These Tips to Educate Children to Be Mentally Healthy

Halodoc, Jakarta - Like most parents, you make sure that your child gets the right immunizations, is given nutritious food, and helps them in doing schoolwork. However, how often do you think about how to maintain your child's mental health?

A child's mental health is just as important as their physical health, especially when it comes to stress, behavior, and academics. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1 in 5 children experience a mental disorder in any given year. Some mental health problems can not be prevented, but you as a parent can also implement measures to help keep children mentally healthy.

Also Read: Early Detection of Mental Disorders in Children

Here are tips in educating children to keep their mental health awake, namely:

• Meet Basic Needs

There are some basics needed to keep a child's mental health awake. Some of these include unconditional love from his family, high self-confidence and self-esteem, and the opportunity to play with other children. Support from teachers and caregivers, a safe and secure environment, and proper guidance and discipline are also his needs. Make sure parents meet these needs, so that children can develop optimally.

• Maintaining Your Child's Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem

There are several ways that parents can do to fulfill this, among others:

• Praise the child. Encouraging children's first steps or their ability to learn new games helps them develop a desire to explore and learn about their environment. Parents also need to praise them if they dare to explore new things. Parents' attention helps build their self-confidence and self-esteem.
• Set realistic goals. Young children need realistic goals that match their ambitions to their abilities. With the help of parents, older children can choose activities that test their abilities and boost their confidence.
• Honest. Don't hide the failures parents face from their children. It's important for them to know that we all make mistakes.
• Avoid sarcastic statements. If a child loses a play or fails a test, find out how he or she feels about the situation. Children may get discouraged and need a little talk. When they're ready, talk about it and offer help.

You can also ask a psychologist about good parenting to maintain your child's mental health. Psychologists in the Halodoc app are happy to help you by giving you the right advice.

Also Read: Know the Importance of Father's Role in Guiding Children's Character

• Build Healthy Habits

A healthy diet, a good night's sleep, and plenty of exercise are not only good for a child's physical health, but also important for a child's mental health. Teach children to develop healthy habits that will keep their bodies and minds in good shape. Showing attention and gratitude also has a huge impact on mental health. So, incorporate mindfulness activities into your daily life and in the process, you can improve the mental health of the whole family.

• Play Together

A healthy child both physically and mentally needs to play. To be honest, adults need to play too! Take the time to put aside work, tasks, and other obligations and focus only on the child. Engaging in healthy games can also benefit children in a number of ways. For example, one study found that a child's chances of being happy increased and their risk of depression and anxiety reduced when they played.

Read also: Childhood Trauma, Is It Really a Trigger for OCD?

That's a tip to educate children to maintain their mental health. Don't hesitate to discuss parenting or mental health tips with psychologists in the Halodoc app.

Reference: Mental Health America. Accessed in 2020. What Every Child Needs For Good Mental Health.Very Well Family. Accessed in 2020. How to Improve Your Child's Mental Health.