The Stressed Years of Their Lives: K-12
Childhood is evaporating into a life filled with over-scheduled activities and screen time, and adolescence has become a high-stakes, time-starved pressure cooker of stress, fear, and perfectionism for kids. The pandemic has amplified these secular trends. Many parents experience anxiety, wondering, “Will my child be OK?” and “Will they be ready for the challenges ahead?” We believe that parents can provide a sturdy safety net, supporting their child’s resilience. Based on The Stressed Years of Their Lives, this talk provides practical advice and information for parents as they partner with educators to ready their students for a successful launch to college and early young adulthood. We review the unique stressors of this age and reveal the keys to health promotion and harm reduction.

The Stressed Years of Their Lives: College
Parents today wonder, “What’s going on?” as they absorb the daily reports of campus hazards pandemic related concerns, and skyrocketing rates of college mental health problems. Educational leaders ask, “Why is this generation more stressed?” and debate how best to balance the traditional emphasis on academic excellence with the value of non-cognitive, resilience-building instruction. This illuminating talk tackles the campus mental health crisis, promoting key conversations and helping parents and administrators distinguish normal adolescent and young adult behavior while strengthening protective factors.

The Stressed Years of Their Lives: Special Needs
When Dr. Hibbs’s son Jensen left for college, his parents had every reason to believe he was prepared. Unfortunately, Jensen became severely depressed and withdrew from school on medical leave. His crisis and recovery taught Dr. Hibbs many important lessons about the specific challenges faced by families and young people with special needs. In this talk, Drs. Hibbs and Rostain discuss the journey through the education system and the launch to young adulthood through the lens of learning disabilities, mental health problems, and neuro-atypical development with particular consideration of the impact of pandemic-related mental health concerns and online learning environments. We’ll offer support that parents and students need.

The Stressed Years: What’s Next? School, Parenting and Life, Post-pandemic
Parents wonder, When will things return to normal: For kids, teens, young adults? How do you buffer the impact on your child after more than a year of loss, peer isolation, chronic anxiety and increased online activity? Beyond the usual tropes of self-care, this talk promotes useful strategies for emotional wellness for kids and parents alike, as we engage our new normal. We’ll help parents and kids digest their experiences and engage in key conversations about “What’s Next?”

Let’s Talk Bedford – Dr. Anthony Rostain from Smith Vanessa on Vimeo.

Let’s Talk Bedford: Dr. Janet Hibbs from Smith Vanessa on Vimeo.

8 Social and Emotional Skills from Smith Vanessa on Vimeo.

Are Today’s Kids More Stressed from Smith Vanessa on Vimeo.

How Can I Help My Kid Is it a Time For New Strategies from Smith Vanessa on Vimeo.

Watch Dr. Rostain speak about how to help students cope with college disappointment, in a talk with College Guidance Network.

Check out Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain in The New York Times.

Listen to Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain on the Free Library of Philadelphia podcast.

Read the piece Dr. Hibbs wrote for the New York State Writers Institute on how to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Rostain and Dr. Hibbs named as Plenary Speakers for the 2020 ACPA Convention.

Read Dr. Hibbs’s and Dr. Rostain’s article on preparing for the transition to college in The Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain give advice on how to do well and be happy in college on NPR Life Kit.

Dr. Rostain and Dr. Hibbs talk about helping your college-bound child learn independence on NBC10 Philadelphia.

Dr. Hibbs discusses how to prepare your child for college on NBC10 Philadelphia.

CBS News interviewed Dr. Hibbs on how parents can help college students get through increased stress.

Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain discuss the campus mental health epidemic on NPR Fresh Air.

Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain talk about “Stressed Generation Z” on The  Lisa  Show.

 Interview on WBYU radio 1.24.2019 Dr. Rostain gives advice on how to balance your emotions while your child is away at college and struggling with their own.

Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain talked with BYU Radio on why Generation Z is so stressed.

Read why most of Generation Z is stressed out in an op-ed by Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain.

Read Dr. Rostain’s commentary for Thrive Global on the need for increased campus resources for mental health.

Listen to Dr. Hibbs on WHYY with Mike McNulty, discussing “Divorce Prevention 101.”

Listen to Dr. Hibbs discuss holiday stress on the Diane Rehm Show.

Listen to Dr. Rostain discuss ADHD in adults on Voices in the Family.

Listen to Dr. Rostain talk about kids and meds on Voices in the Family.

“The President’s Advisory Group of Bryn Mawr College loved the blend of research, pragmatism , and open personal testimonial shared. This book and the presentation by the author provided just the right elixir for guidance counselors helping parents cope with the heightened anxiety of today’s students. ”
— Cheryl Lynn Horsey, PhD, Chief Enrollment Officer, Bryn Mawr College

“I just wanted to thank you profusely for the fabulous presentation yesterday. It was simply wonderful — highly informative and personable!”
— Jan Sigmon, YPO Big Apple Gold Board Member and CEO/Founder of The University Playbook

“‘I thought the authors’ presentation was excellent—very, very engaging and informative.’ ‘Their presentation was great!’ These are just two of the comments in response to a presentation at Villanova University provided by Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain to a group of faculty, advisors, and staff from area universities. The material was excellent and incredibly relevant to the students in higher education we all work with or for parents with children preparing for higher ed.”
— Nancy Mott, Ed.D., Director of Learning Support Services

“What a team! [Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain] both have a gift for connecting with [their] audience and impacting their thinking. Throughout the remainder of the conference, I overheard people talking about [their] presentation, particularly Jensen’s journey. Our goal for the conference was to provide information and offer tools, but most importantly to inspire hope. [Dr. Hibbs and Dr. Rostain] both accomplished all of that and we are so grateful.”
— Susan Berman, C.O.O., The HELP Group

“We have received numerous compliments as to the material that [Drs. Hibbs and Rostain] presented here at Alvernia University. The presentation on mental health and well-being was timely and relevant to the student populations that we serve, well done.”
— Dr. Rudy Ruth, Executive Director of the Holleran Center for Global and Community Engagement, Alvernia University

“Tony and B did a wonderful job sharing with our attendees! Their slides and commentary were right on target for what our educational leaders needed to hear and take back to their schools for impact. Indeed, mental health is so incredibly important as we teach and develop students for college and life.”
— Margaret ‘Sissy’ Wade, Ed.D., Executive Director, The Heads Network

“We have been receiving wonderful feedback about [B’s and Tony’s] talk. Folks found it to be informative, engaging and helpful! I’m so glad [they] were able to join us.”
— Natan Gottesman, Ph.D., Psychologist, Friends Select School, k-12 Quaker School

“The speakers today were outstanding. I loved their presentation, their delivery and their expertise. Thank you for finding them and bringing them to campus. Our lunch conversation was one of the best we have ever had after a speaker.”
— Kate O’Donnell, LCSW, Lower School Counselor, Colorado Academy

Praise for The Stressed Years of Their Lives“This is the type of book every parent should read before discussions of college even begin. Packing in just the right amount of statistics and real-world scenarios, two doctors offer sound advice on how parents can better prepare their children for the challenging college years that lie ahead of them.”
— Kirkus

“This book is a hopeful and essential guide that promotes emotional health and mental fitness in young people. The authors address mental illness and offer models for prevention, treatment, and recovery. A must-read for parents, educators, and clinicians.”
— Patrick J. Kennedy, former U.S. congressman, author of A Common Struggle, and sponsor of Paritytrack.org

“The title says it all. For many, the teen years have become a high-stakes, time-starved pressure cooker of stress, fear, perfectionism, over-achievement, overdoing and, for many parents, over-involvement. For anyone hoping to navigate these turbulent adolescent years and emerge on the other side with a healthy relationship to a healthy, self-aware and independent young adult, this book is for you. Chock full of practical tools, resources and the wisdom that comes with years of experience, The Stressed Years of their Lives is destined to become a well-thumbed handbook to help families cope with this modern age of anxiety.”
— Brigid Schulte, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author of Overwhelmed, and director of the Better Life Lab at New America

“College-related anxiety and pressure on both parents and children begins long before the admissions process, changes and intensifies in college and has been escalating, alarming educators, mental health professionals and, of course, families themselves. Drs. Hibbs and Rostain have battled in this arena with courage, insight and a wealth of professional training and experience. This wonderful book defines and explores the many, varied minefields of the college years with candor and compassion, and provides parents with practical advice and support about what to look for, what to ask and say, and when and how to intervene. Having seen these pressures both as a parent and university president, I am grateful that there is now this long-overdue and extraordinary guide. It should be required reading for all parents.”
— Judith Rodin, former Provost of Yale University and President Emerita of the University of Pennsylvania

“Hibbs and Rostain have done a great service for parents trying to guide their kids through the transition to adulthood and college life in this high stress world. They’ve written an engaging and accessible book full of common sense guidance and tremendous clinical wisdom. They provide both specific advice about the important issues to consider and what parents and kids can do to be best positioned to address those issues in order to succeed and thrive.”
— Victor Schwartz, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at The Jed Foundation and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine

“Drs. Hibbs and Rostain have a national reputation as highly knowledgeable and skilled adolescent psychotherapists, and for good reason. This book is filled with both clinical vignettes and research findings to help illuminate the very personal stories of what these young people struggle with, as well as some disturbing statistics about the mental health crisis in high schools and colleges. If you want to learn about adolescents and how to help them, please read this book first.”
— Daniel Gottlieb, psychologist, nationally-bestselling author of Letters to Sam and host of “Voices in the Family”

“The Stressed Years of Their Lives is an informative, thought-provoking and—perhaps most importantly—conversation-starting curation of mental health information that all parents need to read. With robust research woven throughout deeply compelling stories of real young adults and their families, the book paints a clear picture of the struggles that young adults of today are facing; the way parents, and young adults, and schools can be partners in success; and the message that help is available and there are so many reasons to have hope.”
— Alison K. Malmon, founder and executive director of Active Minds