This can be reassuring to children as they need structure in their lives. Encourage your child to develop his or her own routines with your support. Established boundaries help a child to cope and feel safe as well as providing structure to help them determine right from wrong.
Children's Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health
Positive emotional health prevents mental ill health.
Positive emotional health not only prevents mental ill health but also allows children to enjoy life, believe in their abilities and cope with life's ups and downs. It helps children to think clearly, develop socially, learn new skills and build self-esteem.
Nip in the Bud
Learning about Children's Mental Health through Film
Nip in the Bud was set up to encourage awareness about mental health disorders in children.
There is a range of short films that explain more about the different kinds of disorders, how to recognise them and how to help a child who has one.
Building Resilience
Maintain a daily routine and establish boundaries
Teach your child good self-care
Be a role model, show and teach your child the importance of making time to eat properly, exercise and rest. Primary school children need on average between 10-11.5 hours of sleep per night. Not enough, poor or interrupted sleep can affect school and home life. Good sleep hygiene and routine should be encouraged. Avoid playing electronic games two hours before bedtime and no TV, computers or phones in the bedroom.
Connect
Children thrive when they feel loved, understood and safe. A child's close ties to family and community with at least one supportive caring person can help to create this comfort and safety. Close family and friends can provide support to a child when they face disappointments or are upset. Teach your child how to make friends, and encourage your child to be a friend in order to get a friend by showing kindness to each other, sharing things and playing together.
Helping others
Ask your child to help you with a task that they can master. Helping others can make a child feel valued as well as a sense of achievement when the task is accomplished.
Teach problem-solving skills and goal setting
This is a learned skill, help your child to learn to solve their own problem. Help them to focus on one small problem at a time rather than the bigger picture to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Questions to consider asking, what do they need to do? How might they do it? And who can help? Or what has worked before? Giving praise along the way will help them to focus on what has been accomplished so far.
Being brave and facing their fears
This enables your child to face uncomfortable, scared feelings with support, instead of relying on others to sort it out. Remind your child they can do hard things, and use examples of when they have been brave previously to acknowledge their bravery, strength and effort when facing their current difficulty.
Try new activities
Find opportunities that encourage your child to take a risk and try something new. Support them to plan the activity then review it to help them see what worked well and not so well.
Acknowledge that it is ok to make mistakes or fail
Rather than viewing an event such as a poor test result as a failure or a huge mistake, help your child to see it as a learning opportunity. What have they learnt from the experience? What can they do differently next time?
Encourage optimism
If your child tends to have a glass-half-empty view of a situation acknowledge their view but show them an alternative. In times of difficulty help your child to focus on what they have rather than what they may have lost, acknowledge the disappointment and move towards an opportunity it may have created.
Model resiliency
Be a positive role model, let them see how you deal with difficult situations and bring them into your emotional world when appropriate. It will help a child see they are all ordinary human experiences and that they are not abnormal in having difficulties in life.
Let them talk
Allow time to listen with interest to your child without judging. Try to resist solving their problems and help them explore their solutions to a problem. Always answer questions truthfully but provide a level of information that is age-appropriate.
Understanding and managing feelings and behaviours
Helping your child to recognise how they are feeling and behaving will increase their capacity to develop coping strategies. Let them see that all emotions are ok and when they are feeling distressed or sad that these feelings don't last forever, that they will pass; it's a normal response to a difficult situation.
Building Resilience
It's alright to cry sometimes
Children need to learn how to recognise and cope with their feelings, try not to tell your child how they feel.
Children love to be praised
They thrive on it. They love to please you and are often desperate for your approval. Like you, they try much harder when you focus on the positive.
Remember to give compliments
If you live with compliments you are more likely to feel good about yourself and give those compliments to others. Self-esteem is vital.
Make sure your child knows you love them
Make sure your child knows you love them and are proud of them. Remember to praise your child for trying not just succeeding. Doing so helps young children to feel safe and comforted.
Encourage them to talk
Encourage them to talk to you whilst also being able to listen and respond sensitively to all kinds of things - not just nice things, but also anger, embarrassment, sadness or fear.
Be aware of the surrounding environment
What goes on in the family will have a massive impact on your child. They may need help in managing changes or coping with challenges. Be aware of how it must feel for them.
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E-School Nurse
What to do if you're worried. Talk with your child's doctor and share your concerns. Don't wait!
To provide health support and advice for children in Cumbria, we offer an easy-to-access online E-School Nurse Service. The video clinics are available for professionals, parents and carers across Cumbria all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Instead of being face to face, you will talk to the nurse over a live video link that is private and secure. The nurse, in consultation with you, will assess the child's health problems and provide you with support and advice.
Make an E-School Nurse video appointment by ringing 01228 603973