Youth programs underway for new school year

  • Published
  • By Kristen Burks and Andrea Steele
  • 412th Force Support Squadron
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The 2015-2016 school year is here and, after another successful summer, the Youth Programs are well under way! The beginning of the school year can be an exciting time for children, but can also cause stress and anxiety for many parents and children. There are many ways to reduce this stress for your family, including ensuring everyone gets enough sleep, getting lunches and school items ready the night before and giving yourself a few extra minutes in the morning so you don't have to rush.

Equally important is to focus some attention on valuable resilience skills for everyone in the family, especially when you are under the additional stress of having a deployed family member, moving into a new home, or have experienced a loss.

One important goal of Youth Programs is to strengthen resilience in youth. In addition to teaching them about resilience, the youth programs do many things to encourage youth to have a balanced, healthy, active lifestyle into adulthood. One way they do this is by exposing youth to new healthy activities that they might not have had an opportunity to try before, such as a yoga class or ice skating. Youth Program staff members often see these opportunities turn into life-changing experiences for children.

This summer, one of the most touching moments came during a field trip to Yoga Roots in Lancaster, from a young girl whose brother recently passed away. She quietly walked up to Shannon, owner of Yoga Roots, after the class and thoughtfully revealed, "I think yoga can really help me and my mom because we have a lot of stress in our lives right now. I really think yoga would help us relax and the best thing is that we could do it together...sometimes I get depressed when I think about my brother and this would help me take my mind off of what happened." 

Children, just like adults, often appear on the outside to be handling stress, but may be struggling on the inside. Ensuring that they have many opportunities to express themselves, whether that's through movement, music, art or just talking to someone they trust, can be very helpful.

Child and Youth Programs offer these experiences in addition to the services of Military Family Life Consultants, who are trained counselors that can provide advice and support to families and children, all completely confidential and free of charge. If you or your child needs additional support, please reach out to one of the helping agencies on base.

For any questions about Youth Programs please call the Youth Center at 661-275-KIDS, or the School Age Annex at 661-275-PLAY.