Monday 16 May 2022

SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH

As a parent, one of your key responsibilities is to ensure your child is in the best possible health, both physically and mental health.


 As mental health is particularly complex, it can sometimes be difficult to spot signs that a child is struggling. Read on for some advice from a prep school in Gloucestershire on how to support your child with their emotional wellbeing. 


Consider Your Home Environment


Your child’s happiness starts at home. With that said, have a think about whether or not your home environment is a place in which your child feels loved and supported, and confident enough in their own abilities and opinions. Give them lots of encouragement and praise, as this is far more advantageous than harsh punishment. 

For instance, if your child fails an exam, you’d be better telling them how proud you are that they tried their best, rather than letting them know you are disappointed in them. The latter will only damage their self-esteem, whereas the former will encourage them to try again. Show them that you value their opinions and trust them with responsibilities. 


Encourage Your Child to Pursue their Interests


Another way to support your child’s mental health is to encourage them to pursue their interests. Doing so will make them happy and potentially distract them from any stress they might be experiencing at school or otherwise. When pursuing a hobby, they will develop a range of key transferrable skills, which will help them to feel more confident. 


Limit Screen Time


Technology is great for many reasons, but it can also be quite negative for a child’s mental health. Too much screen time reduces the amount of time spent pursuing healthy activities, like exercising or playing outdoors. 

What’s more, social media websites have a tendency to encourage people (especially vulnerable people) to compare their lives to those of others, which is damaging to their self-esteem and wellbeing. So, try and encourage your child to put down their phones and tablets, and pursue other activities. 


5 comments:

  1. Screen time is such a big one as it hasn't really been something that too many past generations have had to consider. But I know my mental health suffers when I use it too much

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  2. Limiting screen time can make a big difference to children. I try to get mine enjoying the outdoors and doing other activities where I can to help minimise this.

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  3. Great tips. I really try to limit screen time. I try to make sure my daughter understand this is to protect her mental health. We have talked a lot about TikTok especially recently. I think she gets it. It's too much, too young as far as I'm concerned.

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  4. Social media can be a very negative factor in a child's life, especially if they find role models on Instagram or Tik Tok and start comparing themselves with them. It's so important to limit the screen time but also explain that most of the things on social media are not really real.

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  5. I'm loving this topic. Very different perspective from what many of the older generation experienced - so needed today. Loving environments, encouragement, pursuing interests ... what a beautiful world we will see in generations to come if this advice flows out into the world and up to those in authority.

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