Little Otter Acquires Little Renegades To Support Kids’ Mental Health, Launches New Back-To-School Tools

With Labor Day behind us, back-to-school is officially here nationwide. But the excitement of a new school year also strains the already-frayed mental health of many children and families.

CDC data show that nearly one in five kids in the United States has a mental health condition, such as anxiety, depression, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but just 20% get care from a mental health specialist. A majority (70%) of counties in the United States do not even have a single child psychiatrist.

The pandemic has only made things worse. Pediatric mental health-related emergency department visits increased by approximately one-quarter to one-third between April and October 2020 (compared to 2019), according to the CDC. Youth mental health is considered such a crisis that the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory to highlight the urgency.

Little Otter, a children’s mental health startup that launched in 2021 and has raised a total of $26 million to date, is trying to ease those strains and support families’ mental health needs. Little Otter reports that it has experienced 40% month-over-month growth, with more than 10,000 families using the company’s proprietary assessments and 85% of families experiencing clinical improvements within six treatment sessions.

Today, Little Otter announced that is has acquired Little Renegades, a children’s mindfulness and emotional wellness company, to expand its mental health toolkit for children and families. The company did not disclose deal terms, but a spokesperson said that the transaction is primarily equity based and that Little Renegades will become a significant equity stakeholder in Little Otter. The Little Renegades core team will join Little Otter and its founder and CEO, Blake Beers, will serve as vice president of content for Little Otter.

According to Rebecca Egger, cofounder and CEO of Little Otter, the acquisition fits with Little Otter’s strategy to become a comprehensive platform for families’ mental health and wellness regardless of the level of their mental health needs.

“At Little Otter, we believe that a child's mental health and wellness begin at birth and that promoting mental health and identifying the earliest signs of mental health challenges are as important as delivering clinical care,” Egger said. “At Little Otter, mental health support is not something that you only seek out in a crisis. We are building a product woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. That is how we teach good habits, reduce stigma, and create a society that values mental health.”

According to Egger, the Little Renegades acquisition allows the company to widen its lens and create a broader set of solutions to promote children's social-emotional health. Through the Little Renegades’ content library, Little Otter will extend its reach beyond families that need clinical services to include those who simply want tools to support their typically developing children.

Along with the acquisition, the company is announcing the launch of a new Back-to-School Toolbox that combines resources from each organization. The Toolbox includes the Little Otter Kelp Line, an on-demand chat line for mental health questions and mindfulness activity cards and journals from Little Renegades.

According to Helen Egger MD, cofounder and chief medical and scientific officer at Little Otter (and Rebecca Egger’s mother), mindfulness practices can reduce stress and anxiety and that mindfulness can be incorporated into cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of therapy that focuses on understanding and addressing cognitive patterns to treat anxiety and depression, among other mental health conditions.

Evidence on the clinical value of mindfulness in mental health is mixed. A recent study in BMJ Journals Evidence-Based Mental Health showed that school-based mindfulness training did not promote mental health in adolescents any better than teaching as usual.

That finding may only underscore the relevance of this new affiliation.

“The more I learned about the pediatric mental health crisis, it became very clear that social-emotional learning alone would not solve the problem,” Beers said. “We need psychoeducation to be paired with real treatment and care strategies if we’re truly going to move the needle on an issue as systemic and nuanced as this one.”

Managing Mental Health During Back-to-School

Back-to-school stress is normal, but according to Dr. Egger, this year it may be more challenging due to the accumulation of pandemic-era upheaval and uncertainty.

“The societal disruption and trauma of the pandemic has laid bare what a poor job we have been doing prioritizing children and prioritizing families,” Dr. Egger said, pointing to the trauma and loss associated with loved ones being sick or dying of Covid-19 along with fear of illness and interrupted social interactions and routines.

Early-life traumas can impair normal brain, nervous system, immune system, and stress response systems, according to Dr. Egger.

“Children’s brains are thankfully very plastic, and kids can catch up with direct intervention and support,” she said. “This is why it is so critical that we invest in support for children and parents to help them during this time and beyond.”

For parents who wonder when it’s time to worry about their kids, Dr. Egger suggests reflecting on whether their child’s emotions or behaviors, sleep, or appetite have changed. Beyond normal fluctuations, she said that emotional or behavioral changes that persist, are intense, are pervasive across settings and for most of the day, and don’t respond to your interventions may be cause for concern. She also said to watch out for new-onset stomach aches, headaches, and/or joint aches and pain, which could signal a treatable medical problem or reflect anxiety or depression.

Changes in your child’s functioning at school, home, or in relationships; themes of sadness, death, or danger repeatedly emerging in your child’s play; or recurring negative statements about themselves (e.g., “I am stupid”) may also be cause for concern.

“Listen to your child,” Dr. Egger said. “Be non-judgmental and open. You want your child to know you care, take their feelings seriously, and will help them if they are suffering.”

You may also want to talk to their teacher to understand what’s happening at school and to advocate for your child if you think they may need testing or additional services, she said.

“When parents sense something is ‘off’ or wrong, they are usually right,” Dr. Egger said. “At Little Otter, we strongly believe that parents are the experts of their children, so trust your gut and take action early because early intervention matters.”