Three Top Tips to Promote Positive Emotional and Mental Health for our Children:
Mental Wellness is so important for children and young people, it helps build self-esteem, compassion for others, resilience when experiencing knock backs and the ability to concentrate and achieve.
There are many stresses in life, ranging from body image, exam pressures and social media platforms to name a few. Over the decades the development of this fast paced digital world has impacted the mental wellness of children and young people. Providing tools for them to manage these stresses is important for then to keep mentally well.
We were lucky enough to have My Tools 4 Life in the boutique last week providing a mental wellness drop in for young people and their carers. There are so many pressures on our young people these days so its great to get some pointers on how we can support them best. Here are three tips to help support your young ones.
Trust and Communication
Create a safe space for children and young people to talk openly. Parents/Carers can offer this through non-judgemental listening. For example, any difficult experiences where a child feels they are in trouble or have made a mistake, give them time to talk and respond by encouraging reflection, support and solutions moving forward.
This helps the child or young person feel understood.
Protective Factors
Encourage healthy coping strategies. These are key protective factors that help manage daily stresses and can prevent poor well being and mental health disorders. Having a healthy diet, exercising regularly and good sleep habits play a big role in this. Additionally hobbies and interests create a sense of belonging and play a major part in boosting self confidence.
This helps the child or young person have self esteem.
Education
Talking freely about mental health will not only help reduce the stigma but will allow children and young people to learn it’s normal for our mental health to fluctuate. Like the weather, we all have rainy, stormy or sunny days.
Modelling how we feel and helping them to reflect on how they feel will increase their emotional awareness.
This helps the child or young person have self awareness
Interested in learning more on this subject? Then you should take a look at the Youth Mental Health First Aid Course here
We will be holding one in the boutique in May so get in touch with My Tools 4 Life to book on mytools4life@outlook.com