If you are looking for some reliable mental health tips, carry on reading this guide to learn more!
The physical and mental wellbeing of your child is the highest priority as a parent. While the child’s physical development, their mental health is often overlooked. Mental health plays an equally important role as physical health in the child’s overall development. A child’s emotional health and social skills are affected by their mental health.
In recent times especially during a pandemic, children have had to deal with challenging situations like lockdowns and reduced social interactions. These are relatively new challenges to a child’s mental health that parents may not be prepared to handle. Stressful situations are a dime to a dozen that continues from childhood to adulthood. It is up to the parents to prepare the child to handle such challenges healthily so their mental health can be strong.
Practical Tips for Parents to Support a Child’s Mental Health
Identifying the physical needs of a child is easy as most of them are materialistic and can be seen. Emotional wellbeing calls for parents to be more attentive to their child’s behaviour, emotions and opinions. Young children do not understand the concept of mental health so they may not know how to communicate when their mental health is affected negatively. Here are 14 mental health tips we think can help parents to be supportive and care for their child’s mental health.
Be Understanding
We should perceive that our childhood experiences are not the same as children born in the age of technology. Their challenges are different from ours hence as parents we need to empathise to understand their situation. Avoid comparing your childhood to your child’s life. Try not to sound condescending when you speak about your childhood experiences as this may let your child feel unheard and misunderstood.
Appreciate Efforts
Show appreciation for the child’s effort to achieve something, even if it fails. A young child will not feel good when their efforts fail but when parents show appreciation for their efforts, this can be a source of motivation. It also helps the child to not feel depressed or discouraged by failing. Teach the child that it’s okay to fail, the key is to pick themselves up and try again.
Pay Attention
Spend time with your children. This simple act can help in so many ways as the child will feel wanted and valued by parents. When you spend enough quality time with your child, you will be able to understand how they react emotionally to situations. This makes it easier for you to tell if they are upset or troubled.
Honest Communication
Children generally feel anxious to speak about sensitive matters with their parents. This can be detrimental to a child’s mental health as loneliness is damaging. Cultivate your relationship with the child to have open and honest communication. Encourage the child to ask questions and avoid scolding them when they speak out on their opinions. Instead, have constructive discussions that can help the child to build trust with you. When a child feels safe to speak to their parents, they can handle emotionally distressing situations better.
Encourage
Sometimes a child may feel discouraged by their teachers or peers. This sense of discouragement can grow and affect their personality and self-esteem. Children should feel supported and loved in their homes so they can deal with demotivation from external sources in a positive way. Encourage and cheer your child when they need it, this can give them the strength to explore and achieve their dreams.
Keep Watch
Children develop at a fast pace so parents need to keep up. Keep a close watch on how your child deals with issues or problems. Sometimes it may not be enough to spend quality time having fun, the quiet time also counts. There can be instances when the child becomes unnaturally quiet or brooding. Keeping watch over their behaviour without being controlling can be a helpful indicator of their mental state.
Relaxation
Parents can be too focused on getting their children ready for adult life by scheduling classes, adding extra lessons, and encouraging sports and learning. All these activities are beneficial to the child but learning how to relax is equally important. Taking a break from studies and other activities will help the child’s brain and emotions to develop in a well-balanced manner. Relaxing isn’t bad and it should be encouraged.
Screen Time
Screen time is a day-to-day necessity in this age and time (and it’s one of our favourite mental health tips). Limiting the child’s screen time is one part of parenting but there should also be parental censure on the content children can access online. There can be upsetting news or videos that may be inappropriate or too complex for a child to understand. Such content may cause major problems to a child’s mental health so it’s advisable to always use parental control on the devices.
Boundaries
Setting boundaries is a healthy way of showing your child that it’s okay to say no once in a while for mental health. This may sometimes relate to family members being too intrusive or friends being nosy. Set healthy boundaries to keep a happy household and teach the child that they are entitled to their personal time and space.
Instructive Discipline
Children require discipline for them to grow up with proper manners and good behaviour. Instructive discipline teaches the child to understand that there are consequences to their actions. Parents should discipline their children with the notion of getting the child to learn manners or to be a better person. Avoid disciplining the child to ease your anger as this may show the child that they are not loved and valued.
Seek Help
It’s important to accept and understand it’s all right to ask for medical help when it pertains to mental health. Parents should grow out of the stigma that seeking professional help for mental health issues shows weakness. If you feel your child needs to see a doctor for their mental health, seek the help they need without worrying about family members or society.
Routines
Setting routines provides stability in a child’s life and this can be helpful especially if the child is dealing with stressful situations outside their home. Routines can be comforting and can help to relax the mind. Sticking to a routine can help the child to build their mental strength at home so they can deal with external problems with a clear mind.
Avoid Nagging
Another mental health tip is parents should avoid sarcastic remarks, nagging and hurtful commentary when the child is struggling emotionally. Provide constructive and kind advice if the child needs it. Sometimes, all you need to do is hug the child and listen to them. If the child is feeling down, try changing their diet to more nutritious food, encourage physical activities and be a good listener if they need to vent.
Home Environment
Parenting is not an easy journey and we all need to deal with the stress and responsibility of raising a child as best as we can. This doesn’t mean we can’t keep our home environment happy and secure. Providing the child with a peaceful and happy home is vital. The mental health of the child and parents depends on a happy home.
Strong Minds, Brave Hearts: Mental Health Tips for Your Child
Children that are supported by their parents to care for their mental health will have the courage and strength to thrive in life. Creating a safe and supportive space at home provides many benefits for the child’s development. This may also reduce the chances of the child developing mental health issues as they grow older.
Regulating their emotions, developing resilience and having a positive outlook will help the child navigate difficult situations. Good mental health practices from parents may also help the child to deal with anxiety and stress positively. Putting in the time and effort to care for your child’s mental health will pay off. A happy child will have the courage to explore and learn new things that will lead them to success.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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