04/02/2020

Children's Mental Health Awareness Week: Tips for parents

We know it’s important to help our children have a healthy mind as well as body. Children’s Mental Health Awarenesss Week, from 3rd to 9th February, is a great opportunity to think about how we can support our children with their mental well-being.

This year’s theme for Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, set up by children’s mental health charity Place2Be, is ‘Find your Brave’.

Dealing with feelings of insecurity and vulnerability is something we’ve all experienced at some time or another. It’s important that we can have an open dialogue with our children about their feelings and concerns.

As parents and carers, we’re not able to ‘fix’ things for our children or solve difficult situations for them but we can certainly play a positive part in helping them cope and overcome certain challenges.

It really can be true that a problem shared is a problem halved. Even if we can’t wave a magic wand, by encouraging our children to open up, we can help to reduce anxiety.

Bravery can come in many different forms. It’s important to emphasise that bravery can mean a number of things to each individual. It could be about sharing a worry, asking for help, trying something new or going outside your comfort zone.

The ‘Find your Brave’ theme for this year’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week is all about finding positive ways to deal with things we find difficult. Taking a deep breath and actively working on overcoming challenges, whether they be physical, mental or circumstantial and making sure we’re looking after ourselves.

Place2Be have provided some top tips for parents on how to help your children ‘find their brave’. Here’s what they suggest:

• Remind your child that bravery comes in different forms and everyone is different
• Talk to your child about a time when you’ve had to find your brave
• Praise your child when they find their brave
• Point out examples of bravery in books and films
• Reassure your child that it’s ok not to feel brave

For more information and useful tips for parents visit the Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week website.