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5/7/2013  The Children's Mental Health Awareness Week is dedicated to increasing public awareness about the triumphs and challenges in children's mental health and emphasizing the importance of family and youth involvement in the children's mental health movement. |
The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in America. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s. Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card, or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/ or maternal figure on mother's day.
When I was growing up, my mother was a stay at home mom. Most of my friend’s mothers did not work outside of the home either. But it was a very different time then. My family only had one car until the mid 60’s so my mom couldn’t take us places during the day unless we walked. So, most of my time was spent outdoors with the other kids in my neighborhood climbing trees, riding our bikes, playing games, and going from house to house for cups of Kool-Aid and snacks.
My dad came home for lunch every day and then headed back to the office afterwards, unless there was a baseball game at Lafayette College that afternoon. He was the Sports Editor at that time at our city’s daily newspaper. If I was lucky, (which was most of the time), he’d take me to the game with him. I learned how to fill out a baseball scorecard before I could read a Nancy Drew book.
When I gave birth to my first daughter in the 80’s I did not have the choice of staying home with her or going back to work. I had to go back to work, as our finances required two paychecks. My thoughts of staying home with my daughter and doing play dates with friends and trips to the zoo and museums collided head on with a mortgage payment, car loan and the cost of raising a child.
I managed to find an excellent child care center and we all grew and learned by the experience. My experiences as a child helped shape and define the kind of parent I would eventually become to my own children. Being a mom who worked was an important aspect as to how I managed my time as a parent, but not what made me a good or bad parent. I can say that for me, being a mom is the hardest, yet most fulfilling job I have ever had.
To work or not to work is a debate that mothers have with themselves, their partners, and each other every day across the country. Our political leaders debate this topic quite regularly as well.
But the debate must also include ensuring that the moms who enter or re-enter the workforce have the programs and services available to ensure that they and their children are able to succeed. Those programs would include high-quality, affordable child care, Early Head Start and Head Start, family leave and other family and child-friendly policies. All must be part of the equation, not simply who can or should be afforded the opportunity to choose because of their economic status.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Wednesday, May 8, 12:00pm – 2:00pm, Sen. Ayotte Staff Hours - Keene, Keene City Hall 3 Washington Street
Thursday, May 9, 5:00pm – 6:00pm, Sen. Shaheen Staff Office Hours, Municipal Offices, 6 Village Green, Pelham
Thursday, May 9, 12:15pm – 1:15pm, Children's Mental Health Rally, NH State House Plaza, Concord
Click here to see more events in New Hampshire!
Every Child Matters in NH is proud to be supporting NAMI NH’s Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, May 5th -11th.
NAMI NH has partnered with other New Hampshire child and family serving agencies, organizations and advocacy groups and planned a number of “Children’s Mental Health Matters” awareness events this week.
We would like to encourage you to attend the "Children's Mental Health Matters" Rally which will be held on Thursday, May 9th, 12:15-1:15 at the NH State House Plaza.
NH’s efforts are similar to other communities around the country who are participating in National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week which is a part of the Public Awareness and Support Strategic Initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health & Human Services.
The goal of all the events is to raise awareness about the importance of children's mental health and that positive mental health is essential to a child's healthy development from birth.
All events will promote the importance of:
- Building resiliency in our children and youth;
- Screening for emotional disorders in our children and youth; and
- Early identification and intervention.
It's easy to know your child needs help dealing with a fever or a broken bone, but mental health problems can be harder to identify. The tricky part of parenting is knowing the kinds of behaviors and moods that are usual for the stage of development your child is in - and when your child has gone beyond the norm and needs help.
Research demonstrates that if screening is conducted the emotional needs of children and adolescents can result in identification and early intervention which can then avoid many years of pain and distress for our children, youth and families. This approach will ensure that our children and youth are able to meet their social/emotional developmental milestones.
View the NAMI NH Calendar of Events for activities scheduled during Children's Mental Health Awareness Week.
To learn more about how you can help, contact Claudia at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Today, our friends at the the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence along with its Million Mom March and Brady Chapters, Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, Women's Donor Network, MomsRising, and Voices Against Violence, have joined to participate in the Mother's Day Week of Action. Starting this week, The Brady Campaign and partner groups are asking Americans, particularly mothers, to make their voices heard with their elected officials to support legislation to expand Brady background checks.
They are starting this week with a call for members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor the new bi-partisan bill H.R. 1565, which will expand background checks to gun shows and Internet sales. You have the opportunity to text–to–call your Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor the measure.
You can text MYVOICE to 877877 and enter in your zip ZIP code. You will then receive a callback from a celebrity supporter or a mother who has lost a child to gun violence, who will connect you through to your Representative’s office. You can call 1-888-997-3976 to be connected to the service directly.
Voices Against Violence was launched prior to the Senate vote, and their Text-To-Call Congress Campaign has mobilized over 20,000 calls to Congress. Many celebrities have joined Tony Bennett in this effort including: Paul McCartney, Elton John, Juanes, Alec Baldwin, Jim Carrey, Sting, Gloria Estefan, k.d. lang, Josh Groban, Romeo Santos, Alejandro Sanz, Rosie O‘Donnell and Mia Farrow.
MaryLou Beaver
New Hampshire Campaign Director
Every Child Matters Education Fund
Every Child Matters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to make children a national political priority. For more information, visit www.everychildmatters.org
1023 15th St. NW Suite 401 Washington, DC 20005
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