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May 7 is Child and Youth Mental Health Day

By Aia Clamp May 4, 2016

Everyone has mental health.  You.  Me.  Even your cat George.

What may set us apart is the well-being of our mental health.

Reoccurring stress, lack of supports, isolation and poverty may impact the state of mental health. 

Children are especially sensitive to impacts to their mental health, and require love, positive attention and reasonable boundaries to feel secure and grow into healthy, well-balanced adults. 

So what can you do to help?

Let your child know you care

A smile, wink or a hug communicates how you feel about them, and they will notice! 

Encourage coping skills

Ensuring your child can effectively work through problems, big or small, sets them up for success.  Knowing when to take a mental break, playing well with others and engaging in healthy, physical activities may help increase coping skills in children.

Minimize negative stress

We can all do without extra stress!  Positive stress, or eustress, such as changes that leads to an improvement in your overall performance and productivity is healthy and can increase our ability to adapt.  If you are concerned about stress in your child, the American Psychology Association provides good information.

Laugh and Play

It may sound cliché, but laughter IS the best medicine.  Begin a tickle war, tell silly knock-knock jokes or dress up for a laughter marathon!  A minimum of one hour of daily physical exercise is also recommended to maintain positive well-being.  Sometimes it may be hard to get off the couch, but your body will thank you!

Wear green

Green was the colour used for patients in institutions for the mentally ill in the 1800’s.  Today we wear green to increase awareness of mental health and support children.  Green is the colour of new life, new growth and new beginnings.

Visit http://www.familysmart.ca/may-7th to find out more and join the conversation about child & youth mental health!

Child & Youth Mental Health Day runs at the end of Canada’s Mental Health Week.  See  http://getloud.mentalhealthweek.ca/ for details.

If you or a loved one have mental health concerns, please speak with your doctor.