How parents can tackle mental health issues in children?

Mental health issues in children are often characterized as delays or disturbances in the development of thinking, acting, socializing, or emotion management in accordance with their age. Children who have these issues find it difficult to function normally at home, at school, or in other social settings. Therefore, ensuring their physical and mental well-being is of prime importance. Good mental health hygiene not only helps children in becoming well-rounded, healthy individuals but also gives them the resilience to handle whatever life throws at them.

We ask Ms Seema Rekha, Managing Director at Antarmanh about the rise in the mental health issues in children and how parents can tackle it.

What leads to mental health issues in kids?

Some children and adolescents can be more susceptible to mental health issues than others due to specific risk factors. These can lead to significant problems such as despair, anxiety, self-harm, or eating disorders. Exposure to stressful events can also increase the likelihood that a child will experience mental health concerns. Typical childhood traumatizing events such as having a chronic condition, relocating to a new home and/or school, being bullied, experiencing abuse, witnessing domestic violence, etc play a major role in their mental makeup. Therefore parenting style is one of the most important elements that shape a child's life.

Parents are primarily children's most important attachment figures, and therefore parental approval and rejection can have a profound consequence on a child's mental health. Research indicates that children's psychological and emotional development is significantly influenced by the stability, harmony, and health of the entire family system. The interactions between parents and children have a significant impact on how well a child's mental health develops. Furthermore, mental health issues faced by parents in their childhood can also have a heavy influence on their child, specifically, if each parent stays on a different page with different parenting styles.

The right parenting perhaps is a term that is a utopian concept, however, there are certain ways through which parents can ensure that their children get a healthy environment which encourages communication, positivity, adaptive coping strategies etc.

Following are the tips suggested by Rekha to keep a check on your child's mental health:-

Ensuring a positive environment

Developing children possess an innate sensitivity to their surroundings. Therefore ensuring that they are brought up in a loving environment can not only impact their growth but also shape their personality and behavioural patterns towards a positive side. Harbouring a loving and safe environment goes a long way in raising a child who has the freedom and care to become self-sufficient and express themselves openly.

Building Trust

Establishing a strong relationship with your children is the first step in improving their mental health. Generating trust by fostering a sense of safety and security is of prime importance while tackling mental health issues.

Promoting Healthy Relationships

Parents should encourage their children to connect with other people, especially their best friends. As maintaining these connections can have a huge impact on the child's mental health.

Establishing Healthy Routines

Not only are a balanced diet, a restful night's sleep, and regular exercise beneficial for your child's physical health, but they are also crucial for their mental wellness. Teaching children to adopt healthy habits can go a long way in maintaining both their physical and mental health.

Developing a Sense of Self-Esteem

Parents have a dual responsibility in assisting children in growing their sense of self-worth, which can significantly improve their mental health. First and foremost, they should contribute to raising their child's self-esteem. Secondly, they should impart self-esteem development knowledge to their younger ones, so that they can manage themselves on their own.

Spending Time Together

For the parent and the child, laughing and playing together are excellent stress relievers. Additionally, it's a wonderful opportunity to temporarily put life's difficulties aside and simply enjoy one another.

Identifying Behavioural Concerns

Parents should keep an eye out for difficulties in concentration, an unwillingness to sit still, and struggles for focusing on a task at hand. Functioning challenges in these areas are some of the common warning signs of an underlying mental issue.

Seeking Professional Help, Together as a Family

Even if only one child exhibits some signs of poor mental health, it might benefit the entire family to go for counselling. Counselling can not only help the child improve his/her mental health, but it can also give resources and support to the parent who might be having difficulties.

However, even in the case where children tend to get optimum conditions, their actions and feelings can alter a lot. In most such cases the ability of children to deal with criticism is central to their condition. Therefore parents must also put significant attention towards making their younger ones more resilient to criticism because the environment around children cannot always be controlled.