​Years ago, Dr. Hodges noticed that children were experiencing a lot of unnecessary stress from various sources. She identified six causes of non-productive stress in children:

1. Misaligned Social-Emotional Programs: Flawed programs expect kids to act like adults, imposing impossible standards.

2. Forced Social Engagement: Programs promoting insincere interactions fail to foster genuine connections, leading to disconnection.

3. Poor Literacy Instruction: Ineffective teaching methods burden students, families, and society.

4. Inadequate Sleep, Exercise, and Nutrition: Children need basic health requirements; many are deprived of rest, activity, and healthy food.

5. Ineffective Adult Communication: A lack of adult education hinders effective communication, contributing to children's isolation and stress.

6. Inadequate Adult Leadership: Weak leadership fails to set high expectations, leading to harmful behaviors and emotional growth stunted.​

 

Instead of addressing the root causes of unnecessary stress, many schools, helping professionals, and media began to view all stress as detrimental. They tracked and published statistics on kids’ stress and tried to eliminate it entirely, including beneficial stress that fosters growth. The medical industry quickly turned to medication, masking issues rather than addressing root causes of suffering. The mental health industry prioritized comfort and short-term fixes over long-term resilience, ultimately worsening children's problems. Educators and parents, inspired by various gurus and personalities, avoided setting boundaries and holding natural consequences, which hindered the development of kids' fortitude, essential for overall wellness.

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Dr. Hodges believes there is a better way. She advocates for a change in how everyone interacts with kids—parents and professionals all need to engage with kids more effectively.​ Through Raising Moxie, Dr. Hodges and her collaborators can help kids grow by prioritizing the below:

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• Focus on practices backed by science.

• Create environments that support emotional expression, proper nutrition, exercise, and evidence-based growth and learning.

• Help all adults support kids in developing universal skills that will be relevant for their future. And in doing so, allow kids to be kids and adults to be adults!

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Over the years, Raising Moxie has made positive changes by training parents, educational leaders, and physicians in science-aligned practices.