It is no surprise that during this time of uncertainty #anxiety and #mentalhealth in children is on the rise.
We all have feelings of stress and anxiety from time to time, and children are no exception. The pandemic has caused huge distress across the whole world and children are still dealing with the aftermath of not being able to go to school and see their friends and may need some extra support to stay positive.
We know from young minds recent research into children's mental health that stress and anxiety is becoming a common and serious problem for our children and young people.
67% of children and young people believed that the pandemic will have a long-term negative effect on their mental health.
But what can we do? We believe that together, we need to look at more preventative #support and strategies to help our children and young people deal with their concerns and anxieties.
Effective #stressmanagement and #relaxation strategies can be highly effective for many children. This is why we have included a range of helpful activities in our Remarkable Me Wellbeing Growth Journal.
Author, Therapeutic Counsellor and Hypnotherapist, Rachel Streeter shares some great tips for managing and supporting children's mental health in these unsure times.
MY TOP TIPS FOR PARENTS
There are many ways we can help our children manage their stress and anxiety and teach them how to channel it into something positive and creative! I go into more detail in our Wellbeing Growth Journal. Here are a few of my top tips :-)
1) Support your child to challenge and question their underlying core thoughts and beliefs.
As well as adults, children also get negative beliefs such as "I'm not good enough" or "I can't cope with scary things" and these are significant factors in causing anxiety.
Show your child ways to question and challenge those nasty thoughts and feelings that pop up in their head. This could be through simply talking it out with them or through a variety of activities. Our Wellbeing Growth Journal has a variety of helpful activities for children with anxiety. Check it out here - https://www.remarkableme.uk/product-page
2) Be a role model to your child
Although us parents aren't superhuman by managing your own anxiety in a productive way will demonstrate to your child, positive ways to manage and cope with anxiety so they can copy those strategies when they feel anxious.
3) Be patient and understanding with your child.
Sometimes the behaviours of anxious children and young people may seem unreasonable to others and it can play out in many ways. Changing anxious behaviours can takes time, patience and persistence. Be kind and never dismiss your child's fears or worries.
4)Support them to accept change and the unknown
It's impossible to eliminate uncertainty all together but you can help your child to become more resilient. Our supportive journal for children helps build children's resilience so they are able to deal with change in a positive way.
5) Teach your child relaxation techniques
Teaching your child relaxation techniques such as mindfulness, deep breathing, meditation and journaling has been scientifically proved to help reduce anxiety symptoms.
Our Wellbeing Growth Journal helps to relax children whilst building confidence, self-esteem and resilience.
This supportive journal for children has been created to help children explore their thoughts and feelings and start to truly believe in themselves as Remarkable human beings.
This journal will show children that little failures = resilience, confidence, and unbelievable growth.
Children will feel inspired to try new things, take a few risks and step out of their comfort zone.
They will learn to embrace and love who they truly are because the world is an incredible place, full of difference and diversity.
And by the end of it, children will have their feet firmly on the path
to reaching their goals, feeling super happy and confident!