How to Prioritize Your Child’s
Mental Health All Year Round

Have you ever wondered how children cope with this ever-changing world?

Mental health comprises our emotional, social, and psychological well-being. It impacts the way we feel, act, and think. It is the basis of our choices, how we deal with others and handle stress.

With many things that are happening, events and situations, are we able to take good care of our health? Specifically, our mental health? While others don’t take this seriously or others don’t care about this, mental health plays a vital role in our everyday life. This begins from childhood. We should always seek help when a child is struggling. It is our duty as a parent, apart from wanting the best for them. Kinspire will help when it comes to child meltdowns and development, in terms of motor skills.

To help you right now, here are some tips on how you can prioritize mental health for your child:

• Have your child or young adult take part in self-care

Self-talk and self-care are positive things to encourage. In the case of, perhaps, older children, they can often motivate and encourage themselves. This is achieved by simply finding something you like about yourself and telling yourself about it. You should be taking part in some kind of self-love every day. When someone has been busy for the past weeks with schoolwork, they should look to treat themselves to their favorite food or buy a new set of clothes. Everyone should do something to relax and feel better. If a young child, then it is for a parent to treat a child regularly so that they always have something to look forward to other than the compulsory or mundane.

• Develop a support system

Do not allow your child to keep their struggles to themselves. Identify just when your child is struggling with life. It is not good for anyone to bottle up negative thoughts inside them. Keeping this mental health disorder status would cause harm to the child and the people around you. The earlier you can get a child to open up about these issues, the better because you can help then receive treatment sooner.Find people whom you trust and who your child would be comfortable talking to—those who are willing to listen and are open-minded. Have them start with that person they are comfortable talking to.

• Have everyone understand it is okay to say “NO”

Each of us deals with our obligations and responsibilities on a day-to-day basis. Whether it be at work, school, or at home. More often, you are bombarded by a certain task to do. Do not always say “yes” to everything; you have to be realistic. You know what you can do, and you cannot do. You need to prioritize your mental health, give yourself a chance to relax. It is the same with a child. If there are things that they do not want to do then we have to allow them some freedom to say “no”, if the activities are going to make them extremely unhappy and affect their mental health.

• Be active

Exercise is essential to mental health; it does not only keep bodies healthy. Regular exercise improves sleep and self-esteem, reduces stress, and relieves feelings of anxiety and depression. Working out daily in the case of an adult, or taking part in fun activities and outdoor sports in the case of a child, can improve mental health.

• Acknowledging feelings

Many of us avoid dealing with feelings and would prefer to ignore them and act as if nothing is wrong. Not all children say what they are thinking once they start to understand how what they say can impact the mood of the adults around them. Those feelings could pile up together until a breaking point is reached. By not facing their feelings, a child is delaying you from obtaining mental health treatment for them. Make an effort to talk to your child regularly and ask them what they are feeling. Always make yourself approachable and make time for all loved ones, rather than wait for your child to have to tell you that something is wrong. They might not. Assess your child and observe how certain things could make them feel. Doing this could help you understand their emotions better, and you will be able to respond appropriately to the things going on around you. Acknowledging feelings always helps to understand the state of someone’s mental health.

• Contact a mental health professional

The best thing to do to know the state of a child’s mental health is to seek the help of mental health professionals. Therapy is the best way to explore emotions deeply and to have an accurate diagnosis. At first, you will feel as intimidated and uncomfortable as your child, but you should always remember that these professionals and therapists are there to help. The most important thing when it comes to mental health is having someone you can rely on to be there for you both. If you’re like most people, you probably don’t make a habit of talking to a mental health professional or having your child do that either. As you read this, chances are you’re probably wondering how you go about finding the right therapist for you.

When we think about mental health, we usually think about it in terms of the risk of mental illness or the symptoms of a mental illness. However, there is another challenge that many people would struggle to understand – how to prioritize mental health for a child, and indeed an adult, all year round. Vital to healthy and happy lives are these self-care practices that can help everyone to cope with and overcome the challenges that they face.

Mental health can be tricky to talk about, but it’s vitally important that we all do. Mental health issues can affect our life overall, not to mention an impact on school life, jobs, our finances, and our relationships. It’s much easier to deal with our mental health needs if we always have time for them. It is about making time for children just as we do for adults.