It's good to talk...
It is equally important that children are encouraged to take care of their mental health as their physical health. Just as they are encouraged to eat well to keep their bodies healthy, encouraging them to talk openly about their thoughts and feelings helps them to take care of their minds.
Children learn a great deal from copying what they see around them, if you model ways in which to take care of mental health it can help them see what good habits look like. Openly talking about emotions and checking in with feelings helps to normalise discussion and encourages children to share their emotions, from happiness, excitement and curiosity to the less comfortable feelings such as fear, sadness and anger.
Understanding that thoughts, feelings and emotions change and being able to connect with and manage a full range of emotions helps children to feel good about themselves, to deal with life’s ups and downs, to feel in control of their lives and to be able to ask for help from others when they need support.
Now, more than ever, we should all be talking more about how we are feeling and keeping the lines of communication with children will help them to take care of their mental health and keep you in the loop about how they are feeling - It’s good to talk…