How looking after your own mental health can support our children's too.
This week is focused on children’s mental health awareness, growing together. I am a mum of two and uses the same tool I teach my clients with my children, to teach them how to encourage positive thought patterns as well as how to deal with those feelings that feel uncomfortable for them.
Within The Calm Mind Community, that I created on Facebook , I share lots of tips and tricks for women to manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. But I also share my experiences when using them with my children too.
Mental health in adults can sometimes be seen to stem from childhood. Therefore teaching children to talk about how they are feeling, instead of bottling it up, can help prevent mental health in adulthood too.
We all have experiences in life when we think, ‘I wouldn’t do it that way’ this is why I am very passionate about showing my own children how to manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviours so that they don’t go down the same path I did.
During the pandemic we have noticed a larger increase in mental health in children and adults. Therefore allowing yourself as an adult to come for therapy can actually in turn help your children too.
It also shows our children that ‘it’s okay, not to be okay’ and shows them that the right thing to do is to ask for help.
We also need to remember that our children see us as role models, in this big world. So looking after your own mental health can actually help them too.
One of my suggestions is that as an adult you talk to your children about how you are feeling, if you are sad talk to them.
Say...‘’Mummy is feeling sad because nobody is listening to what I am asking you to do. This makes me feel like no-one is listening. Like nobody cares.’’
Allowing yourself to express how you feel and then talking about it can encourage your children to talk about their feelings too.
We also need to think about replacing those negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours with positive ones.
One of my clients had put up positive affirmations in their playroom stating that it was ‘reminding my girls to be kind to themselves’.
Another client explained how their daughter had overheard her and her husband talking about her session online with me. Then the child stuck post it notes all over mum's computer writing positive words and smiley faces on them.
One thing I do with my children is, every night before my girls go to sleep we always finish the day on a positive note by talking about our favourite part of the day.
This allows us to finish our day on a high!
All these little changes can add up to huge changes for our children’s mindset as well as our own.
Working on our mental health can include the whole family.
Let’s start encouraging these techniques at a young age so that our children see it as the ‘norm’. They will learn how to manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviours in a positive way.
I am a very passionate mental health advocate who talks openly about my journey in many groups, as well as how complementary therapies such as hypnotherapy and reiki helped me get to where I am today: happy, confident and loving the person I have become.
Here's a few other things you could include into your day to support your children:
Dance and sing together, this really boost those feel good hormones.
Get outside and play together, again exercising can help us all feel good and even better in nature too.
Tell each other one thing that you love about them e.g. I love that you alway help me when I am stuck with my reading.
Talk kindly as an adult to yourself... those little ears are always listening and will pick up on your language patterns. If needed seek help and support (I offer FREE consultations.)
Celebrate each and every day all the good stuff that you achieve as a family and individually.
**If you would like me to come and talk about mental health and therapies such as Hypnotherapy and Reiki please do get in touch. **
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