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Featured MM: Goal Setting

When it comes to the recipe of goal setting, the secret sauce to success is accountability. Goal setting can be intimidating and following through is even more daunting; but it’s important to learn how to set attainable and measurable goals, without fear! In this video, YES Wellness Education Speaker Melissa teaches students how to make S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) to achieve greater success!

Parents – After watching this video with your child, use the following questions to help guide your conversation:

Question 1: What are S.M.A.R.T. goals?

Question 2: What is one goal you have? Can you make it S.M.A.R.T.?

Question 3: How is a goal different than a dream? Think of the quote, “A goal without a plan is only a dream.”

The Video Series

MM on Mental Health

We see headlines daily addressing the current youth mental health crisis. Research shows there has been a dramatic increase in mental illness, anxiety, depression, and suicide among youth. Students today are facing significant cultural pressures and negative messages that generations before them have never experienced. In addition, they are navigating extreme levels of isolation and loneliness brought on by the pandemic. In this Motivational Moment, YES Wellness Education Speaker Melissa Teat destigmatizes common misconceptions around mental health, and provides four ways students can incorporate healthy habits into their daily routine, with the goal of achieving good mental health.

Parents and Caregivers: After watching this video with your child, use the following questions to help guide your conversation:

Question 1: What are the benefits of prioritizing your mental health?

Question 2: What are 4 things you can do daily for your mental health?

Question 3: If you are feeling overwhelmed, or think you need to talk to someone about your mental health, who are the trusted adults you can turn to for support?

MM on Drugs and Alcohol

With the stresses of peer pressure, physical changes and self-discovery, teens today are particularly at risk for abusing drugs, alcohol, and other substances. In this video, YES Wellness Education Speaker Haziel Beltran shares with students the importance of saying, “YES!” to their dreams and goals, and “no” to destructive choices like drugs and alcohol that can put their health, safety, and future as risk.

Parents & Caregivers: After watching this video with your child, use the following questions to help guide your conversation:

Question 1: What are the three most common reasons some teens choose to use drugs and/or alcohol?

Question 2: What pressures do you face daily, and what are positive healthy choices you can make to help alleviate them?

Question 3: What dreams and goals are you saying, “YES!” to when choosing to say, “no” to drugs and alcohol?

MM on Cyberbullying

For some, the word bullying brings a mental picture of fighting on a playground or shoving matches in the hallway. Unfortunately, bullying can no longer be so narrowly defined. According to research, 59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online. YES Wellness Education Speaker Ramsey Pruitt helps to define what cyberbullying is, and discusses ways students can protect themselves and their mental health from negative and toxic comments received online.

Parents & Caregivers: After watching this video with your child, use the following questions to help guide your conversation:

Question 1: The validity test: If you receive a negative comment online, what is something you can do ensure it doesn’t become a reoccurring thought or belief in your mind?

Question 2: How can taking a break from social media benefit you and your mental health?

Question 3: As a way of learning to love who you are, Ramsey said to ask your parents, friends, or family what they love and value most about you. What should you do next with the responses to help build your self-esteem?

MM on Relationships and Sexual Health

Students have amazing dreams and goals! Maybe it’s to graduate from high school, go to college or a trade school and receive a certification. It could be to join the military or become an entrepreneur. They may even want to get married one day and have kids or no kids. Or maybe they desire to travel the world and see all kinds of different places and meet people. However, success doesn’t automatically happen, and students need to avoid certain distractions to stay focused on their dreams and goals. In this Motivational Moment, YES Speaker Krystal Walker talks about the topic of sexual health. She describes how sex can impact a student’s dreams and goals, as well how it can affect one’s financial future, physical health, and emotional health.

Parents and Caregivers: After watching this video with your child, use the following questions to help guide your conversation:

Question 1: What are the potential consequences that sex or sexual activity can have on someone’s physical health? 

Question 2: Krystal said one big risk of getting involved with sex is teen pregnancy. How does becoming a teen parent impact someone’s financial future?

Question 3: As Krystal mentioned, sex is not just a physical act. There are feelings, memories, and emotions all involved in a sexual relationship. How does sex have a lasting impact on someone’s heart and emotional well-being? 

MM on Teen Depression

Being a teenager can be tough, but it shouldn’t make students feel completely isolated and hopeless. Teen depression goes beyond a dismal mood. It can destroy the essence of their personality, causing an overwhelming sense of sadness, despair, or anger. In severe cases, teen depression can lead to teen suicide. In this NEW Motivational Moments video, YES Wellness Education Speaker Oliver Crandon helps to define what teen depression is, what it can look like, and how to seek help.

Parents & Caregivers: After watching this video with your child, use the following questions to help guide your conversation:

Question 1: What does Oliver mean when he says, “You are not alone?”

Question 2: Oliver described his own experience of dealing with depression when he was a teenager. What were the signs he experienced?

Question 3: If you are experiencing sadness, loneliness or depression, who can you go to for help, and when should you reach out to them?

MM on Teen Dating Violence

Healthy relationships are defined as people creating positive connections based on mutual respect, trust and honesty. Unfortunately in today’s youth culture, teen dating violence has become a serious issue. YES Wellness Education Speaker Anthony Cotton helps to define what teen dating violence is, the warning signs to look for, and shares a powerful story of how his friend was in an abusive relationship and the steps they took to break free.

Parents and Caregivers: After watching this video with your child, use the following questions to help guide your conversation:

Question 1: What are three warning signs of an unhealthy or violent relationship?

Question 2: When Anthony told the story about his friend, how was their life changed because of being in an abusive relationship?

Question 3: What are the 3 steps you can take if you find yourself in an unhealthy or violent relationship?