What does good mental health look like and why does it matter? Indicators of good mental health in children:
Good mental health is an important part of healthy child development. It helps children build positive social, emotional, behaviour, thinking and communications skills and lays the foundation for better mental health and wellbeing in later life. Loving relationships, learning to manage feelings, physical activity and healthy eating habits are key building blocks for good mental health and influencing the way children think about themselves, the world around them and how they cope with life’s challenges. Emotions and good mental health Growing up brings a range of experiences and emotions: fear, disappointment, sadness, anxiety, anger, happiness, joy, hope and so on. Big emotions can be difficult to cope with, when children learn how to cope with big emotions or to calm themselves in difficult or emotional situations they are inclined to feel good about themselves. Behaviour and good mental health Boundaries help children to feel safe by creating predictability, which reduces uncertainty, and that reduces anxiety. Try the following to promote mental health and wellbeing: Have rules about behaviour. Involve your child in developing rules and consequences. Encourage your child to set goals (realistic for their age and ability) and to work towards them. Praise their effort as they work towards the goal, receiving praise for effort along the way. Help your child to learn problem solving skills:
Physical health and mental health Good physical health plays an important part in good mental health. Being active has many benefits; it helps your child stay healthy, have more energy, manage stress and sleep well. Activity can build confidence, offer the opportunity for healthy competition, social interaction and to learn skills that will encourage keeping physically active throughout life. This week the children will be joining the conversation as it is Children’s Mental Health Week and across the school assemblies and activities will be taking place to enable your children to explore their emotional growth and to recognize that not everyone develops in the same way or at the same time. If you would like to learn about the initiatives taking place and access a range of information and resources to support discussions at home please use the following link: https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/parents-and-carers/ Sally Sharp Head of Wellbeing Reference: raisingchildren.net.au