Supporting a child’s mental health is essential to ensuring they grow up with the emotional resilience and coping skills needed to navigate life’s challenges. We know that parents play a pivotal role in nurturing their children’s mental well-being. We understand that this can feel like an overwhelming pressure, and that it can be easy to find moments when you begin doubt yourself and what you have put in place to support your child’s emotional wellbeing. In these times of doubt, it can be helpful to remind yourself of some the practical steps (most of which you are likely already doing!) that help your children to become emotionally robust young people.
- Create a Safe and Supportive Environment
- Emotional Safety: Make sure your home is a space where your child feels emotionally safe. Encourage open communication where they can express their feelings without fear of judgment.
- Physical Safety: Provide a stable and nurturing home environment. This includes meeting their physical needs (food, sleep, exercise, and a consistent routine) as well as creating a safe, calm space.
- Set Boundaries
- Security and Stability: Boundaries create a predictable and safe environment for children, helping them feel secure and understand what is expected of them. Clearly communicate your expectations to your children.
- Be Consistent: When children cross boundaries, calmly and consistently follow through with agreed-upon consequences. Take the time to listen to your child’s perspective and validate their feelings, even when they are upset about a boundary being held.
- Maintain Open Lines of Communication
- Active Listening: Practice active listening by giving your child your full attention, reflecting back what they say, and acknowledging their feelings.
- Encourage Talking: Create opportunities for conversations by asking open-ended questions about their day or thoughts. Let them know it’s okay to talk about difficult emotions like sadness, anxiety, or fear.
- Teach Social Skills: Help your child navigate social interactions by teaching them how to manage conflicts, communicate effectively, and empathize with others.
- Teach Emotional Awareness and Regulation
- Label Emotions: Help your child identify and label their emotions (e.g., “I feel frustrated,” or “I’m really happy”). This helps them understand and process their feelings.
- Emotion Regulation Techniques: Teach simple coping mechanisms like taking deep breaths, counting to ten, or walking away from stressful situations to calm down.
- Be Patient and Non-Judgmental
- Don’t Rush Solutions: Sometimes children just need to be heard. Avoid immediately offering solutions unless they ask for help. Let them process their feelings and come to their own conclusions when they’re ready. Giving you child space to sit with and tolerate uncomfortable feelings whilst they do so is an important part of teaching them emotional regulation.
- Teach Perseverance and Be Compassionate: Help your child to understand that struggles can take time to improve or resolve. Be patient with your child and let them know you are there to support them as they take steps to work their way through their challenges. Reinforce the idea that setbacks.
- Model Healthy Coping Strategies
- Regulate Your Own Emotions: Children often mimic their parents’ behaviour. Model how to handle stress, frustration, and difficult emotions in a healthy way. Use problem-solving skills and communicate calmly.
- Show Healthy Outlets for Stress: Teach your child how to manage stress through activities like physical exercise, deep breathing, journaling, or creative outlets like drawing or music.
- Promote Balance and Self-Care
- Balance Between Work and Play: Ensure there’s a balance between schoolwork, extracurriculars, and downtime. Over-scheduling can lead to burnout and stress.
- Encourage Positive Relationships: Support your child in developing strong friendships and healthy social connections. Playdates, team sports, and group activities can help them feel connected and supported.
- Stay engaged: Show interest in what they’re learning, their hobbies, and what excites them.
Author: Georgia Mancroft
Psychotherapist
