Are you worried about your child’s mental health? This complete guide is the key to your problems

In this blog post, I’ll be discussing the negative effects associated with a child’s mental health & simple yet effective methods to combat mental health problems faced by our youth today.

Read the following short narrative to better understand mental health in simple words.

Sameer rings the doorbell, Mum answers it, and he pushes mom through the door. “How was your school, Sameer, my son?” Mum inquires. Sameer puts aside his schoolbag and sits down on his couch, not saying anything about how bad life is.

Yeah! This is how life is.

Our children’s school lives are difficult; they must deal with exam stress and various psychological, physical, and emotional changes as they grow. At the time, life appears to be too much to bear, and the shrewd response is to do nothing.

Sameer’s mother is worried and stressed about Sameer’s downcast demeanor and how it could affect his mind. She wants to help but isn’t sure how. Her heart skips a beat as she wonders how Sameer’s buddies are doing.

I bet it does sound familiar to you? Sameer is just like other teenagers whose struggling to strike a balance between puberty and school. The sublime news is that our younger population are resilient and as a parent, we can nurture their resilience.

 Children – the powerhouse of energy and innovation! I must admit that all parents want to see their children flourish and excel in their lives; however, with uncertain times like the pandemic, many children faced anxiety, depression, health disorders, stress, you name it they had it and this is not only restricted to kids but also adults. The core pinpoint is poor “Mental Health”

Let’s talk more about the Mind & its effects on our children. Several factors could affect your child’s mental health and they are:

1. Traumatic experience
2. Physical illness
3. Social isolation or loneliness
4. Experiencing discrimination
5. Bereavement (losing someone close to you)
6. Social disadvantage, poverty, or poor housing
7. School bullies
8. Exam Stress and pressure
9. Fear of failure

The role of digital technology in children’s mental health

For starters, the digital revolution was officially born late in 1947. Over the last decade, the internet and social media in which we live and work have changed dramatically. Like many people, I believe that staying on the digital course is quintessential as digital technology advances but at what cost? I agree that digital technology has greatly enhanced our lives for the better; said that, it has also caused our children’s brains and bodies to atrophy.

Eye strain and difficulties concentrating on crucial tasks may be caused by social media and mobile devices. They may also play a role in more significant health problems including depression. Technology misuse may have a greater influence on developing children and teenagers. So as a parent, it’s your onus to limit screen time and maintain a balance between virtual and physical reality.

On one hand, when a child’s mental health is good, they can thrive and perform better in all day-to-day activities, including tough schooling whereas when their mental health is disrupted, their focus is drop-down and how they think and feel is also negatively influenced. Thus, it’s critical to dominating your child’s mind by:

• Making them aware of their thoughts & emotions.
• Helping them to cope with the stressors when they arise.
• Building a strong family relationship.
• Regularly encourage your child to do things that are meaningful in life.

What is a healthy mind?

First and foremost by definition “Mind health is a balanced mental and emotional state which allows a person to be productive during their day, contributing meaningfully to the community they live in”. When the balance is disordered, it can be tricky to function constructively. Dealing with life challenges can become stressful and the activities which seemed easy but due to imbalance in mental health can seem intimidating.

 Why a healthy mind is important?

Good mental health allows you to enjoy life while also coping with challenges. It provides a sense of inner power and well-being. You can safeguard your mental health in the same way you protect your physical health by eating well and exercising. In reality, eating well and exercising regularly can aid in good mental health.

• Habits to improve a child’s mental health

The adage that says “healthy mind in a healthy body” is true to the fact that our physical health vastly impacts our brain health. Below are 7 habits that you can motivate your child to inculcate and adapt as a lifestyle choice:

1. Daily physical activity: Sweat is the most effective elixir. Working out daily or any form of physical activity just for 20 minutes can zap out your kid’s negative emotions from their body thus making them feel rejuvenated and keeping their mental state intact.

Physical activity plays a major role in acquiring a healthy mind. “Walking is the best medicine,” Hippocrates stated. A regular short, brisk stroll could make all the difference in your mental and physical health in the long run. You must flex mental and physical muscles if you want to be a resilient thought leader or inventor. Physical activity helps you to clear your mind and become more creative. Almost every successful person I know who has a long career and is constantly coming up with new ideas has realized that regular physical activity is essential for mental, physical, and professional longevity.

You don’t have to make your child a fitness fanatic, but no one can make your child sweat. Physical activity must become a part of your child’s everyday routine if you want your child to stay competitive in today’s environment.

2) Cerebral curiosity:  Allow your child to spend some time in focused thought, exploring new ideas every day.

3) Cater innovative ideas: Challenge your child’s mind to connect unrelated ideas in new and useful ways.

4) Human Unity: Encourage your child to create and maintain healthy relationships bonds and a social support network

5) Spiritual Connectedness: Identify your child’s source of inspiration that is bigger than them.

6) Calories Balance: Balance your child’s calories in /calories out and reduce their carbon footprint.

7) Simple Living: Make your child embrace the liberty that comes with wanting and needing less.

• Raising kids with a healthy and positive mindset

The world is restless and filled with uncertainty. With covid19 and racial discrimination to bullies and ragging, children do undergo high pressure and at times, nervous breakdown at a very early age. If not tackled properly can be outrageous to handle as some kids rebel and vent out their emotions; however, some kids do not react at all. They go silent and don’t open up to anyone, including their parents which made them feel their child is normal and is happy with his life. But I bet you, that won’t be the case as they must have a tremendous amount of emotions building inside their body, and not letting them out can be perilous. 

We must take on the responsibility to raise healthy and mentally strong kids who can become healthy, competent, and both emotionally and physically stable because as parents we feel obliged that this is our duty to protect our kids from any harm.

Sometimes, we as parents guard our children too much so that they become dependent as we call “the bubble approach” and as they enter adulthood they lack the skills and mindset which is required to face any hardships that come along.

I feel we have a great opportunity here to make our children learn how to respond to life’s bumps on the road by giving them a chance to grow resilient, nurturing their skills and talent and allowing them to fail and learn from their mistakes will certainly make them emotionally independent. The key intake here is “connection”. A kid who feels connected to his life forges him to propel ahead and make better life choices. Plus, his mental health remains wholesome and strong.

You will be amazed to see how your child is thriving once you start motivating them to follow the below-listed fundamentals elements that are required to raise a healthy mindset in your child.

1. Allow them to make mistakes: If they don’t make mistakes, how will they grow? We as parents should allow our kids to explore their life, fall, and become messy and cranky. Just let them be themselves and give them that space to fall because a great learning experience comes when we make terrible mistakes. What better example to give other than Albert Einstein. He quoted “Success is a failure in progress”. I know you must be wondering why would I want my child to make terrible mistakes when as a parent I can fully support and protect him from getting failed? This statement buzzes my head but to tell you if you wish to make your child extraordinary then they must fail at some point so why not give them a chance to bloom while they are still in a developing stage? Of course, be empathetic and lead them to seek solutions.

• Discovering relaxing activities: Be a watchful parent and see what things relaxes your child? Help them to connect with those types of things when they’re frustrated. For some children, it could be simply listening to music, doing some crafts, or petting the dog/cat while for others it could be smelling a specific scent, or simply sauntering outside nature. Nature is the best calming essence when there’s turmoil inside. Just being surrounded by nature, watching a sunset, clouds, trees, etc. can be very therapeutic and has an enormous influence on our nervous system.

• Organize some free time-space: Anxiety faced by children has been on the rising horizon, especially during covid 19. All activities were derailed and life was upside down. As life is getting back to normalcy, our kids need to have some unsorted time that lends them to play. Remember all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. You can’t expect 100% productivity from your child and forcing them to study the entire day is so not a good option instead allow them some downtime to play. As a parent, it’s tricky to have such control but studies have shown that children having some unstructured time in their lives are better at making life decisions as they follow their journey. So let’s say yes to some free time.

• Find a hobby: Studies have shown that having a pastime activity can be helpful to weed out the possibilities of stress and anxiety and dwindle the chances of depression. Help your child chase the radar of creative ideas they enjoy doing such as painting, yoga, knitting, crafting, and planting to name a few. Having a hobby is a great way to relax our chaotic minds and find pleasure in doing something we enjoy.  Moreover, if they make things that aren’t perfect, take a step back and acknowledge their efforts and allow them to own it and take pride in it. Rather than criticizing them, as a parent you can help them and build connections together.

• Positive thinking: It is so necessary to have a healthy positive thinking pattern right from the start to lead a salubrious and blissful life in the future. Whatever a child believes and thinks during their childhood days plays a pivotal role in his future and to be brutally honest, your child takes in a lot of vibes from you. So if your thinking pattern is negative I believe you can try to switch it into a positive manner. Furthermore, if you see your child dragging himself in those negative “self-talk” it’s high time to sit with your child and have a conversation that will empower him in the long run. Start with something small like if your child’s nature is to keep saying “ I can’t do it or I am going to fail or I am miserable” make him understand the importance of positive thinking and help him in switching his thought pattern from saying “I can’t do it” to “ I am in the process of learning”. By doing this slowly but surely your child’s thought pattern will ameliorate and that way he can live a harmonious life in the future.

• Restrain Technology usage: I can’t stress this one enough as it’s so important to refrain families to limit their technology usage. I know how you would say but technology is omnipresent so why go against it? Creating boundaries and limitations in the virtual world will help your child

1. Practice creating boundaries and limits
2. Create mental space free from technological space
3. Build integral bonds with people
4. Find other creative ways for entertainment.

So there you have it: all the activities and tips mentioned above will surely help you to guide your child towards healthy mental health and how to take the most benefits from it.  You as a parent know your child better and so I suggest sitting with your child and working on this together and finding out which technique or approach your child is attracted to the most and start from there and gradually change the way you want it.

With this our thinking matches with SLU; in their recent article, they’ve mentioned a three-day weekend policy for all students to have balanced and healthy mental health. They have proposed that such long weekend holidays give students an ample amount of time to study well for their exams, and do their homework along with their leftover chores, giving them quality time to sleep and enjoy.

To read the full article: https://unewsonline.com/2021/11/why-three-day-weekends-are-beneficial-to-students-mental-health/

They say school plays an important role in every child’s life. From being naïve to a scholar, SP smart school brings out the best in every child. What if I told you that SP Smart School takes care of most of your child’s mental health through various activities along with the academics so that they are well –prepared in their life and live a dignified quality filled life when they step into the real world. Every parent would want the best for their child and the school you choose is the primary foundation in building your child’s character for life. A strong character is built when your child has strong mental health, isn’t it?

To know more about SP Smart School, kindly visit the website: https://www.spsmartschools.com