10 Ways To Boost Your Child’s Mental Health From An Early Age

Introduction

When humans become parents, their caring and protective instincts develop tremendously. They ensure their children are cared for, well-fed, and properly educated. However, not every parent considers their child’s mental health while parenting them.

Children are highly impressionable. From a young age, they absorb all they see in their immediate environment. Kids bloom if their family life and parents are understanding yet balanced in discipline. But if their family life is conflicted, inconsistent, or suffers due to financial or familial problems, then children are highly likely to develop mental health problems well into their adulthood.

The 21st century has high expectations and demands of all humans, adults and children alike. While the standard of living is improving, so is work and academic pressure. While adults are better equipped to deal with stress and anxiety comparatively, children are not as resilient and become prone to anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.

Due to their lack of maturity and brain development, kids do not possess the skills of mindfulness and emotional regulation on their own. These skills need to be nurtured to improve and enhance their mental health. Here’s a quick guide with 10 ways to boost your child’s mental health from an early age.

10 Ways To Boost Your Kid’s Mental Health From A Young Age

Teach Healthy Coping Skills

Children lack the emotional vocabulary and maturity to always identify and express their feelings. They cannot also cope with negative emotions while functioning and persevering through the day. In such cases, it is ideal to promote mindful breathing and make them engage in an activity that helps release stress, like gardening, yoga, walking outdoors, or listening to music.

Create A Safe Environment

It is important to create a safe environment for children to talk and communicate at home. Nobody else should be a part of it, unless your child is specifically comfortable with them. This helps children trust their parents and come to them with anything.

Maintain Open Communication

Always maintain age-appropriate open communication with children. They may have certain curiosities and queries regarding puberty and social interactions as they grow up. It is ideal to clarify them on a need-to-know basis in a straightforward and simple manner. Keep the atmosphere judgment-free as well. Then, your kids will be able to come to you with their problems without fear.

Establish Boundaries

It is necessary to establish and enforce boundaries from a young age. You can be kind and friendly with your children all the time, but if they do something wrong, they should understand that they have crossed a line and will face consequences. This helps maintain discipline and obedience in kids by making them more mindful of their actions.

Be Consistent

Be consistent with your kids, be it in discipline or appreciation. Children fit in really well with consistent parenting as they know that they will be punished for bad deeds and rewarded for the good ones. As they grow up, this consistent internalization automatically helps children make better choices in the future.

Develop A Routine

Develop a routine for your children to follow from a young age. It does not have to be militant in discipline, but simply a schedule with all their daily activities and resting periods carefully noted. The main factor here is enforcement. Once your child gets used to a routine, they thrive in the controlled atmosphere.

Play With Them

Playing with your children daily is important as it helps fortify their mental health and lower levels of stress and anxiety. Set aside all work engagements and play with your kids for at least 30 minutes daily. This will make them feel prioritized and valued.

Let Them Decide

Let your children make some decisions on their own as well. While you may have the final say to ensure their well-being, it is imperative to develop independent decision-making skills from a young age to nurture a well-rounded individual.

Encourage And Provide Positive Feedback

While it is crucial to give kids constructive criticism about their creations or performance at times, do not forget to constantly encourage them. They may not be the best at something, but negative feedback will do nothing but crush their spirit. Instead, offer feedback in a positive manner while encouraging them to do better.

Promote Family Bonding

Healthy family bonding is directly proportional to good mental health in children. The bond of love and respect children see between their parents and the way they treat their grandparents teaches kids many family values as well.

Conclusion

Ensuring good mental health in children is no mean feat. But it is no feat of Hercules either. All parents need to do is be patient with their children, take care of their own mental health, and give this guide a try. With diligent practice, the rest of the cards will fall into place in no time.