National Center for Youth Issues

Summer is for swimming, camping, vacations, and making memories—but it can also be a great time to help kids discover a love of reading.

Our latest blog shares 15 simple ways to make reading more fun for less-motivated readers, from creating cozy reading nooks to reading at the beach, acting out favorite stories, and more. One of the biggest keys? Letting kids choose books that interest them. When reading feels like a choice instead of a chore, they're much more likely to keep coming back for more.

Read the blog:
https://ncyi.org/make-reading-fun/

Looking for practical ways to help children build resilience, manage emotions, and navigate conflict?

Growing Up Strong by Allison Edwards provides educators, counselors, parents, and caregivers with engaging activities and practical strategies that support emotional growth and resilience.

This comprehensive guide helps children:

• Identify and express their feelings in healthy ways
• Develop effective coping skills
• Navigate conflict and build healthy relationships
• Embrace a growth mindset and learn from mistakes

Thank you to for the thoughtful review!

Learn more: https://ncyi.org/product/growingupstrong/

Father's Day means something different to everyone, and that is okay.

For some, it is a day worth celebrating loudly. For others, it brings something quieter, more complicated, and harder to name. And for the dads out there doing their best every day, it is hopefully a moment to feel seen for the work that so often goes unnoticed.

However this day finds you, we hope there is something in it that feels good. And if there isn't, that is okay too.

Happy Father's Day. 💙

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in America learned they were free, more than two months after the Civil War had ended. It is a day that holds profound historical weight and a celebration of resilience, culture, and the long, ongoing work of building a country that lives up to its own ideals.

Today, we pause to honor that history honestly and celebrate the extraordinary strength of a people who refused to let the hardest parts of their story be the whole of it.

Freedom is worth celebrating. And the full truth of how we got here is worth remembering, today and every day.

“But Mom, it’s just a game.”

Video games are a part of childhood today, but helping children find a healthy balance between gaming and real-life connections is more important than ever.

But It’s Just a Game by Julia Cook follows Jasper, a young boy who is completely absorbed in his virtual world, and teaches kids how to trade their game controller for a “life controller.”

A great conversation starter for families, counselors, and educators helping children build healthy gaming habits.

https://ncyi.org/product/justagame/

We expect children to move through a full day of learning, navigating friendships, managing emotions, and meeting expectations—and then wonder why they come home dysregulated or shut down.

Processing takes time. And for children, it rarely looks like sitting quietly and reflecting.

It looks like running until they are out of breath, building something with their hands, disappearing into an imaginary world, or simply being close to someone they trust without having to perform or produce anything.

As the adults in their lives, our job in those moments is not to fill the space. It is to protect it.

🚩 Spending more time mediating friendship drama than you ever expected?

Social drama, friendship conflicts, and digital misunderstandings are some of the biggest challenges students face today. But the skills needed to navigate them can be taught.

30-Minute Groups: Social Drama and Friendship Skills gives school counselors and educators ready-to-use 30-minute lessons to help students recognize drama before it escalates, communicate respectfully, build empathy, and create healthier friendships.

Designed for grades 2–9, this flexible curriculum includes 10 complete lessons, ASCA® standards, assessments, family letters, and everything you need to lead an effective small group with minimal prep.

https://ncyi.org/30minutegroups

Flag Day is more than a date on the calendar. It is a reminder that the values this flag represents—freedom, dignity, and the belief that every person matters—are not guaranteed. They are protected by the people who understand what they mean and choose to act accordingly.

When children learn what the flag truly stands for, not just the colors and stars but the ideals behind them, they begin to understand that citizenship is something you live, no matter where your story began.

I'm Your Flag, So Please Treat Me Right! helps children explore the history of the American flag, patriotism, and the values it represents in a meaningful, age-appropriate way.

https://ncyi.org/product/imyourflag/

Words like "at-risk," "disadvantaged," and "broken home" have been part of education vocabulary for so long that we often stop noticing the assumptions they carry.

The language we use shapes how we view students. When labels focus on what's wrong with a child rather than the challenges surrounding them, we can unintentionally overlook the barriers, experiences, and systems affecting their lives.

This isn't about finding the "right" buzzwords. It's about being more accurate, more compassionate, and more intentional in how we talk about the young people we serve.

The words we choose shape the way we see children. And the way we see children shapes how they see themselves.

Save this. Share it with your team.

If you'd like this as a poster for your counseling office or staff room, you'll find it at ncyi.org/posters.

Do you know a student who is surrounded by people every moment of the day, yet feels completely alone?

In *15-Minute Focus: Relationships and Belonging*, Amy Baltimore gives educators, counselors, and school leaders the neuroscience, practical strategies, and real-world tools to recognize student isolation, build genuine connection, and create school cultures where every student feels safe, seen, and supported.

When a student is struggling to connect, withdrawing from peers, or moving through the school day emotionally invisible, it is rarely a choice. Isolated students are often the quietest ones in the room: compliant, high-achieving, and easy to overlook. Most adults want to help but aren’t sure what to look for or where to start.

This book reframes disconnection not as a personality trait but as a neurological state—one that is identifiable, addressable, and preventable when adults know what to do.

You'll discover:
• How the brain treats belonging as safety and disconnection as danger
• The hidden masks of student isolation and how to recognize them
• Practical tools for building schoolwide belonging at every tier
• The SAFE Framework for weaving connection into daily interactions
• How to repair rupture, restore dignity, and rebuild trust after conflict
• Actionable strategies, resources, and more

This book will ask you to look again at the students in your care—not only at what they are doing, but at what their nervous systems may be experiencing.

When belonging becomes the system, not the exception, everything changes.

https://ncyi.org/15minutefocusseries/