The Washington Post published an op-ed by Linda McMahon, secretary of education and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of HHS on Sept. 10., arguing schools should prioritize healthy habits over routine mental health screenings.
Here are six things takeaways from the essay:
- The essay criticized state policies like Illinois’ annual student mental health screenings, arguing they risk medicalizing normal child behaviors and imposing long-term stigmas on students.
- Rather than relying on school-based mental health systems, the piece urged schools and policymakers to prioritize nutrition, sleep, physical activity and family engagement as the first line of mental well-being.
- The essay calls out screen time and social media use as having neurological and behavioral effects comparable to drug addiction, suggesting these are key drivers of adolescent mental health struggles.
- Highly processed foods “bereft of nutrients” are described as damaging to children’s brains and contributing to antisocial and violent behaviors, adding urgency to reforms in school food environments.
- Referencing Abigail Shriers’ 2024 book Bad Therapy, the essay argues that therapy has become a self-perpetuating system, validating transient emotions, promoting pharmaceuticals and, at times, undermining parental authority.
- The piece advocates for family-based interventions and school choice policies, emphasizing parents’ roles in building children’s resilience through home routines, values alignment and active involvement of education.
