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The importance of children's mental health is just as significant as adults. What do we want for our children? What are the goals we want to achieve? We want them to become productive citizens who are going to be part of our thriving communities. As they grow and prepare to become functional members of society, their mental health during childhood and adolescence is an important part of how they would shape up as adults. Children's mental health can't be separated from cognitive development, social competence, and language development. A strong foundation of emotional well-being and resilience should be laid for our children's mental health.
Recent studies have shown that rates of childhood anxiety, depression, and suicide are on the rise. According to a recent study, the number of teens and children in the United States who visit an emergency room for suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts has doubled over a 10-year period and tragically, school shootings have become too common affecting children's mental health severely.
Another study published by the American Psychological Association (APA) suggests that this trend toward increased psychological distress began when most teenagers gained access to smartphones and devices. Although gadgets and technology are meant to keep families better connected, the trend has not be encouraging. Reports of loneliness, neglect, lack of personal contact, peer pressure, reduction in family time, etc. have been directly or indirectly attributed to the rise in smartphone use causing a decline in children's mental health.
In one of the largest studies conducted on family dynamics, it was found that disconnect in the family unit has a high correlation with the onset and severity of a child's mental health condition. This is not to say that the family is at the root of all mental health disorders. Many forms of mental illness have a genetic or biological component. As a parent, you may blame yourself for what your child is going through. However, the power to alleviate the impact of such predisposing factors lies with the parents. Verbally and physically abusive parents cause irreversible psychological damage to their children's mental health.
6 Tips to Improve Children's Mental Health
Parents can affect their children's mental health without even knowing. In the present era, parents have a plethora of information available to them through the internet. Thus, they have a constant flow of advice and techniques for parenting. These research-based tips may help improve children's mental health and build a closer relationship with your child.
1. Being Less Reactive
Reactivity represents impulsive words or actions that might instantly harm children's mental health and mainly their self-esteem. No matter how much you seek to repair later on, a reactive response to situations makes your child fragile emotionally. This further causes negative impacts of early childhood experiences on mental health. As a less reactive parent, you should stay calm, listen to the child fully, and respond in a matter-of-fact manner. Ask pointed questions and allow the child to answer. Such a change in the parent-child dynamic creates confidence and builds a trusting relationship. Shouting down and ignoring the child's statements lead to a permanent collision mindset or develop repressed childhood trauma.
2. Prioritize Your Mental Health
Maslow’s theory of motivation suggests humans struggle to reach levels of growth and self-actualization when their basic needs are unmet. This model has been studied across cultures and applies to adults and children. When children are tired, hungry, or stressed, their needs show up in emotional and bodily ways of communication (crying, irritability, meltdowns, withdrawal). In order to learn and absorb information, and grow, children need to have their basic needs met. And guess what? The same is true for you! Start prioritizing your basic needs and your mental health so that you can be a role model for your children.
3. Play
Young children learn and make sense of their surroundings through play. They achieve vital milestones of their development, such as their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills while they are having fun. However, the play has benefits that go beyond early learning. It is crucial to enhance both your child's and your own mental health. Encourage your child to play and have more fun as excessively strict parenting has been linked to negative effects on children's mental health.
You have the opportunity to create learning and connection opportunities at home because you are your child's first playmate. Playing with your child allows you to experience the world from their point of view.
4. Praise Them
Children gain a desire to explore and learn about their environment when their first steps or desire to learn a new game is encouraged. Allow kids to play and explore in a safe and secure area by not pushing children too far so that they won't get hurt. Keep smiling and interacting with them frequently. Participate actively in their games and activities. Their sense of self-worth and confidence are boosted by your attention.
5. Be a Safe Haven
Respond to your child's signals and pay attention to their needs to show them that you'll be there for them at all times. Support and embrace your child's uniqueness. Be a welcoming space where your child can open up. Parents who are receptive to their children's emotional needs are likely to produce kids who have well-developed social skills, emotion regulation, and mental health.
6. Language of Feelings
One of the important lessons you can give your kids is how to verbalize their emotions and identify their sensations. By teaching them the many words for various emotions and providing examples of probable situations when those emotions might arise, you can aid your children's development.
While a person's actions may be problematic their feelings are never "bad." Children sometimes find it difficult to express their emotions, even when you ask them to, as they falsely think that how they feel is "bad" or "a problem" when, in reality, the difficult event that occurred is the issue. If we pay attention to and comprehend our feelings, they are similar to significant road signs. They can instruct us on how to attend to them.
If your son, daughter, niece, or nephew struggles with a mental health issue, the power to best help them lies within your own family. A well-connected family that listens to each other and solves problems without turning them into huge battles, stays relatively calm under stress. Such a family acts as a buffer against mental illness. Your needs are also fundamental in order to support your children's mental health. Therefore, learn healthy skills that will support and maintain your children's mental health.
Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.
