One Parent’s Perspective: Reflections During Mental Health Awareness Month

By Glen Weiner
May 8, 2026

This post is part of the “One Parent’s Perspective” blog series in which I explore topics related to youth mental health and wellbeing. I share my perspective as a parent and in my role leading the Coalition to Empower our Future (CEF), including what I learn from my own experiences as well as conversations with experts, educators and young people themselves.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. More than the media attention and activity it generates, it also provides an opportunity to pause, take stock and reflect on where things stand with the state of our young people’s mental health. This year’s theme is “More Good Days, Together.” That sounds simple. And yet, like so much in parenting, it’s not simple at all. But it is full of hope.

If you’re raising kids right now, you’ve probably felt that quiet, persistent worry that something isn’t quite right. I hear it from parents on the sidelines at my kids’ basketball and baseball games, in text exchanges and during late-night conversations. Our kids are navigating a more complex world than what many of us remember from our own childhoods.

It’s tempting to look for a single cause to blame. Social media, devices and technology are often the first place we land. It feels tangible, something we can point to, limit and take away. To be clear, technology plays a role in our kids’ lives and their struggles. But reducing youth mental health challenges to simply one factor doesn’t reflect the full complexity of what many families actually experience. 

The reality is often more complicated. More uncomfortable. But critically important to face head-on. 

Many kids today are often heavily over-programmed, often under intense academic pressure. Academic expectations have risen over the years, with more testing, higher standards and a sense that every grade carries long-term consequences. For some kids, it can feel like there’s very little room to breathe, let alone stumble.

And it’s not just heightened academic pressures. Many kids move from school to packed schedules of extracurriculars, each one meaningful, each one demanding. Sports, music, clubs, volunteer work. For many kids, these extracurriculars create positive outlets and build a rewarding community. But each kid is unique, and it’s easy to lose sight of the idea that while some kids benefit from these, for others, it might all just be too much. Overprogramming can create a fast-paced rhythm of life that leaves little space for rest, much less the creative, unstructured play that is so essential for them. These days, even downtime can feel structured or performative. 

I was just at an event in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, which CEF was proud to support. So much of the conversation focused on the basic, and scientifically-proven, mental and physical health benefits kids gain when they simply have access to outdoor spaces, nature and unstructured outdoor play. It was a reminder that one of our greatest assets can be right outside our front door. 

Then there are the social dynamics kids face, especially as they enter their pre-teen and teenage years – friendships, peer pressure, bullying, comparing themselves to peers and more. These experiences are not new, but they can feel more intense in a world where expectations around identity, belonging and success seem amplified. It’s why it’s so important that parents and trusted adults maintain good communication with our kids, so we can help them navigate these complexities of coming-of-age. 

Research supports what many parents are intuitively feeling. Rates of some mental health challenges have been shown to increase significantly during the school year compared to periods like summer or times of remote learning. That doesn’t mean school itself is the sole or even primary cause, but it does provide insight into the compounding environmental and social factors that contribute to our young people’s mental health. It also directly challenges the idea that screens are the only driver of distress.

In fact, focusing too narrowly on technology can distract us from the broader picture. It’s easier to call for technology bans than to rethink how we structure education, how we define success or how much pressure we place on young people to constantly achieve.

That doesn’t mean we throw up our hands. If anything, it means we work even harder and widen the lens.

“More Good Days, Together” isn’t just a slogan, it’s a reminder that supporting youth mental health is a shared responsibility. As parents, it might mean paying closer attention to how our kids are experiencing their daily lives, not just their digital ones. It might mean asking different questions: Are they overwhelmed? Do they feel safe and happy at school? Do they have time to relax, decompress and be creative without feeling guilty?

For schools and communities, it may mean looking beyond quick fixes and investing in environments that prioritize wellbeing alongside achievement. That includes fostering supportive relationships, creating space for mental health resources and recognizing that success looks different for every child. After-school and mentorship programs, such as those run by coalition members, After-School All Stars and Girls on the Run, represent a healthy example of how this can be done.

When it comes to technology, perhaps the goal shouldn’t simply be restriction, but guidance and support. Helping kids build healthy relationships with the digital world can be part of the solution, not the problem. Teaching them to understand it, question it and use it in ways that connect rather than isolate. Helping parents and educators understand how to provide this guidance is also critical. We can look to the work coalition member Media Literacy Now is doing as an example and expand.

As a parent, I don’t expect a simple answer anymore. What I do hold onto is the idea behind this month’s theme, that more good days are possible, especially when we stop looking for one cause and start working together on many fronts. Our kids’ lives are complex. Meeting them where they are requires us to acknowledge that and to respond with the same level of care and nuance.

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