Fostering Mental Health For Well-Being Of Children
The Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health has highlighted that almost 51 per cent of school aged children and adolescents are undergoing anxiety, social withdrawal and dysphoria. Working closely with children I too see many of our students impacted by mental health issues. Thus, we work towards fostering emotional well being of the children to ensure that they are happy and ready to soar.
A student who can express emotion in healthy manner be it happiness or anger can only do so when they are self-aware, feel confident, are resilient and can regulate emotions.This is only possible when the child experiences healthy relationships at all levels, family, friends, school and at professional levels too. Such a child becomes a Conflict Resolver and his emotional well being is top priority for himself.
While we as care takers often try to give the best to child, it is to be deeply scrutinized as to how the child becomes maladjusted and his emotional well-being gets disturbed. At the for is lack of Love and affectionfrom family. The child could also be facing anxiety due to many reasons like poverty/economic problem/illness, family loss, peer pressure, study pressure. The need to be accepted amongst the peers and their own acceptance of their reality or not being able to accept reality also impacts children greatly. At times guilt could also be a cause of their disbalanced well-being. Ultimately Family Conflicts and community conflicts also impact a child immensely.
So, it brings us to the question as to how we identify the symptoms. The biggest indicator is the fact that children with concerns would tend to isolate themselves. In fact, it has been seen that the child could showcase behavior of opposite ends, they would either become too quiet, irritable or indulge in arguments or fights. There will be a loss of interest in activities, especially the ones they used to enjoy. Often their academic performance also goes down. The food habits and sleep pattern might also change. In some cases, the child may complain of health issues like body aches, fatigue, headache etc. This can be a great cue for parents to go to the bottom of the issue if no physiological problem is diagnosed. In extreme cases the child may hint at self-harm verbally or quietly doing it, don’t ignore those stray cut marks on your child’s body.
If you observe one or more of these symptoms then intervention at the right time will be needed. Stay connected, conversations healthy ones with family, friends. Spend time with the child and hear them out. Love and compassion, along with empathy will enable your child to open up to you about the very problem that is impacting them. Mutual respect is the key here. Accept them as they are and don’t push too far. Avoid comparisons, snubbing or sarcastic remarks, now is the time to become the safe space for your child. Encourage physical exercise and also enroll the child in an activity of their choice. Encourage them to do things that they enjoy and appreciate. Monitoring is fine but it must be without making them lose confidence. Encourage healthy food and sleep habits.
Discuss the situation with the teacher of your child and she can encourage the child to be more active in class and involve them in important decision. The same can be done at home by making them a part of family discussion. Go for leisure activities or a small vacation. If your efforts aren’t reaping results, then do consult a professional counselor or therapist.The emphasis is on attainment of fuller, happier life and the aim is to have a mentally and socially stable child who enjoys every actively, feels happy & energetic, takes challenges positively and look for solutions.
