Health

10 Ways to Support the Mental Health of Your Children

One of the best things to come out of the pandemic was realizing that everyone should take mental illness seriously. For years, there has been a stigma surrounding mental health that perhaps it isn’t real and doesn’t affect a person. However, when the world went into isolation, the prominence of mental health arose, and people took it more seriously than ever before.

Fortunately, for your children and this upcoming generation, there are more outlets available for them to discuss mental health with the opportunity for telehealth and counseling. While counseling can play a huge role in a child’s mental health, the home and family members, like you, also play a significant part in your child’s mental wellbeing.

As a parent, you want to do everything possible to ensure your children are healthy physically, mentally and emotionally. Here are 10 ways to support the mental health of your children.

1. Validate Their Emotions

Attune to your child’s emotions and let them know that it’s okay to feel their feelings. When they’re sad, happy, frustrated, fearful or angry, be open and curious about why they’re feeling that way. Try to understand them. Ask questions and get to the root of their feelings. Then you can nurture them. Validation of feelings means that you accept their feelings even if you don’t agree with their emotions or understand them.

2. Foster a Healthy Relationship with Them

The relationship you have with your child is essential. Be there for your children, support them, love them, nurture them, and do what you can to keep them healthy. Have regular conversations with your children and build trust with them. In addition to their relationship with you, ensure you’re helping them foster healthy relationships with other family members and friends. When they can connect with other people, their mental health thrives.

3. Limit Their Intake of News and Social Media

If you’ve checked the news recently, you know that it doesn’t particularly highlight the good that’s going on in the world. When you turn on the television or listen to the morning news, your children are watching and listening, too. They don’t always understand what is said, and that can be a source of anxiety. Limit your time watching the news to limit your child’s time as well, and talk with your children about important events.

4. Establish Healthy Habits

Basic things like getting enough sleep, drinking water and eating healthy meals can all support the mental health of your children. They’re good for physical and psychological health. Start these healthy habits at a young age, and you’ll notice their mental wellbeing be great throughout their lives.

5. Create a Routine

Children need a sense of structure and routine in their lives. With a routine, they feel more comfortable because they know what to expect and aren’t surprised when they enter a room or tell them to complete a daily task. When they are struggling with their mental health, having those boundaries and a sense of routine makes it easier to deal with them.

6. Teach Them Ways to Cope with Stress

It’s impossible to protect your child from every source of stress. These feelings of anxiety are something everyone deals with, and there are some excellent coping mechanisms to deal with them. Learning how to deal with it in a healthy way as a child will set them up for future success when they have more challenging obstacles in their lives. Methods to cope may include writing in a journal, taking deep breaths or playing to distract from the feeling.

7. Get Outside and Play

There’s a reason why so many kids love the summertime — it gives them the freedom to go outside almost every day and dismiss the worries in their lives. The outdoors provides them with fresh air and a rejuvenated feeling. Mental health improves significantly when people go outside. Send your children to the playground to decrease depression, boost their happiness and get rid of stress. It takes just two hours of outdoor playtime a week to improve overall mental wellbeing.

8. Look for Early Signs of Mental Illness

Another way you can support the mental health of your children is by being aware of early signs of mental illness. These may include things such as:

Fear when being away from parents
Worry of the future
No interest in doing fun activities
Changes in sleep and eating patterns
Showing self-injurious behavior
Feeling sad most of the time

The earlier you notice these signs, the earlier you can seek help and get them to a professional or medication that can help these feelings.

9. Model Positive Behaviors

Your kids look up to you for nearly everything, including the way you act. When you take care of your own mental health, they’ll do the same. Taking a day to relax or a few minutes each day to meditate shows your children that rest and relaxation are beneficial for their mental health. You can also be open about your own feelings with your children.

10. Seek Professional Guidance

Finally, if needed, seek professional help from a child psychologist Dubai expert. Not all mental health issues can be dealt with through simple coping mechanisms or talking to your children. Sometimes, they need a counselor or medication, especially if their mental health is life-threatening to either them or another person. It can be one of the best things you do to support the mental health of your children.