By Macaroni Kid Strathmore
Everyone has mental health. You. Me. Even your cat, George.
What may set us apart is the well-being of our mental
health.
Reoccurring stress, lack of supports, isolation and poverty may
impact the state of mental health.
Children are especially sensitive to impacts to their mental
health, and require love, positive attention and reasonable boundaries to feel
secure and grow into healthy, well-balanced adults.
So what can you do to help?
Let your
child know you care
A smile,
wink or a hug communicates how you feel about them, and they will notice!
Encourage
coping skills
Ensuring
your child can effectively work through problems, big or small, sets them up
for success. Knowing when to take a mental break, playing well with others and
engaging in healthy, physical activities may help increase coping skills in
children.
Minimize
negative stress
We can all
do without extra stress! Positive stress, or eustress, such as changes that leads to an improvement in your overall performance and productivity is
healthy and can increase our ability to adapt. If you are concerned about
stress in your child, the American Psychology Association provides good information.
Laugh and Play
It may sound
cliché, but laughter IS the best medicine. Begin a tickle war, tell silly
knock-knock jokes or dress up for a laughter marathon! A minimum of one hour of
daily physical exercise is also recommended to maintain positive well-being. Sometimes
it may be hard to get off the couch, but your body will thank you!
Wear
green
Green was
the colour used for patients in institutions for the mentally ill in the
1800’s. Today we wear green to increase awareness of mental health and support
children. Green is the colour of new life, new growth and new beginnings.
Visit http://www.familysmart.ca/may-7th
to find out more and join the conversation about child & youth mental
health!
Child & Youth Mental Health Day runs at the end of
Canada’s Mental Health Week in May. See http://getloud.mentalhealthweek.ca/
for details.
If you or a loved one have mental health concerns, please
speak with your doctor.
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