A recent CVS Health/Morning Consult survey of American parents and educators found that 70% of adults are concerned about their children’s mental health, higher than the rate of parents conerned about their children’s physical health (66%).

What You Need To Know

  • A recent survey from CVS Health and Morning Consult found parents are more worried about their children's mental health than their physical health

  • Over half of parents feel that social media is impacting their children’s perception of the world and their children’s development

  • The Bounce Coalition is a Kentucky-based nonprofit partnering with CVS Health to expand mental health services in rural parts of the state

  • According to The Bounce Coalition, the biggest thing that can help a child who is struggling is a caring adult

The survey also revealed about half of parents feel that social media is impacting their children’s perception of the world and their children’s development.

CVS Health is partnering with Kentucky-based nonprofit “The Bounce Coalition” to address these concerns and expand mental health services to reach more rural communities. These services include trainings addressing trauma, adverse childhood experiences and overall mental health and well-being.

“We also saw in the survey that was conducted by CVS that half of those parents indicated that social media is having a negative impact on their child’s perception of the world but also having an impact on their children’s development,” said Kelly Pullen, executive director of Aetna Better Health of Kentucky’s Sky Program.

Pullen said they hear from people across the state, included local leaders and elected officials who are looking for “child-driven solutions” to the problem. “That’s why we’re so excited to join this partnership with KYA and Bounce Coalition,” she shared. Pullen said they are one of the organizations in the state that are putting children first to find solutions. She also noted they are working particularly in rural communities in Kentucky, where there are often lack of resources, support and trainings for mental health.

“The Bounce Coalition has as its mission to do training with not just parents and not just teachers, but with wide ranges of people about the impact of adverse experiences and trauma, particularly on kids, and what can we do to help mitigate that?” Dr. Tony Zipple, co-chair of The Bounce Coalition, explained. He said the more kids are “bumped around” when they are young, the more at risk they are.

“We know that if we can teach everyone around the kids, everyone who has contact with the kids, to recognize when the kids are struggling and to lean in and find ways to be supportive, we can have an impact on the kids today and it has lifelong positive consequences,” he added.

Pullen said there are warning signs to watch for if a child is struggling. They include:

  • Major changes in sleep, appetite or behavior
  • Change in level of enjoyment of activities they enjoyed previously
  • Irritability or anxiety
  • Isolation and started to withdraw from loved ones

Zipple shared one of the biggest resources to help is a trusted adult who can be a resource for young people — a teacher, a relative, a minister.

For more information about trainings, visit the Bounce Coalition website. 

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