How to maintain your child’s mentalhealth?

What do you mean by the mental health of a child

Child mental health is the complete development of a child’s emotional, mental, behavioral, social, and cognitive domains.

It is much more than just being happy and content. It’s about being mentally fit to become a capable and wholesome adult.

Often people with childhood trauma and childhood difficulties result in unsatisfied and difficult adult life. Childhood is like the foundation of a person’s life. Consciously or subconsciously it does affect one’s all-around development. That’s why it is so important to take time out to take care of your child’s mental health.

But to take care of your child’s mental health, the parent should have sound mental health first.

Some of the warning signs that your child may have a mental health disorder include:

• Continuous sadness — two or more weeks
• Withdrawing from or avoiding social interactions
• Hurting oneself or talking about hurting oneself
• Talking about death or suicide
• Outbursts or irritability
• Out-of-control behavior that can be harmful
• Drastic changes in mood, behavior or personality
• Changes in eating habits
• Loss of weight
• Difficulty sleeping
• Frequent headaches or stomach aches
• Difficulty concentrating
• Changes in academic performance
• Avoiding or missing school

How To boost your child’s mental health?

1. firstly, take care of your mental health – kids often learn by watching their parents, by maintaining good mental health. Not only will you help them watch and learn, you will also provide them with a healthier living environment. Which will help them develop their mental well-being.
2. Engage in learning activities and also play along with them – kids love some play time with their parents. Studies also have shown that engaging in healthy play can benefit kids in a number of ways. For instance, one study found that a child’s odds of being happy increases and their risk of depression and anxiety decreases when they play.
3. Develop healthy eating habits – our body and mind interrelated so by maintaining a good healthy diet, will enhance the mental well-being of the child.
4. Teach your child stress management – Learning stress management at a young age will help them a lot. Stress is a normal part of life and learning to deal with it will help them to live a stress free life in the future
5. Build Trust – Creating a sense of safety and security will help them build trust with parents. Your relationship with your child helps a lot in their mental development.
6. Listen first, talk second – Let your child speak out their heart first, because often it’s seen that if a parent is hard on the child. The child doesn’t feel free to talk to them. So without being judgemental first listen to them and then you speak.
7. Talk to them freely – They should look upon you as their friend, where they can confide their feelings and admit to them .
8. Give them their space – Growing up is not easy, we all have been through this phase of life. Being a parent you should not always boss around with your child, rather give them their space and let them be independent.

How to diagnose If your child needs help?

Mental health disorders in children are generally defined as delays or disruptions in developing age-appropriate thinking, behaviors, social skills, or regulation of emotions. These problems are distressing to children and disrupt their ability to function well at home, in school, or in other social situations.

Things to do to strengthen child’s mental health

1. Regular playtime with your child
2. Maintaining a proper healthy diet
3. Going on a vacation
4. Spending quality time in nature.

Tips to create a friendly environment for proper child’s mental growth and development

1. Have a good and positive home environment.
2. Do not argue in front of your children
3. Do not shout or speak loudly at them, rather make them understand in a humble and playful manner.
4. Try to understand your child.