Big Feelings & Small Feelings
Children's Mental Health Week
It's Children's Mental Health week in the UK, while I may not be living in the UK (though I met my husband and got married there), it's a fitting way to conclude my Get Fit - mind, body and health theme for the month of January.
This pandemic that we're all living through, is not only hard on us as adults, but it's especially harder on our children. Why? Because they're not always able to express themselves. But they're watching us navigate through this, day after day. So regardless of their age, here are some ways to start a positive and healthy conversation around their mental health and well-being:
-
Get fit: Challenge them to do everyday household activities to get moving - make meals together, help with laundry, play hide and seek, go out for a walk, exercise, etc.
-
Feelings: How are they feeling? Ask them to express their feelings, whether it be through words, art, music, thoughts, dance, movement, etc. Share your feelings with them - upset or happy or sad? Tell them how you're feeling so they can learn to share and express the same.
Recently, my 28 months old taught me to express my feelings! While having dinner, she saw the frustration on my face while she was getting up and down her seat trying to eat her meal and said "Amma (mom) angry?" And then it hit me. She's starting to recognize and express others feelings. Since then, when she's upset or happy or expresses any sort of feelings, I make it a point to tell her - "you're happy, aren't you?" And we laugh or smile. Or "You're angry and upset, yes? I know," and explain to her why. This has helped me to be more calm under stressful toddler tantrum situations while also keeping her calm during her moments of bursts!
-
Solve a problem: Once a week, start a mini-family project, your own mini problem to solve. Get everyone in the family involved and talk about the goal and see how everyone can contribute to get it done. It could be cleaning a room together or starting an arts and craft project - pick from among the list of to-do's for the weekend! You never know, you might just spark an interest or discover a hobby!
-
Eat, drink and sleep: This is everything. Eat healthy, drink plenty of water and get good night's sleep! Start your day with yoga or simple stretches and wind down the same way.
- We've taken face to face interaction for granted and it's so hard right now to see our families and friends, but virtual chats are everything now, so let them to talk, play games and have fun!
- Finally, I'm no expert. I'm a mom, a friend, an aunt, just like all of you, navigating parenthood and scouring through unlimited loads of information to give my daughter the experience I've never had. If there's anything I've learned in the past year, is that I don't have the answers but I can observe my daughter, support her to express her feelings and always, always tell her "let's do it together (tidy toys, try something new or brush her hair)" and those words make a world of difference!
While these may be great tips, it really starts with us as parents, grandparents and/or friends, to think about our own mental health and well-being, so we can boost our little ones.
