The Columbia Press
April 9, 2021
7
Here’s to Your Health
Senior Moments
by Misty Bottorff
with Emma Edwards
A glimpse at the naughty ‘90s Helping your kids cope with the pandemic
I’d thought daffodils were
always yellow, but have
learned recently that they
come in shades of pink, cor-
al, salmon and peach. Well,
come to think about it, I have
noticed the white ones with
yellow centers.
I’ll have to do a bit of re-
search on daffodils one of
these days. Anyway, yel-
low is perhaps the favorite
throughout our country.
And, in my case, I like yellow
best of all.
Perhaps the reason we like
daffodils so much is that sig-
nal the onset of spring and
spring is a season when color
hits us strong. My large aza-
lea bush is almost completely
in bloom with beautiful red
flowers.
Since I live in an apartment
complex, it kind of belongs to
everyone and it seems every
year grandparents bring their
little ones for a picture with
those beautiful flowers as a
background.
Out on our side street,
the rhododendrons have all
leafed in with blossoms in
place to give us untold joy in
a few weeks. The colors are
fuchsia, lavender and pink.
I am convinced it’s best to
look at the positive side of ag-
ing. Perhaps I should say the
good side of aging.
Recently, one of our
91-year-old ladies told me
that she likes being her age
as she feels she can say just
about anything and get away
with it. I totally identify with
that. We both enjoyed a good
giggle as we shared with one
another.
Sometimes, I find myself
looking forward to what’s of-
ten referred to as the “naugh-
ty ’90s.” This particular lady
said she recently volunteered
to be a helper where she lives.
And, by the way, she still
takes a walk every day too!
The world around me is
bursting into color. As I face
another beautiful and joyful
spring day with the sun shin-
ing, the only negative thought
I can come up with are those
annoying telemarketing calls.
Would you believe at 5:30
a.m. today I had one of those
calls telling me I needed to
update the warranty on my
car?
Do they get on your nerves
as they do on mine? Most of
the calls are recordings so I
can’t even scold them.
Oh, well. I hope you had a
glorious Easter Sunday as
I did. Last week, I forgot to
mention another popular
hymn (not just for Easter)
that is perhaps one of your fa-
vorites, too: “In the Garden,”
written by C. Austin Miles in
1912.
The story behind the hymn
is that the author was devel-
oping film in his dark room
and decided to read his Bible
for inspiration to write an-
other hymn. “In the Garden”
was inspired by John Chap-
ter 20.
I hope you have fun in your
garden this year, too!
The year 2020 brought a
plethora of crises — wildfires,
a global pandemic,
political unrest, and uncer-
tainty — which have had an
astronomical impact on the
mental health of children and
teens.
Children learn and commu-
nicate through play, social
interaction, and modeling
from peers and adults, but
COVID-19 guidelines on so-
cial distancing and school
closures caused many chil-
dren to be isolated over the
past year.
When schools closed last
spring, families struggled with
the transition to online learn-
ing and the loss of extracur-
ricular activities. Many kids
weren’t able to see friends, no
longer had healthy outlets for
socializing and learning team-
work, and many began living
in the uncertainty and fear of
getting sick.
As an integrated behavioral
health clinician at the CMH
Pediatric Clinic, I have seen
an increase in anxiety and
depression among the chil-
dren and youth I see. Parents
report that their kids spend
more time on screens, are less
motivated to do activities they
used to find enjoyable, and
have more behavioral and
mental health issues.
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 2: Here’s to Your Health from CMH
Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen
Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer
However, there are ways we
can help children cope with
these stressors and help build
their resilience.
Parents and caregivers
should check in with children
often about how they feel and
how they’re managing stress.
What I’ve noticed right now is
that most children and teens
just need someone to really
listen to them — without try-
ing to fix the problem.
Setting and keeping routines
in the home is very important
for children’s mental health.
I encourage you to set regu-
lar bed and wake-up times,
schedule time for physical ac-
tivity and limited socializing
with other children, spend
more time outdoors together,
and start new family rituals.
Now is the perfect time to
learn and teach new skills
like cooking, gardening, play-
ing games, and to just spend
quality time together.
If your children are strug-
gling with anxiety or depres-
sion, talk with their pediatri-
cian. There are many great
therapists in our area who
treat children and adoles-
cents. Help is also available
from the integrated behav-
ioral health clinicians at any
CMH Primary Care clinic.
Providing support, build-
ing resilience, and teaching
healthy coping skills are all
ways that we can help our
children through this difficult
time.
Here’s to Your Health is
sponsored by Columbia Me-
morial Hospital. Misty Bot-
torff is a licensed clinical so-
cial worker and integrated
behavioral health clinician
at the CMH Pediatric Clinic.