WATCH: Video Encourages Bi-Cultural Chinese Parents to Recognize Emotional Issues and Seek Support for Their Children

Information, photo courtesy City of Fremont via YouTube:

Every parent’s goal is to raise confident, healthy and successful kids, but oftentimes, parents are unaware or find difficulty in helping their children combat depression, anxiety and/or phobias. And as today’s youth faces pressure from parents, peers and social media, it’s more important than ever for parents to pay special attention to their children’s social and emotional development.

Thanks to a Kaiser Community Foundation grant, the City of Fremont Youth and Family Services (YFS) received $30,000 to develop parent awareness, promote education for Mandarin-speaking families and increase access to essential mental health services for Chinese American youth

Chinese-American community leaders and volunteers supported City of Fremont Youth and Family Services Division in the creation and production of a public service announcement, encouraging other Chinese parents to recognize emotional issues their children may be facing and to seek professional mental health services.

You can watch our 90-second video at www.Fremont.gov/Mandarin90
You can watch our 3-minute video at www.Fremont.gov/Mandarin3

“Often, eastern cultures discourage emotional expression and prefer to solve issues privately within the family because they feel embarrassed when disclosing concerns,” says Dr. Helen Hsu, a clinical psychologist at YFS, and current Vice President of the Asian American Psychological Association. “Our goal is to provide information to decrease community stigma, which creates barriers to good student health.”

Fremont Youth and Family Services has offered parenting education workshops in Mandarin to the Tri Cities area since 2012. Building on the success of these workshops, the division plans to build capacity to reach parents of children 0 years to 18 years. Workshops will provide a culturally responsive and supportive environment for parents to gain knowledge and skills from a licensed mental health counselor about child development, strategies for optimizing social and emotional success, along with stress management techniques. The workshops also provide parents with a place to build relationships and peer support with other parents.

Topics include:

• Bi-cultural parenting
• Responding to challenging child behaviors
• Improving family communication
• Awareness of youth culture and school pressures
• How to recognize warning signs of serious mental illness

YFS, as well as other providers, strive to make its services available to Fremont and Tri-City residents by offering a variety of school-based programs, in addition to workshops. YFS is just one of the City’s many divisions within the Human Services Department. Fremont is fortunate to have numerous programs dedicated to children, youth, families, and seniors.

For more information on these workshops and available support and services, please contact Fremont’s Youth and Family Services’ Joan Zhang at 510-574-2157 or jqzhang@fremont.gov, or visit www.Fremont.gov/YFS.