Seven simply ways to improve your child’s mental health

We all go through successes and failures in our lives. Some days are better than others. Similarly, our mood and mental state regularly change, as well. Especially when we are going through the social distancing phase due to COVID-19, that is why it is better to take care of our bodies and mind since lack of communication and interaction can have a dire effect on our mental state.

Mental wellbeing and physical health are interrelated, and if ever an issue in either one arises, it also has an impact on another. Contrary to popular belief, children also go through mental health issues and often suffer from mental illnesses. Besides, it is not necessary that one wait to encounter mental health problems to work on it, and despite being in perfect health, one can still take steps to improve its wellbeing. Like adults, mentally healthy children also show excellent performance in all areas. Healthy children foster good relationships, develop a good understanding, and learn new things better than their counterparts. Mentally stable kids are emotionally healthy and thus are generally happy.

On the other hand, mentally feeble children lag in many activities, and because they are at a tender age, they find themselves unable to discuss the issue. Due to ignorance, many a time, adults also cannot pinpoint that it could be something related to psychological wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed human lives all of a sudden, and the world has come to a virtual halt. Schools shut down; officials banned outdoor activities, and many governments administered lockdown. Children’s lives took a significant turn, and the world around them changed in a few days. Kids have been homebound for months, and it is uncommon to them that they are going anywhere, nor anyone is visiting them. Many of the kids show reactions like prolonged sadness, irritability, frustration, and worst-case sleeping disorders. Parents need to work on their children’s mental health, and they can easily do this while staying indoors.

A few simple ways of improving children’s mental health are as follows:

1. Relaxation Exercises

Children are excellent at imitating, and they love to copy their parents’ actions. Relaxation exercises help in calming their nerves and effectively work in relieving stress. Moreover, these exercises are not harmful in any way and are beneficial even for healthy people. Parents should learn a variety of relaxation techniques for children and try to incorporate them into their children’s daily routines. Moreover, these techniques reduce depression and anxiety in children, which may have arisen due to self-isolation.

2. Consult A Healthcare Practioner

Mental healthcare leaders for children undergo specialized training, which equips them with useful tools and expertise to enhance mental wellbeing in kids. Psychiatric healthcare practitioners for children are well trained and have a masters in healthcare leadership degree, which is not only considered a superior degree, but it aids them in treating their patients correctly. Additionally, they get several opportunities to demonstrate their skills and competence. If your child is behaving abnormally, then consulting a healthcare practitioner is a rational approach, and most likely, it will not let the illness escalate.

3. Lend Them A Listening Ear

Parents are an integral part of a child, and most of the time, mental health issues arise when they ignore their kids and don’t give them enough time. It is essential for children’s higher self-esteem that parents are available when their children want to talk to them. They should give them full attention to strengthen their mental skills and boost their kids’ mental health. Parents think that kids will not notice, and they only pretend to listen, but the truth is kids have sharp observational skills, and they can pinpoint when parents actually look and when they only act that they are concentrating on them.

4. Engage With Them

Children are young and should not interfere in adults’ matters, but they can certainly give some input on a fundamental level. You can consult them on simple issues like what piece of pottery the mother should buy or which dress to buy. Involving them in some simple issues will keep them busy and give them some sense of ownership.

5. Give Them Some Autonomy

Even at a tender age, children can make confident decisions for themselves, like choosing clothes or opting for cartoons or games. When parents give children the freedom to decide, they feel good about themselves and feel valued. Parents need to follow routines strictly to discipline them, once in a while, let them decide if they want to play a little more or eat an extra bar of chocolate. Giving them some autonomy works wonders in terms of their mental health.

6. Be A Role Model

If parents have frequent mood swings and occasionally get into anxiety, children most likely will have feeble mental health. Children learn the best from their parents, and as a parent, you need to look into the way you deal with your emotions like anger and frustration. Your way of reacting to unpleasant things have a direct impact on your child’s mental health. In these modern times, your child is closely observing you, and you must demonstrate the qualities that you want your kids to possess.

7. Nurture Your Relationship With Your Spouse

The most common yet significant reason for mental health issues in children is an unhealthy relationship between their parents. Parents think that children are too naïve to understand the tension between them, but the truth is that kids can feel the stress in the air, which affects their emotional and mental health significantly.

Conclusion

The pandemic has spread a wave of sadness worldwide, under which kids are the most affected ones. The unnatural living style has suppressed their personalities since a child’s wellbeing is associated mainly with the factors around them. Since parents are usually up-close with them, hence they can positively impact and enhance their children’s mental health by incorporating simple things in daily life.