Category: Well-Being

Mental health issues can negatively affect how your child feels, acts and thinks. That’s why mental well-being is just as important as physical well-being. And as a parent, you play the most crucial role in your child’s mental health.  Many parents understand the importance of keeping their children physically active and having healthy eating habits.

However, the rates of mental health problems in kids are rising. According to WebMD, at least 20% of children are diagnosed with a mental illness each year.  Some parents automatically turn to devices to calm their children down and distract them.

Screen time isn’t the best solution as it can worsen mental health — such as poor emotion regulation and difficulty finishing tasks.  It also can additional complications for children with specific traits that require special attention, such as SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).

Here are the best ways to nurture your child’s mental health without depending on screen time.

1. Provide a Healthy Environment

The simplest and best way to support your child’s mental health is by giving them a safe and loving home environment. A positive home creates a happy child.

Ensure you’re aware of your child’s media usage. One way to create a safe home is by being aware of who they interact with online. That is where you must try to monitor their activities and reduce screen time by keeping them busy with other activities.

For instance, you could play board games or introduce them to philanthropy. Giving is an excellent way to boost your child’s mental health when they learn they’re improving the quality of life for others.

You could also be a role model by taking care of your mental health, such as by talking about your feelings. Or by getting into activities such as meditation, physical exercise and yoga.

2. Give Your Child Unconditional Love

Show unconditional love for your child on a regular basis. You can accompany your child and let them know that you love them no matter what type of issues they may be facing.

This is the ultimate way of supporting your child’s mental health because it shows them that we all make mistakes. And they must understand that they can learn from their mistakes. So instead of communicating failure — even if you feel disappointed in their choice — they need to know that you bear lots of love for them.

3. Be Open to Communication

When your child is dealing with a difficult situation, you must be on board with talking about their emotions. Open communication allows your child to explore their feelings freely. As communication is more consistent, you’ll be more likely to notice issues and have discussions with them.

Consider starting a conversation by asking open-ended questions. Get them to share about their school day or a special event. Having your child share these things provides you with more opportunities to find them a solution.

4. Give Your Child a Routine and Set Boundaries

Uncertainty in daily schedules can lead to more stress and anxiety in your child’s life. Therefore, it’s crucial to establish a routine to provide them with more peace of mind. This could mean unplugging from computers and phone, as well as scheduling their meals or having a weekly family night together.

Additionally, setting clear boundaries is also an excellent way to minimize feelings of frustration. Once your child knows what you expect of them, the both of you can live in a stress-free environment and make life easier for yourselves.

5. Offer Your Child a Mental Health Day

Just like a sick day, you can give your child a “Mental Health Day” once a year. With mental health being as crucial as physical health, a “Mental Health Day” can be a way for your child to get a break. Encourage them to stay off social media channels and spend time doing other things offline.

Every once in a while, it’s important for your child to recuperate and let them spend the day they would want. Breaks are more than okay to give your child what they need — as it is like an investment in helping them feel better.

So when your child feels like they need a break from their routine, you can tell them it’s okay to stay home. And you don’t have to feel guilty for it since your child’s mental health is a priority — even if it’s not the traditional view of how society perceives health.

6. Praise Their Character

Praising and encouraging are viable ways to build your child’s self-esteem and confidence. More importantly, it supports their mental well-being. With low confidence comes academic stress, anxiety and even depression.

These can all affect your child’s quality of life, so praising them for who they are is just as important.

Children respond better to positive reinforcement. It’s the best way to reinforce what parents want to see in their child — such as showing kindness and empathy towards others.

Once your child knows what they’re doing right, they’ll ultimately feel better about themselves in several ways.

Build a Solid Foundation For Your Child’s Mental Health

When it comes to mental health, the best solution for your child is to be a part of their life consistently. Talking with them and spending time together can benefit their mental health significantly. Ensure you give them guidance, offer support and be loving.

Taking action and being a good role model can reduce your child’s risk of negative impacts on their well-being. However, if the way they’re acting is worrisome, consider talking to your child’s health care provider. They can help you find solutions that are the best possible fit.

About the Author
Ava Roman (she/her) is the Managing Editor of Revivalist, a women’s lifestyle magazine that empowers women to live their most authentic life. When Ava is not writing you’ll find her in a yoga class, advocating for her children or whipping up something delicious in the kitchen!

Has your child continually been asking you for a pet?  The first think you may think of is all the work that is involved.  As much as you communicate that your child that they would need to take part in caring for the pet, most of the duties will fall on the parent. Still, there are benefits to having a family pet.

In addition to having your kids learn responsibility of taking care of a pet, there are other positives. These include the growth and health benefits that kids receive from having a pet around, as well as developing empathy and compassion for all living creatures.

Here are five reasons to help you decide whether or not to welcome a new pet into your home.

1. Less Prone to Allergies

It’s no secret that dogs make great support animals.  This is true even if therapy is not even a concern, dogs have been proven to improve a child’s immunity against common germs and viruses.  They are also less prone to getting allergies and asthma.

Health psychologist, Dr. June McNicholas at the University of Warwick, conducted a study of 138 children between the ages of four and eleven.  Their saliva was tested for IgA antibodies, an immune system antibody that aids in the prevention of infection.

Results indicated that kids with dogs were better able to succumb to common illnesses than kids without pets, which led to them missing fewer days of school.

2. Better Learning

Pets help children to be better learners. Educators acknowledge the use of animals, most often dogs, as support therapy in schools to help in the leaning of kids with developmental disabilities.

According to research, children who might be afraid to read aloud in class feel more comfortable reading to animals because they view them as a friend who won’t condemn them.  Pets have been discovered to be a calming, nonjudgmental aid for children learning to read aloud.

Dogs are used by organizations like the Story Dogs to encourage young readers to read aloud in a comfortable, judgment-free atmosphere! Also, since pets need to be taken care of in a specific way, the kids develop that understanding and knowledge also. For instance, they would know the ideal temp for bearded dragon tank.

3. Comforting Companionship

Pets give unconditional love to children.  Through caring for and playing with an animal there is regular physical contact.   This help growing kids to develop social skills. Pets give kids something to talk about which fuels conversation and instills self-confidence and self-esteem in social situations.   A lot is said about dogs in reference to support, but cats make good companions as well.

It has been shown that children with autism who own a pet have far more advanced social abilities than those who don’t. When the world around them is overwhelming, an animal is consistent companion in their lives that gives children comfort, security and support.  Instead of becoming alienated with the world, they learn to engage with their environment.  Instead of becoming withdrawn, anxiety dissipates.

4. Encourage a Healthy Lifestyle

Having a pet encourages physical exercise. Kids who have pets are involved in playing games, exercising the animal, or providing regular pet care. Dog owners are 54% more likely than non-dog owners to reach prescribed levels of physical exercise and log more walking minutes each week.

Walking the dog may also reduce your chances of becoming obese. Having a pet might help youngsters feel more prepared to handle schoolwork and examinations since petting animals can drop blood pressure and, in turn, lessen anxiety. Not just physical fitness, having a pet is also considered good for your mental health.

Approximately 80% of pet owners claim that their animal companions make them feel less lonely and separated from others. Pet ownership has been demonstrated to assist people of all ages experience lower stress, anxiety, and depression. It has been shown that using therapy animals with autistic children can lessen their stress and anxiety levels as well as the stress hormone cortisol.

5. Good for Family Bonding

When you consider a shared passion for a family, it is often a special activity or regular event.  Throughout all those moments together, as well as when life is routine, the family pet is always there in daily life as focal point.   Animals in the home foster family unity while walking the dog, playing with the pet and their favorite to, and even grooming and feeding. Kids also learn how to care for the health of their pet with the guidelines of parents or older siblings.

Families that have pets have the chance to take a break from their hectic schedules and simply enjoy their time together and with their dogs. Animals remind us all how fragile life is and just as our loving pet need us for survival, we also need each other and our pets to be healthy and happy.

Wrapping Up

Teaching your kids how to appreciate and interact with animals should begin at an early page, even if they never own a pet.  The study on the relationship between humans and animals is ongoing, but the research is strongly points to the fact that pets in their daily lives help youngsters grow up to be happier, healthier people. You now have even more justification to consider bringing a pet into your home. You never know who you could discover there, so it doesn’t hurt to check out your neighborhood adoption shelter!

Enriching your child’s learning through travel is one of the best things you can do for their growth. As wonderful as classrooms are for education, there’s a lot children can learn outside of their walls. Traveling provides one of the best learning opportunities outside of school for your children.

Children can develop essential life skills, learn to appreciate diversity, and nurture their relationship with themselves.

Let’s explore the above and a few other ways traveling can enrich your child’s learning and life.

Cultivate Various Life Skills

Traveling is wonderful for children because they can cultivate various life skills every trip. Not only will there be time for developing technical skills, but there will also be chances to grow their soft skills.

Look for opportunities to advance your child’s skillset while traveling. For example, it can start before you reach your destination in the planning stage. Teach your child about budgeting when planning financially for your trip. Consider using a kid-friendly budgeting app to help them grasp saving for the trip and spending money responsibly during it.

Staying safe is another crucial life skill your children can cultivate while traveling. Be sure they’re practicing the buddy system wherever they go. Designating meeting spots when exploring and ensuring they know what to do if they get lost will also help them learn safety skills.

There will also be plenty of opportunities to help your child develop these essential life skills while traveling:

• Communication
• Time management
• Organization
• Responsibility
• Teamwork
• Flexibility
• Problem-solving
• Creativity
• People skills

Traveling also exposes your children to different cultures.

Experience Different Cultures

One of the best things about traveling is experiencing different cultures. You can see how other cultures live, eat, shop, talk, love, and move through daily life. You also get to see the physical differences people have.

Your children need to experience other cultures because it will help them embrace diversity. You want them always to respect and appreciate others regardless of differences. In addition, when they embrace diversity, they can learn from everyone around them.

So, encourage your children to immerse themselves in the culture wherever you travel to. Meet new people with them, pick up a few words in a new language, try new foods, and do as many culturally-rooted activities as you can.

Another way traveling can enhance your child’s learning is by helping them become more familiar with themself.

Help Them Learn More About Themself

It’s vital for children to not just learn about the world and what’s in it but also to learn more about who they are. It’s much better for a child to understand who they are and learn to love it than to go through life confused and disliking themself.

Traveling can help a child learn more about themself. They’ll become more confident as they experience new things and face fears. They’ll also have a chance to do things that help them define what they like, don’t like, and are curious about.

Allow your children to explore their curiosities during travel and encourage them to try everything. Children can also learn more about the importance of family bonding when traveling.

The Importance of Family Bonding

Family bonding is necessary for all families. It’s essential for developing healthy individual relationships as well as sharing meaningful experiences as a family. Strong family ties also ensure your children have a robust support system to help get them through school and other life events.

Use traveling to instill the importance of family bonding. Give your children time to connect with their other siblings if they have them. Ensure they get time with each parent and with everyone as a whole.

Your kids will need their family throughout life, and they should learn to lean on your support early on.

Appreciate What They Have

You can enrich your child’s learning through travel by instilling gratitude in them. When you travel, especially internationally, the difference in how people live is apparent. Traveling to places with fewer resources and means is good for children.

Of course, vacations at fancy places with plenty of fun activities are a must. But it’s also important to plan trips to places with the purpose of showing your children how others live. Seeing how others live happily with less can inspire your children to appreciate what they have more.

When children learn to appreciate what they have, they become more humble. They’ll also learn to respect others regardless of means, something critical for success in adulthood.

Show Them the Value of Relaxing

Traveling allows you to show your children the value of relaxing. So much of the world encourages children to do something and advance in some way constantly. And many of those kids grow up as adults who can’t ever take a break and eventually burn out.

Relaxing and resetting are primary parts of traveling. So, you can show your children the value of both whenever you take a vacation. Set aside time each day you’re away for naps and relaxation. You can also put activities like spa visits, time at the beach, and a day at the hotel on the itinerary to further the lesson on relaxing.

Show your children the value of resetting and relaxing by making that a primary part of each travel experience.

Conclusion

Children learn a lot in the classroom. But they can learn more about life and the world outside those walls while traveling. Take advantage of as many traveling opportunities as you can with your children to enrich their educational journey.

About the Author
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in education, mental health, family lifestyle and online safety. When she isn’t writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. You can follow her on Twitter.

Autism is a neurological disorder. It impacts how an individual learns, interacts and behaves with another. The condition affects social skills and causes repetitive actions yet has a distinct set of strengths. The good news is that besides therapy and study programs, a park can also contribute to the good emotional space of an autistic child.

In this environment, a child with autism are less likely to be scared of socializing, have a clear understanding of safety awareness and reduce the fear of misunderstandings with fellow visitors. CDC estimates that about 1 in 44 8-year-old children have been identified as ASD which is 23 per 1,000.  According to the newest autism statistics, the ASD prevalence in the US has increased by 312% since 2000. Therefore, the focus on effective methods of therapy will continue to be vitally important.

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A specially designed play area offers sensory inputs. It is tremendously useful for children with autism since it helps boost their tactile, visual and auditory systems. Getting the layout and facilities right is vital else it can turn into a dangerous place for kids with disabilities. They may have meltdowns or struggle with going to busy places. Depression can also set in which anyway affects 7% of all children with autism. Below are a few tips to design a playground that can be a safe space to express themselves.

1.  Incorporate Sensory Play

Engaging the senses can help a child develop proprioceptive and vestibular systems. This can improve orientation and balance. More than 90% of children with ADS report hypo and hyper sensitivities in different domains which range from mild to severe. This can be handled with a sensory play which ensures healthy brain development to build nerve connections. It can be done by adding sensory panels, motion play, musical instruments and water fun to support problem solving-skills, cognitive growth and social interaction. Educate parents so that highly sensitive kids do not get overwhelmed.

2.  Build Quiet Places

An autistic child may feel sensory overloads leading to entering a freeze, flight or fight mode in response. They start feeling panicky or unsafe. A cozy space away from the main play area can create a positive environment. Parents can also enjoy peace of mind knowing that their child is less likely to run away. This is a common tendency and surveys have found that children diagnosed with autism aged between 4 and 10 have often tried to elope to escape unpleasant sensory stimuli. Hiding spots offer a good break and help them recenter. You may consider pods, small shelters or anything cocooned.

3.  Highlight Nature

Children with autism benefit from staying close to nature. They gain motor skills and agility. Exposure also boosts observational skills, reasoning and awareness. The child must be able to scoop leaves with their hands, jump in puddles or smell flowers. Teach them to take photos of their surroundings, paint trees and ponds and feed birds. Autistic children can also learn about changing seasons and being kind to animals in the playground.

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Young kids get a clear idea of colors like blue, green, yellow and orange when nature is in abundance around them. They tend to become calm and relaxed in the presence of natural elements like a cool breeze.

4.  Smooth Surfacing

This is a big step in creating a safe space for children living with autism. Engineered wood fiber, poured-in-place rubber, recycled bonded rubber, recycled rubber loose fill and recycled rubber tiles are the best choices. Make sure these are not highly textured to avoid the hassles of children with crutches or wheelchairs. Kids with ADS are likely to stumble upon anyone who does not experience motor impairments. They may also jump off equipment like monkey bars which could be slightly harmful. But a safety surface can diffuse the impact and keep them from severe injuries like fractures.

This is especially crucial since playground accidents are responsible for approximately 200,000 US emergency department visits in children below 18 years. You may add special paths and tracks covered with mulch instead of an open layout. This gives a sense of direction for them to move in and reduce anxiety levels.

Autistic kids should be able to naturally interact with peers with different abilities. Build a socialization area with benches and picnic tables since these special children have a strong desire for friendship. Do your best to accommodate all skill sets and sensitivities to introduce them to new experiences as well.