How to Talk to Your Kids About Mental Health
Talking To Kids About Mental Illnesses
Kids are naturally curious and have questions about mental illness. Understanding mental illness can be challenging for adults as well as for children. Myths, confusion, and misinformation about mental illnesses can cause anxiety, strengthen stereotypes, and lead to stigma. During the past several decades, great advances have been made in the areas of diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. Parents can help children understand that these are real illnesses that can be treated.
Talk to Your Kid about Mental Health
Mental health is a tough topic to tackle, no matter how old you are. For our youth, mental health can be even harder to talk about. Raging hormones, a developing brain, plenty of stigma, and lots of misinformation add up to make the conversation of mental health a tough equation to crack. Don’t let the challenges discourage you from talking about mental health with your kids. This conversation is needed now more than ever.
How to talk to your child about mental health
Giving our children and young people opportunities to open up is one of the biggest things we can do as parents and carers to support their wellbeing. It can be easy to forget the simple power of sharing what we’re going through and feeling heard. But even though you can’t fix everything when your child is struggling, you can make them feel seen and understood – and this in itself can make them feel more able to cope.
Supporting Kids' Mental Well-being
Talking to your kids about mental health can be downright awkward. They may be reluctant or have trouble finding words to speak about what they’re feeling inside. But these are some of the most important conversations you can have with your child. More than one in five children under 15 has had a mental health disorder that causes impairment in their ability to function. But there are ways parents can spot early warning signs and help address their child’s needs.