It’s Time to Talk Mental Health with Your Child

It’s never too early to start talking about mental health with your child, but where do you start? Check out our suggestions on how to make mental health a priority in your home.

1. Practice and exemplify self-care and encourage it in your child.
If you want your child to have healthy boundaries and feel empowered to say no to things, you will need to model this in your own life. Don’t overcommit and stretch yourself thin because you you’re afraid to say no. Your most attentive pupils are watching.

Along the same lines, make sure you are modeling and encouraging a balance of work, rest, and play. These practices of self-care will stay with your child long after they graduate from your home.

2. Teach your children the language.
Encourage your children to take time to acknowledge how they are feeling. This practice of putting language to feelings helps children not fear their feelings. It can create a sense of security and community, rather than fear and isolation. This language of feelings is especially helpful for you as you keep an eye out for signs of mental health issues.

If your child is less talkative, try creating a scale, as easy as 1-10 to help express feelings about the day or a certain experience. For more visual children, you can even create a chart of faces that convey different feelings and have them identify which face best captures how they are feeling.

Again, the best way to teach this practice is to model it yourself. Admit when you are feeling sad, anxious, or frustrated. Don’t hide emotions like naughty secrets, but show your child that emotions are natural, and you are stronger than they are.

3. Be vigilant looking for signs of a mental health crisis.
As the rate of depression is rising at an alarming rate among adolescents, it’s important to be on the lookout for signs that may help you catch a crisis in its early stage. Mental Health America provides this list of symptoms that become significant when they last longer than two weeks:
- Poor performance with school work
- Withdrawal from friends or activities
- Sadness and hopelessness
- Lack of enthusiasm, energy, or motivation
- Anger and rage
- Overreaction to criticism
- Feelings of being unable to satisfy ideals
- Poor self-esteem or guilt
- Indecision, lack of concentration, or forgetfulness
- Restlessness and agitation
- Changes in eating or sleeping patterns
- Substance abuse
- Problems with authority
- Suicidal thoughts or actions

4. Give yourself and your child grace.
Remember, no matter how attentive you are, every child is different, and mental health challenges can look different for each person. The best thing you can do is keep communication open with your child and give yourself grace if you didn’t catch a mental health problem earlier. Remember, no matter what, it is not your fault.

5. Don’t be afraid to seek professional help.
If your child was sick with the flu or if you fell and broke your arm, there would be no hesitation about seeing a medical professional. When a child suffers from mental health issues, the need is the same. Medical professionals can provide many tools and advice to help you and your child through a mental health challenge. If you are unsure if your child needs professional help, start with scheduling an appointment with a medical professional for a simple evaluation.

If you are in a mental health crisis or if you fear your child might be, please seek professional help immediately. Text “home” to 741741 to text with a highly trained counselor or call 800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.