Newsletters
June 2024 - Mental Health
Maintaining good mental health is a challenge faced by many families and children. As early as the 1800’s, experts believed that mental health was intertwined with the management of our bodies, including exercise, rest, food, clothing, climate and shelter. Children’s mental health is just as important as their physical health. As parents, it is vital to teach our children the skills needed to face many different challenges in their lives. Teaching children how to recognize and manage their emotions and feelings while teaching them resilience can set a foundation for a more stable mental health outcome. Parents often know how to fix a child’s scrapes or cuts, or how to nurse them through the cold or the flu, but parents can sometimes struggle when managing panic attacks or the effects of extreme anxiety, stress or fear.
Fortunately, there are many resources available that can empower parents on how to teach children to deal with difficult emotions, body image, anxiety, bullying and more. It is important to have the tough conversations with your children early so you can help them be mentally healthy, safe and happy. Make a habit of checking in with your children often and asking open-ended questions (questions that encourage a full response instead of just “yes” or “no”) to keep the conversations going. If your children will not talk, see if they will compromise. Let them know you are there for them and that you care, and see if they will set a time that would be better to try to talk again. It helps if children feel some control and can choose when to engage and discuss how they are feeling.