to mental health support can have significant benefits for children and teens. The Office of Population Affairs reported:  

“Many adolescents experience positive mental health, but an estimated 49.5% of adolescents has had a mental health disorder at some point in their lives. The good news is that promoting positive mental health can prevent some problems. For young people who do have mental health disorders, early intervention and treatment can help lessen the impact on their lives.”

The Mind-Body Connection

Along with providing mental and behavioral health resources, Arkansas Blue Cross created the Positive Parenting Toolkits in response to increased awareness of how mental and physical health are connected. Sievers drew particular attention to adolescent substance use.

“In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of children’s mental health and substance use concerns. While those in the field have long recognized these challenges, we’re now seeing a shift toward greater public understanding,” Sievers said.

“Our goal with these parenting booklets is to move beyond crisis response and focus on prevention. We’re hopeful that by communicating these new resources to your membership, our groups can help equip families with these tools to create positive childhood experiences, which we know are linked to better long-term health outcomes.”

Encouraging Parents & Families

Although navigating mental health concerns might feel daunting for parents, children are remarkably resilient—especially with the right support. Dr. Patty Gibson is a psychiatrist who is an Arkansas Blue Cross medical director. She has encouragement for the parents in your workforce.

“In physical and mental health problems, children can get sick fast, but they can also recover more quickly and completely while they are young,” Gibson said. “And helping children in childhood can not only help both them and their parents function better now, but also may prevent more serious, long-term mental health issues and chronic psychiatric disorders.”

Gibson added that most children do not need to see a psychiatrist and do not need psychiatric medications. But providing tools and support to pediatricians, family physicians, teachers and the community can help children and improve access to mental health services when they are needed.

Next Steps

Our new Positive Parenting Toolkits can help your employees’ families build stronger relationships and address age-appropriate concerns, potentially serving as a first step to navigating mental and behavioral health issues. To help spread the word, you can share information about the toolkits with employees through your company’s communications. These toolkits and other resources on our site can help member families prevent issues, improve mental (and physical) health and manage their healthcare costs.

“We hope to empower families to take a proactive approach in their child’s health,” Sievers said.

“Parents will usually help their children before they will get help themselves. So, by helping children, you can access the whole family and change a community.”