How to nurture?a child’s mental health

As parents, we know the importance of healthy eating and physical exercise in our child’s life. To ensure this, we go to lengths to get the freshest or organic vegetables, focus on inculcating healthy eating habits, get them to attend some physical activity classes, but do we put the same thought for their mental health? Physical and mental health, both are important for a child’s overall development and growth. While both are connected, there are a few things that we as parents can do to nurture a child’s mental health.?

First thing to remember is that unconditional love is the master therapy for a child’s mental health.?

Good Mental Health is really about creating, encouraging, and using everyday healthy habits - like sharing and acknowledging feelings , correcting unhealthy and unhelpful thinking, showing empathy and building resilience.?

A child experience’s mental, behavioral, or developmental health disorders, commonly as?

• Anxiety?
• Attention deficit?
• Behavioral disorder?
• Depression?

Parents need to realize that supporting and nurturing their child’s mental health is a part of their overall health and wellness.??

Causes of Mental Disorders?

Even today we aren’t completely aware about the causes of mental disorder, however two common causes that are known to us are heredity and surrounding environment.?

Mental health disorders do run in families, so if one suffers from anxiety, the child may be more likely to have an anxiety disorder too. However, it has been observed that a combination of hereditary and environmental causes might result in higher chances of mental disorder in children. This is where parents play an important part in supporting and encouraging a child’s good mental health habits.?

Parents can nurture a child’s mental health focusing on –?

• Building a close relationship with them?
• Providing structure and boundaries?
• Fostering independence?
• Encouraging social connections?
• Teaching healthy habits?
• Modeling positive behaviour.?

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Here are a few easy ways in which you can nurture your child’s mental health while going about your daily routine.?

Be intentional and attuned?

When parents are consciously aware of their child’s non-verbal physical and emotional needs and respond empathically to those needs, they build a safe bond with the child. This helps develop a secure foundation from which a child’s mental health can flourish. Children need to feel safe, to express their feelings, so teaching them how to identify their feelings and ensuring a safe environment for them to express those very feelings will go a long way in nurturing their mental health.??

Balance closeness and compliance?

A good relationship with parents is one of the strongest protective factor against mental health disorders. Look for every day opportunities to lead with empathy and foster closeness. This can help create a healthy relationship - one that makes it easier for your child to come to you when they face problems.?

Reiterate that distress and failure are part of life?

Failure is a brilliant teacher, and it builds resilience. It encourages growth, understanding, and even empathy. As long as your child is safe, let them experience their share of failure and distress. Stay on the sidelines and be open about your support, but don’t jump in to fix the problem. Encourage them when they need it and ensure that you work together to solve a problem when the need arises instead of swooping in and taking charge.??

Let children get bored?

Boredom is when creativity takes root. It’s when children learn how to manage conflict with friends and siblings, how to solve problems, manage time, engage their imagination, develop self-control and be independent. These are key traits required in building resilience and supporting your child’s mental health. Keeping your child busy with scheduled activities may keep them from complaining of boredom, but it may also keep them from cultivating these skills. Don’t feel pressured to fill every hour of your child’s day with activity.?

Provide structure?

Structure means boundaries at bedtime, limits on electronics, rules for playtime and expectations on how we treat others and ourselves. It is okay to allow for some flexibility once in a while, but children need to know that adherence to structure is important for you.??

Encourage connections?

Social health is a key part of a child’s mental health. Building relationships allows them to learn how to be a better friend and to learn social skills. Little Big World, suggests for every hour of online connections, kids should get 30 minutes of face - to-face connections.?

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Model good behaviour?

One of the most important ways in which parents can nurture their child’s mental health is to model healthy behaviour. Healthy behavior largely means your reactions to situations and feelings. Making a mistake is part of growing up but how you deal with it and bounce back will be the base of good behavior. It also means being open about your feelings, even when you are feeling vulnerable or down.?

Make healthy choices

Healthy choices play a big role in nurturing mental health. Eating a healthy diet, being physically active, getting plenty of sleep are key factors that account for healthy choices. Parents should continue to encourage healthy choices that benefit physical, emotional and mental health.?

Focusing on nurturing mental and physical health of a child plays a big role in building resilience and equipping them with tools to keep mental health disorders at bay, even when they grow older. ?