A child’s mental health is just as important as their physical health rather it compliments each other’s well-being. As per the report from the WHO, worldwide 10-20% of children and adolescents experience mental illness. In fact, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1 in 5 children experience a mental disorder in any given year. And while not all mental health issues can be prevented, you can take steps to help keep your child as mentally healthy as possible.
In all our parenting sessions, we generally suggest parents to follow these easy tips for a healthy mind for their children;
Take Care of Your Mental Health
It starts with the parents keeping a sound and healthy MIND for themselves. Not only that you will be modelling the habits that improve mental health, but you’ll also be creating a healthier environment for your child and family.
Build Trust
Any solid relationship begins with building trust. One way to establish trust is by creating a sense of safety and security. Commit to strengthening your family bonds and being trustworthy.
Foster Healthy Relationships
Encourage them to have several healthy and meaningful relationships with other family members, such as grandparents and cousins, as well as friends and neighbours. This will improve their sense of social belongingness and confidence.
Be Consistent
Do what you say and say what you mean. Your children need you to be consistent, honest, and caring. They generally look for predictability and consistency which will help them to learn the consequences of their actions too.
Teach your kids the ‘language of feelings’ and importance of empathy
One of the most important things you can teach your children is to recognize what they are feeling and to express their feelings in words. Together with knowing their own feeling train them to understand other’s feelings too.
Teach how to handle stress and failure
Stress and failures are normal parts of life and learning to deal with it in a healthy way now will set your child up for success in the future. For instance, they are bound to have disagreements with friends and failure in homework assignments at one time or another. Give your kids the skills they need to deal with those circumstances now in order to build their mental strength.
Encourage Healthy Habits
Help them to find and nourish habits for their physical and mental well-being. Research shows mindfulness and gratitude can also have a big impact on mental health.
Develop Self-Esteem
One of the most important aspect is helping your child to develop and maintain their self-esteem. You can ensure that by;
- Providing genuine, realistic praise.
- Giving opportunities for independence.
- Helping your child develop healthy self-talk.
- Showing them to take ownership of their success and failure etc.
- Spend time and play with them by following the principle of consistency.
Ensure that you are judiciously following up on your children,no matter how busy you are with your work or other commitments. This gives them a feeling of togetherness, bonding, appreciating relations, helping habits etc.
- Be alert for Red Flags
If you notice that your child feels sad or overly anxious about normal situations, like meeting new people, there might be a problem. Likewise, a change in mood or behaviour that lasts more than two weeks could be a sign of a problem as well.
- Seek Professional Help
It’s estimated that only 21% of children with a mental health issue get treatment. That means most children with mental health problems aren’t getting the help they need.
It could be too overwhelming for parents but it’s always better to take a professional intervention, if needed.
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