Child’s Mental Health
Kids are becoming increasingly anxious. And according to a Canadian psychologist specializing in children and young people, it’s the things we post on social media that are likely causing it. We have “over-parented” our children and given them too much autonomy, which has led to kids developing anxiety about peer pressure and overthinking every decision made by each person around them. We need to teach kids how to be resilient in the face of individual situations and daily life. Benoit Morin, PHSA deals with this issue regularly when he speaks to parents. He offers some advice and tips to help kids manage anxiety.
Tips and Advice By Benoit Morin PHSA To Help Kids Manage Anxiety
1. Be conscious of the many potential triggers for anxiety.
We are bombarded with so much information on social media, but our kids are exposed to it 24/7, and it’s not helping them cope with their anxiety in any way. We need to regulate what they see, who they see, and when they see it. Benoit Morin, PHSA, will recommend how parents can control their kids’ access to social media.
2. Be aware of the potential triggers for anxiety and what is causing them.
Many times kids will be overthinking something in a classroom that isn’t even happening, or they’ll be worrying about what other students are thinking about them when nothing is going on at all; they’ve always done their best, and kids know they did their best and this classmate of theirs just isn’t getting it. What triggers lead to anxiety in kids, and how can we mitigate them?
3. Develop resilience.
The issue of overparenting our kids has been a hot topic lately, and it’s not helping our children cope with life changes. We need to teach kids how to be resilient, and resilience is what Benoit Morin, PHSA talks about in his presentations about child psychology for parents.
4. Take care of your kids when they get anxious.
The anxiety they feel with you results from overthinking something harmless, like a classmate staring at them or a peer pressure situation. When it’s over, you can work on setting healthy boundaries and teach them how to deal with the triggers accordingly to prevent further incidents from overwhelming them.
5. Try listening to what your child is saying and showing interest in why they feel anxious about something.
Benoit Morin, PHSA, is a strong advocate for parents to listen and show interest in what their kids are talking about. During his presentations about child psychology for adults and parents, he often asks the audience if they would like to ask a question, then he will ask his question to some of them about their children. The kids love it because it shows that he is paying attention and cares. Parents need to know why their children are anxious about something, and we can show them the way.
6. Help kids manage stress by giving them a break in their playtime.
Kids often try to solve their anxiety by over-tiring themselves and need time to relax. Doing that is counterproductive because it leads them to even more anxiety and mental stress when they can’t forget what they were doing before. The way to solve it is to give them a break, just like we do for adults.
7. Teach kids some strategies on how to cope with anxiety.
When they start handling their anxiety, they can be empowered when they know what to do when it starts affecting them. At the end of the day, if you are too busy, you need other people in your life that you can trust to come and help with your child if they need individualized attention.
8. Encourage kids to exercise.
Kids are increasingly anxious about things that are not important; they tend to overthink and over-exert themselves in situations where it doesn’t even matter at all. Stressing yourself in unnecessary ways can harm your child’s mental and physical health. Benoit Morin, PHSA, will give some recommendations in his presentations about child psychology for parents.
9. Help kids manage their emotions.
Benoit Morin, PHSA, says that teaching kids other ways to cope with their emotions is crucial because many do not know how to deal with them, and they feel helpless when overwhelmed by intense situations. When you give your child a different perspective and teach him how to understand his emotions better, they will become more confident in handling it and accept themselves better as the anxiety fades away naturally.
10. Work as a team with your kids and show them that you care about their well-being.
Patience is a virtue in all relationships. It’s very important to teach our kids the value of patience and the importance of good communication to have a healthy relationship with everyone around us. Benoit Morin, PHSA, will give some recommendations in his presentations about child psychology for parents.
Things That Parents Need To Understand About Kids
- Kids will often try to think of ways to solve their problems by worrying about it that doesn’t help them. They get frustrated and anxious when they don’t know a solution. They need adults to tell them that they are looking at the situation from the wrong perspective and then help them find the right answers.
A common trigger for anxiety in kids is when they feel peer pressure to do well on something or be friends with someone. They need adults who will show them the way through things when they’re feeling anxious, then teach them how to manage it so that they can live a healthy lifestyle.
- Kids often try to overthink things that don’t matter. When overthinking makes them anxious, they don’t know how to stop it. Depending on the situation, a kid might put too much pressure on themself to work hard to do well in school or not have fun like before. Parents need to be aware that kids might feel like martyrs for a certain thing or get stressed out by that thing only because of what they are going through in life.
- Kids need to know they can be confident and handle their emotions in difficult situations. Adults help them if they don’t know how to do something, and usually, the adults teach kids about their emotions and help them understand that it’s normal for them to have them. They have their little world in their mind that makes things happen differently than we think, so we need to let kids explore all of their thoughts without bullying or judging because it will only make them more anxious and depressed.
- Not all kids will like the same things, and that’s okay. Everyone has a different personality, and that’s okay. Parents need to know that the kids might feel more stressed out about a certain thing than others because of some trigger, but in the end, they’ll be okay with it because each kid has coping skills for handling situations like this.
Conclusion:
Benoit Morin PHSA said that it’s normal for kids to feel anxiety, and we all should remember that they are growing up in a complicated world with a lot of places where they can be exposed to situations that are too much for their little minds. Helping them manage their emotions will empower them and help them develop healthy mental well-being skills so they can enjoy life with confidence instead of feeling stuck in a bubble of anxiety.
