Greater Good Magazine - How Movies Can Help Children Find Meaning in Life

Mitchell staff often refer to the movie Inside Out.  Here is another good reason to enjoy this film with your child.




https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_movies_can_help_children_find_meaning_in_life


How Movies Can Help Children Find Meaning in Life


A new study finds that movies can offer children insights about life, and inspire them with moral beauty and heroism.

Most children love stories. Stories are entertaining and fun, but can they be more than just fun? Findings from a new study led by one of us (Rebecca de Leeuw) indicate that stories in movies can also be meaningful for children.

This study interviewed children between 4 and 15 years old after they watched the Disney • Pixar film Inside Out. This film takes place predominantly in the head of an 11-year-old girl, where her emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, personified as different characters—conflict on how to help her best in her new life after her family moves. When making this film, the filmmakers had extensive consultations with psychologists, including GGSC founding director Dacher Keltner, to make the emotion animations consistent with scientific knowledge.

The research team chose this film because the story follows the “hero’s journey”—a classical narrative framework that has been applied in many famous stories from all over the world. The hero’s journey involves a hero who goes on an adventure, overcomes challenges, and returns changed.

This film is also lauded for its meaningful message around emotions and human connectedness, and because it contains portrayals of moral beauty. Research among adults suggests that watching acts of moral beauty—such as compassion, kindness, forgiveness, gratitude, love, bravery, self-sacrifice, or any other strong display of virtue—can be meaningful and lead people to feel “moved by love.” This emotion opens our hearts toward others and inspires us to do good. Could children experience this, as well?

The research team talked to children together with a sibling or friend in an in-depth interview, asking mostly open-ended questions to encourage them to share their thoughts, including the key question: “Was there a part of the movie that you had to think about?” Children looked at stills of important scenes and were invited to explain in their own words what happened. If they liked, they also re-watched scenes of the film.

The findings of the study indicate that film stories can be meaningful for children in the four following ways (warning: spoilers ahead).

1. Stories can fuel social intelligence

While watching, children made sense of the feelings, motives, and behaviors of characters in the film, using their social intelligence skills. They also further developed these skills when they were challenged in making sense of the story.

Their novel insights included awareness about the motives and feelings of others, but also awareness of their own feelings. Children were often excited when gaining a new insight (which often happened during the interview). For many children, it was challenging to understand the scene in which one of the characters—Bing Bong—sacrifices himself by jumping out of his rocket. Children wondered what exactly happened and why he did this. They were often thrilled to find out that he jumped on purpose to help others.

Many children recognized the animated emotions in themselves, which helped them to understand their own inner life. For instance, children expressed that when they are mad they feel like the top of their head bursts into flames, just like Anger.

2. Stories are an opportunity to experience (moral) beauty

Another way in which Inside Out proved to be meaningful was the opportunity for experiencing moral beauty. Children mentioned that they appreciated seeing acts of compassion, kindness, love, and bravery in the film.

Moreover, children experienced Bing Bong’s self-sacrifice as beautiful, but only if they understood why Bing Bong did this and when they were able to experience mixed emotions. Just like adults, children can have tears or moist eyes or goosebumps upon experiencing moral beauty.

The findings of the study indicated that feelings of moral beauty start to emerge around the age of eight years old.

3. Stories help children gain insights about life

The findings also indicated that, while watching, children were encouraged to follow in the footsteps of the protagonist and gained the same insights as her. During the story, Joy discovers the importance of Sadness and at the end she collaborates with Sadness and the other emotions. When children followed Joy on her adventure, they also came to discover that sadness is important and that collaboration between all emotions is needed to live a full and happy life.

When children said they learned something from the film, it was often related to what Joy learned. If this is true of all stories with the hero’s journey framework, that means children could learn many important lessons from many different movies.

4. Stories can inspire children to never give up

Children admired the protagonist’s perseverance, as well. One of the children in the study even spontaneously expressed that Joy inspired her to never give up in her own life.

The more insights children gained while watching, the more meaningful the story became for them. Talking about the film or watching it again supported them in gaining more insights. (This is one of the reasons why children often watch films repeatedly.)

Altogether, the findings of the study indicate that stories can be an accelerated way for children to gain life experience and wisdom.

How to help children learn from films

Parents or other adults can support children in gaining new insights from a movie, TV show, or book by asking open-ended questions.

  • To encourage children to understand the emotions and behaviors of the characters, ask: “What do you think […] feels?” or “What do you think changed his/her/their mind?”
  • To discover what in the story was challenging for them, ask children what made them think: “Was there a part of the story that you had to think about?” or “Who did you have to think of the most?”
  • When the film contains acts of moral beauty, ask: “Which part of the film do you think was the most beautiful?” or more specifically: “What do you think of […] doing this?” and “Would you also have done that?”

It is important to always respect children’s answers and to remember that sometimes they’re too young to understand everything.

Inside Out is a great film to watch together, as well as other films with critical acclaim. You can also look out for movies that children watch repeatedly and that make them think. By watching such films and talking about them together, you can transform screen time into an opportunity for growth and provide children with rich experiences outside the realm of their daily lives.

From the American Academy of Pediatrics - 5 Ways to Help Your Kids Have a Healthy School Year

 


5 Ways to Help Your Kids Have a Healthy School Year

5 Ways to Help Your Kids Have a Healthy School Year

With kids heading back to school, here are some ways you can help stay healthy, happy and thrive.

1. Prioritize the basics: sleep, exercise & nutrition

Begin with the basics, ensuring that students get nutritious meals, sufficient sleep and physical activity. All of these are key to academic and social success. Studies show that children who eat a nutritious breakfast function better at school, for example. Many children qualify for free or reduced-price food at school, including breakfast. The forms for these services can be completed at the school office.

Getting enough sleep is also critical to staying healthy and thriving at school. Not getting enough sleep can affect memory, concentration, creativity and learning. In fact, lack of sleep is linked with lower academic performance, school attendance and tardiness.

2. Stay up to date on checkups & immunizations

If your child has not had a well-child checkup in the last year, schedule a back-to-school physical which will include any needed vaccinations. If they will be playing a sport, be sure to get a pre-participation (sports) exam. Your pediatrician can help you update any forms your child's school may need in case of a medical emergency.

The single most effective way to protect children as they return to school is to make sure they are up-to-date on all of their immunizations. We've seen a decline in vaccination rates nationally and are concerned about potential outbreaks of life-threatening diseases. A recent case of polio reported in New York reminds us that we cannot let down our guard. We also know that people vaccinated against viruses such as COVID and influenza (flu) are much less likely to have a severe illness or be hospitalized if they do get sick, compared with those who are unvaccinated.

If you have health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), check that your contact information is up to date with your state Medicaid agency. This will ensure you get timely updates about your health coverage so you can avoid any gaps in coverage.

3. Tune in to your child's mental health

Many children and teens have experienced mental health struggles over the past few years. Let your child know it's OK to talk about how they're feeling, and make it safe for them to discuss tough issues with you. Kids often avoid talking about touchy subjects, especially if they expect to be judged, lectured or punished. If you haven't already made this clear, affirm that your child can tell you anything. Emphasize that these conversations will take place in a judgment-free zone and really listen to what your child is saying.

Stay on the lookout for any changes in behavior that worry you or any signs of anxietydepression or distress. If you have a firearm in your home, make sure to lock it up and store the ammunition separately. The increased risk of suicide is higher for children and teens who live in a home where guns are stored loaded or unlocked.

Try to prioritize family meals and self-care breaks, like taking walks together. These can be great opportunities to talk. Ask your pediatrician if you are unsure if your child needs help or how to start a discussion. Schools may also offer sources of mental health support.

4. Talk about racism, bullying & kindness

Talk with your child about racism and hate. Encourage children to seek help from a trusted adult if they are discriminated against or witness an act of bullying or discrimination against others. Emphasize the value of treating others with respect and how simple acts of kindness can make a big difference. In fact, research shows that kindness can reduce stress and offer health benefits for everyone.

5. Plan for mindful media use

The change in routine is a good time to create or update your family media plan so you can help your child balance screen time with sleep, exercise and other healthy activities. Help your children choose high-quality programs or games and help them recognize sites that that promote false information.

This is also a good time to engage in conversations with your child about if and how they use social media, which can be beneficial but also problematic for some. We are still learning about the ways social media can affect human health, especially among children and teens. (See "Social Media & Mental Health.")

Remember

Children are resilient and can overcome many challenges with the help of trusted adults around them. Talk with your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns about your child, including changes in mental or behavioral health. Look for any notable changes in sleep, weight, eating habits or other everyday patterns. Your pediatrician is here to help!

8 Dimensions of Wellness - Create your own Summer Camp

With approximately 7-8 weeks of summer left before we start school, consider dedicating one week to each dimension of wellness in your own Family Wellness Summer Camp (something I did with my own children when they were young). It's a loose, fun, and interesting way to explore all the facets of our lives and strive for some balance.


Kids Free to Grow, York County - Parent Cafe on June 7th

 The Parent Cafe is a great opportunity to connect with other parents and ask all kinds of questions. For more information about Kids Free to Grow check out their website at https://kidsfreetogrow.org/family-programs/

Shannon Briggs, from Kids Free to Grow in York County, has a Masters in Psychology and uses the Strengthening Families model to support parents. She has 15 years experience working with foster parents, as an early childhood home visitor, case manager, Early Head Start teacher, and in her current role helping all families be more resilient.


Shannon will use an interactive "café" model for caregivers with children of ALL ages to discuss tricky topics with prompting questions like,


How have your experiences growing up affected your parenting?


How do you get your child's school to understand your child's needs?


What drains your energy and what builds it back up?

You can share or just listen. Video on or off. Whatever works for you.


There are lots of parenting questions. So come again even if you joined us in April. It will be different!

Please join us on

June 7th 11:30-1:00 pm

in the privacy and comfort of home or office!

Get Your Zoom Link HERE

FMI, Sally Manninen at smanninen@yorkhospital.com.

Check out Kids Free to Grow for other programs from Shannon!

Download a PDF You Can Share

More than enough - Mental Health Awareness Month, May 2023

 

Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in the U.S. since 1949. Every year during the month of May, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. Together, we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support the millions of people in the U.S. affected by mental illness. Read below to learn more about how you can get involved.

https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month/

Responding to your Kids' Big Feelings


From Greater Good Science Magazine - University of California Berkeley


Six Ways to Respond to Your Kids’ Big Feelings

When adults help children feel heard, it helps everyone feel less distressed and more calm.

As parents, one of our greatest motivations is to protect our children from pain and suffering—in essence, from negative emotions. Nonetheless, despite our best efforts, our children will be disappointed, feel fear and pain, and have tremendous loss and grief. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Experiencing emotions is at the heart of what it means to be alive, and emotions can provide us with information about ourselves and our environment. While we cannot strive to protect our children from difficult emotions, there are strategies we can use so that these emotions provide opportunities to learn and to feel connected to others.

The extent to which our children’s experiences of negative emotions could be potentially beneficial depends on their ability to self-regulate. In young children, parents play a vital role in this equation. Children’s prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that controls emotions and functions like the CEO, is highly immature. Imagine what would happen if a child were the CEO of a Fortune 500 company (think Richie Rich). Disaster! As the parent, you have the privilege of getting to be that CEO until your child is ready to take over