Contents:
- Medical Video: School-Link: Caring for the mental health needs of children and young people
- Why is it important to maintain a child's mental health?
- What needs to be done in maintaining a child's mental health
- 1. Build children's confidence
- 2. Allowing children to play
- 3. Encourage children to socialize
- 4. Teach children to enjoy the process
- 5. Teach discipline fairly and consistently
- 6. Criticize his behavior, not the person
- 7. Create a safe home environment
- Changes in child behavior that parents must watch out for
Medical Video: School-Link: Caring for the mental health needs of children and young people
In childhood, healthy growth is not only characterized by physical changes but also accompanied by mental development. Both physical and mental health are needed by children to live the lives of adolescents to adulthood. However, children's mental health needs tend to be difficult to understand and are very likely to be missed by parents in caring for children.
Why is it important to maintain a child's mental health?
Children's mental health is not only interpreted as the mental condition of children who do not experience mental illness, but also includes the ability to think clearly, control emotions, and socialize with their age. Children who have good mental health will have a number of positive characters, such as being able to adapt to circumstances, face stress, maintain good relations and rise from difficult conditions.
Conversely, poor mental health in childhood can cause more serious behavioral disorders due to mental and emotional imbalances, and the social life of children who are not good.
What needs to be done in maintaining a child's mental health
Optimal mental development of children must begin with a good mental health condition. Here are some things parents can do to maintain a child's mental health:
1. Build children's confidence
This effort is very important to do to encourage children to learn and keep trying new things. This can be done in various ways, for example:
- Praise them when they start learning new things.
- Helping children to determine goals that match their abilities.
- Avoid words, attitudes, and behaviors that make children stop trying when they fail.
- Teach children to work in groups.
- Be honest when making mistakes, teach children to accept mistakes and failures.
2. Allowing children to play
For children, playing time is just a time for fun, when in fact this time is also when children learn things. When playing, children are also helped to be creative, learn how to solve problems, and how to control themselves. Actively moving while playing also helps children become physically and mentally healthy.
3. Encourage children to socialize
Besides playing with parents, children also need to interact with their age. Playing with peers will help children recognize weaknesses and strengths in themselves, and learn to live side by side with others. Finding a child's playmate can be done by taking the child to visit the neighborhood, recreation area, or enroll a child in school.
4. Teach children to enjoy the process
Teach children to understand that winning or achieving goals is not everything, and enjoying the process is the most important thing in doing something. When a child joins a match or plays a sports game, try asking the child's feelings when he plays rather than asking if he won the game. Always demanding children to win can trigger fear of defeat, or concern in trying new things, and this can frustrate children.
5. Teach discipline fairly and consistently
In addition to needing opportunities to learn new things and live independently, children also need to know some behaviors they should not do, and that they will accept the consequences of doing so. Advising and giving examples is the best thing to implement disciplinary behavior that has the basis of goodness, religious values, and social norms.
6. Criticize his behavior, not the person
When going to punish or criticize mistakes made by children, keep focusing on the child's actions. Say that the behavior that is done is wrong or not good without labeling the child like calling as "bad boy."
7. Create a safe home environment
Home is the first place children learn various things. A safe home environment and a harmonious family will support children's mental development. Conversely, an unsafe home atmosphere can cause children to become easily anxious or experience fear and this can hinder a child's development. In addition, a good home condition will also help children to rebuild confidence when experiencing difficulties and problems.
Changes in child behavior that parents must watch out for
The child's mental condition will very easily give an impact on the child's behavior. This change in behavior may be caused by something that disturbs the child's mind or emotional state, and this can affect the health and mental development of the child. Here are some behavioral changes that can occur in children:
- Looks not enthusiastic and easily angry
- Tends to be explosive when angry
- Showing aggressive attitude and not obeying parents' words
- Hyperactive or unable to shut up for no apparent reason
- Avoid going to school or don't want to play with your age
- Often look worried
- Easy to feel scared
- Decreased academic achievement at school
If some of these things are experienced by the child, immediately deal with the child to talk about the problem that he experienced. Some behavioral changes tend to be difficult to determine the cause so that the handling and assessment of a child's mental health expert may be needed.
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