It seems that the European Union’s digital personal privacy protections aren’t simply a handy way to keep the Facebooks and Googles of the world from snooping into your individual life. According to a current < a data-ga="[["Embedded Url","External link","https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2020:2521&showbutton=true&keyword=AVG",{"metric25":1}]] href=" https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2020:2521 & showbutton= true & keyword= AVG" rel =" noopener noreferrer" target=" _ blank" > court ruling in the Netherlands, these same protections can use to excessively intrusive family members, too.

First< a data-ga="[["Embedded Url","External link","https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/22/gdpr_grandmother_facebook/",{"metric25":1}]] href=" https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/22/ gdpr_grandmother_facebook/" rel=" noopener noreferrer "target=" _ blank" > in-depth in the Register, the case included a Dutch granny who declined to erase images of her” underage “grandchildren from social media, despite their mother’s protests. As the Register discusses, the grandmother and her daughter had not touched for approximately a year due to a” family argument.” Among the problems, obviously, was the granny’s rejection to take down pictures of her child’s 3 kids from her Facebook account, and in February, these problems reached the regional cops.

The granny continued neglecting the authorities’ requests– and, per the docket, continued upgrading her page with more pictures of these grandkids– so the tiff was brought to justice. This resulted in the Grandma removing all of the photos, save for among the grand son she ‘d cared for from 2012 to 2019, when he was coping with her. In this case, neither the kid’s mother nor his father had actually granted the picture being shared on social networks.

As it so occurs, the Dutch < a data-ga="[["Embedded Url","External link","https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0040940/2018-05-25",{"metric25":1}]] href=" https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR 0040940/2018-05-25" rel=" noopener noreferrer" target=" _ blank" > specifications surrounding the EU’s basic information defense guideline– also referred to as GDPR– need the approval of a legal guardian when posting intel about anyone under the age of16 Normally, something that could be thought about a” personal” or” domestic” activity( which, ostensibly, includes publishing photos of your grandkids) falls outside of the GDPR’s securities. But as the court docket notes:

It can not be ruled out that posting a picture on a personal Facebook page falls under a simply personal or household activity, [because] it has not been adequately established how[defendant] her Facebook account or her Pinterest account has been set up or safeguarded.

Searching for the names of a grandkid using an online search engine, they discussed, might easily turn up these photos, considering that photos on the majority of social networks profiles are one of the < a data-ga ="[["Embedded Url","Internal link","https://gizmodo.com/zoom-has-a-google-problem-1842902393",{"metric25":1}]] href="https://gizmodo.com/zoom-has-a-google-problem-1842902393" > numerous, numerous things that are instantly indexed by business like Google. So even though posting an image of your kids (or grandchildren) might be technically considered domestic, it’s still something that can have quite significant ramifications in the non-personal world.

The Dutch courts offered this grandmother 10 days to take the images down, threatening a fine of EUR5000(or roughly $55) for every day the image remains published, up to a maximum of EUR1,00 0, or simply over $1,090 It’s unclear if she’s taken the pictures down by now, but hopefully this will make her hesitate before putting these grandkids on display.

Now that spring weather and warmer temperatures have arrived, it’s time to venture outside. Of course, for some folks, that might not be much further than your front yard since many parts of the country are still maintaining social distancing. But at least your family can still have fun together, so this might be the ideal time to add a new game into the mix. (Let’s face it, cornhole is played out, and most people don’t have space for bocce ball or croquet in their yard.)

Below I’ve rounded up some of the best outdoor games you can get right now. Inclusion on this list is based on either my personal experience with the game or overwhelmingly positive reviews from customers. If you have a fun outdoor game of your own to recommend for this list of best outdoor games, share them in the comments!

Read more:  Best sunscreen for 2020: Neutrogena, EltaMD, Supergoop and more  

GoSports

Kubb (pronounced “koob”) has been a Broida family favorite for years. This lawn game is great for all ages (even a young kid could play it), because all you have to do is toss a wood dowel and try to knock over wood blocks. It’s a little bit horseshoes, a little bit chess, incredibly fun for two-on-two play (though team sizes can vary if you like). And unlike a lot of the games here, this yard game can be played even on super-windy days.

GoSports offers both regulation and backyard versions, the latter simply a bit smaller and priced $10 less. Either way, you’ll need a reasonably spacious yard in which to play.

Read more:  Get ready for summer with these 7 aboveground pools  

Kan Jam

Kan Jam is a really fun two-on-two game. The “Kan” is a hard-plastic bucket of sorts, one with a slot in the front. The goal is to fling a flying disc through that slot or into the top opening. If it’s off course, your teammate can try to swat it into the Kan midflight. You get varying points depending on what happens. Then it’s the other team’s turn.

This outdoor activity is best for families with older kids, in part because it takes some coordination to fling accurately, which might be hard for a younger kid, and in part because Kan Jam can be hard on the hands; you’re constantly swatting at a fast-moving, hard-plastic disc.

Poleish Sports

I don’t know the Bottle Bash origin story, but I’d guess this outdoor game started with a fence post and a bottle: “Bet you can’t throw that Frisbee and knock the bottle off!” This two-on-two game comes with two plastic posts (which are easy to stake into the ground), two plastic bottles that rest atop them and one flying disc.

The goal: knock that bottle off. Meanwhile, the defending team tries to catch the disc — and the bottle, if you’re able to hit it. We liked the handy score-keeping slider on each pole but found the game more challenging than expected: Even at the minimum 20-foot distance, hitting that pole or bottle isn’t easy. Younger kids might get easily frustrated.

RampShot

The reason cornhole and bean bag toss games are so popular is that people love trying to toss an object into a hole. RampShot takes that idea, widens the hole, and replaces your standard bean bag with rubber balls. Now it’s a team game, with your teammate trying to catch the ball if it bounces off the surface and an opposing teammate trying to catch a rebound. Very simple, tons of fun.

However, while RampShot requires four players, only three are active during each round. The rounds go pretty quickly, but if you want an outdoor activity where everyone is participating all the time, pick something else.

Spikeball

Spikeball is a hugely popular outdoor game, condensing elements of volleyball down to a small, circular space. Instead of hitting a large ball over a straight net, you’re smacking a softer, grapefruit-size ball onto a bouncy, ringed one, sort of like tetherball but without the string. It’s a fun game, but quite challenging.

And be prepared, parents: This is a pretty physical game, one that requires fast movement and probably some diving if you want to win points. Consequently, this might be best for just the kids, although it does require four players.

Crossnet

Four square is the popular playground game involving a kickball and four chalked squares on the ground. Crossnet takes that classic game airborne, with a four-way volleyball net and ground boundaries that mark the squares. Once it’s set up, you literally play four square, but with a volleyball. The net can be set at three different regulation heights, so the game is suitable for kids as well as adults — though obviously it does require enough skill to hit a ball over a net.

It also requires a bit of time to set up and take down, so ideally it’s something you’d leave set up in the yard. But it’s well worth the effort. This is one of the few games with individual, rather than team, scoring, and although only four people can play per round, it’s easy to rotate in additional players. (In other words, Crossnet is a great game and works well with larger families.)

Unfortunately, at this writing, this outdoor game is sold out at Amazon, and the company’s website indicates that direct orders won’t ship until early July.

OK, there’s my list. What game(s) do you think you might try with the family?

This article was previously published. 

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“Marie” had been helping her 10-year-old navigate an escalating pattern of acting out against himself and his family when things came to a head in one of his therapy sessions. He threatened to hurt himself, and “the provider advised us to take him to the emergency room,” says Marie, a 50-year-old writer in Pennsylvania who asked that we use a pseudonym to protect her son’s privacy.

It was the right call. Marie’s son ended up staying in the hospital for a week and then being discharged with a detailed plan for ongoing mental health care. Five years later, Marie says her son is doing well. In hindsight, she thinks she should have reached out for help sooner, and she wants to help other parents avoid making that mistake.

I talked with Marie and two experts in the field of child and adolescent mental health to put together a guide to help you know when and how to support a child who is struggling.

Signs your child could use professional mental health support

“The main thing to look for is any dramatic change in behavior or your child’s expressed affect,” says John Duffy, a clinical psychologist in the Chicago area who specializes in tweens, teens and families and is the author of Parenting The New Teen in the Age of Anxiety. Some things to watch out for:

• Spending more time in their room than usual
• Hanging out with a completely new set of friends
• Grades that plummet or skyrocket (the latter could be signs of perfectionism)
• Increased moodiness
• Less communication
• Eating or sleeping a lot more or a lot less than usual

“You know your child best; trust your gut,” says Katie Hurley, a licensed clinical social worker, who works with kids and teens in Los Angeles and is the author of The Depression Workbook for Teens. “What is your child or teen’s baseline? If you see those patterns changing, err on the side of caution. It’s better to give your child a support system than wait it out.”

In 25 years, Duffy says, she has never worked with a family that erred on the side of caution, pursued a psychological evaluation, and regretted it.

What happens in a psychological evaluation?

During a psychological evaluation, a trained mental health professional will meet with your child and assess their psychological strengths and challenges.

“It typically consists of interviews, tests and questionnaires,” Duffy says. A provider might conduct it all in one session, but Duffy prefers to meet several times. Once it is completed, you should receive a write up of the results along with any recommended treatment plan, which could include psychotherapy, medication or a combination of the two.

Where do I start?

If you know of—or have a relationship with—a therapist, Duffy suggests starting there. Ask them to recommend therapists who specialize in evaluation work. If you don’t know any therapists, “school counselors and advisors tend to know people in the area,” Duffy says. “I always encourage parents to talk to them. They will have names and numbers and people they prefer over others.”

Hurley suggests reaching out to your parent network or pediatrician. If your school district does not have counseling services and you strike out with friends, check your county or municipality’s website for their behavioral health resources.

“A lot of places have community mental health centers staffed with licensed clinical social workers where you can get in for an evaluation,” Hurley says.

You or your teen can also call crisis hotlines where someone will listen to you confidentially and connect you with local support. If all else fails, reach out directly to a psychiatric hospital or hospital that has a psychiatric unit—even better if they have one specifically for children and teens.

“They will have resources at the ready,” Duffy says.

What should I tell my kid?

Make it part of a bigger conversation about the importance of mental health in general. Duffy recommends telling your child, “our job as your parents is to make sure you are healthy in every way. That’s why we encourage you to get exercise, and to go to school, and that’s why we bring you to the doctor. If you are having a hard time emotionally, we are responsible for that, too. This is just part of taking care of you.”

You can explain that you are doing the evaluation to figure out what their strengths are and whether they might benefit from help. Duffy’s suggested wording: “This is not about what’s wrong with you, but more about what’s working well and areas where the grown-ups around you can help make it better for you.”

How do I know if it’s an emergency?

Your child may actually tell you they are in crisis, Duffy says.

“This happens more and more these days, because kids know what anxiety is, they know what depression is, and they know what suicidal ideation is,” he says.

If your kid is telling you they are in trouble, listen and take action. Other signs that require emergency medical attention:

• Any suicidal ideation (evidence that your child is thinking about suicide), which can include comments, notes, and posts on social media.
• If your child is showing any violent inclination toward themselves or someone else, including talking about it.
• Evidence of self-harm, such as cutting. Kids may cut on their arms, but they also may choose places that are easily covered by clothing, such as the legs or back.
• Your child is clearly struggling but refuses to talk to you at all.
• Dramatic shifts in behavior that are negative.

What do I do if it’s an emergency?

“Call 911 right away,” Duffy says. “Don’t even wait to hear from their therapist if they have one, because it is a matter of immediate health and safety. I’ve worked with parents who have lost kids or whose kids have done dramatic harm to themselves, and that is devastating.”

Hurley warns parents not to sleep on any serious concerns. “That’s not a risk that anybody should be willing to take,” she says.

Don’t let stigma stop you

“There are definitely points where parents tend to say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing,’” Marie says. “We tend to minimize our children’s mental health issues, because we place the blame on ourselves.” But Hurley points out that it is well understood now that “we are in the midst of a mental health crisis in our country and you are not going to be judged.”

Duffy helps parents work through stigma by framing your actions as being the best parenting you can do in this situation.

“I’m using all of the tools at my disposal to make sure that my child is emotionally well and healthy,” he says. “I’m going to turn to the experts because this is not my field of expertise, and I don’t want my child to suffer.”

It’s helpful, he adds, to think of this as no different than seeing an endocrinologist to help a child who has diabetes.

“What you will find—if you are willing to talk about your experience a little bit—is a lot more people saying, ‘Yeah, this is happening with my kid, too,’” Duffy says. “I am finding that people are being more and more open about it, and they are finding way more community support when they are open about it.”

Be prepared

If you have a child who is currently receiving mental health care or seems to be struggling, Marie recommends doing some homework so you are prepared to help them if an emergency arises.

“Just like if my child has a broken arm, I know I take them to the emergency room and get them a cast,” Marie says. “If my child starts saying they want to die or they want me to die, who do I call?”

If you think your child may need mental health services at some point, Marie recommends putting together a toolkit by researching the laws in your state and knowing what will happen if your child gets evaluated or admitted. A good place to start is your city or county behavioral health department.

“In Pennsylvania—and I think a lot of states have similar things—there are specific mental health diagnoses for children that qualify them for medical assistance and programs that are supportive for families and paid for by medical assistance,” Marie says. “The application process can be onerous and confusing, and that’s where advocates, non-profits and regulatory agencies come in handy. You may be entitled to some benefits that can make your life easier for the time that you are dealing with it.”

When parents are unsure about what hospitalization might mean for their child, Duffy encourages them to reach out to a psychiatric hospital and discuss possible incidents. You don’t have to give your name, just ask what would merit hospitalization and what would happen if you brought your child in. Ask whether you would have access to your child or whether they could release themselves, depending on their age. You can also talk these scenarios through with your child’s therapist, who should be well-versed in the laws of your state.

“There is no situation in which you are powerless,” Duffy says. “In my experience with the psychiatric community, their goal is not to strip you of your power; their goal is to release a child who is healthy and ready to be released from their care.”

Demand a discharge plan

If your child is hospitalized for a psychiatric emergency, they should not be discharged without a detailed plan for the ongoing care they will receive.

“From an inpatient setting, a lot of young people often transition to an intensive outpatient setting (IOP) or a partial hospitalization program (PHP), where they receive daily care in a structured setting,” says Duffy. “If that is not an option or the care team doesn’t think it is necessary, ongoing care will probably include regular visits with a psychotherapist and/or psychiatrist.

“If you are not offered a plan going forward, you should demand it,” says Marie. For her family, her son’s continuing care included short-term medication, as well as therapy for the whole family.

A follow-up plan should also include communication with your kids’ school, says Cheryl Eskin, a marriage and family therapist and programming director of Teen Line in L.A. That way, professionals at the school can help your child if they need to take a mental health break in the middle of the day and so they can also be on the lookout for any signs of concern.

“After a few months of the family therapy, things started looking up,” Marie says. Within the first year, she began to feel hope that her son’s condition would improve. Now, five years out, life is more or less back to normal for the family. And she takes great comfort in knowing that “intervening in that crisis situation was the best thing to do, because he needed support that I was not able to give him.”

More resources

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) answers calls 24/7, is confidential and can connect you and your family to local, professional support.

There are several hotlines nationwide staffed by teens who are trained in peer support. One of the biggest is Teen Line. Others include Safe Place, The Trevor Project, which supports LGBTQ youth in mental health crisis, and the Jed Foundation.

Mental Health First Aid is a program that trains adults and kids 12 and older about how to recognize when someone is in a mental health crisis and get them help.

The QPR Institute offers a technique to draw someone out who is expressing suicidal thoughts.