How To Maintain Emotional Well-being Of Children This Children's Day
The emotional well-being of a child is as important as his/her physical and mental well-being. Emotional wellness plays a significant role, particularly when it comes to dealing with anxiety issues, behavioural problems, and academics. Emotionally healthy children are able to cope up with everyday life in a better way such as dealing with peer pressure, stress, cyberbullying, depression, etc.
As academicians, parents and mentors, it is imperative for us to take some time out to nurture the emotional health of children from an early age so that they grow into well-rounded, competent and healthy adults.
Ways to maintain emotional well-being of children:
1. Engage in Healthy Communication
Engage in healthy communication with the child on regular intervals. If the child throws tantrums or misbehaves, instead of scolding, try to understand the reason for this kind of behaviour. Communicating with the child helps in maintaining the emotional well-being. You can also share a similar experience with the child where you also underwent the feelings of anger, loss, sadness, etc. and how you managed them. It will help the child to accept that it is okay to feel the way he/she is feeling.
2. Boost Confidence
Low self-confidence can be a result of emotional instability. It is, thus, important to make necessary efforts to boost the confidence of the child. Regular encouragement and motivation can go a long way towards strengthening the confidence of the child. Irrespective of how the child is performing in academics or extracurricular activities, always push him/her to do better the next time and let the child know that you believe in his/her ability. When you believe in your child, he/she will also start believing in himself/herself.
3. Engage in Activities
One of the ways to maintain emotional well-being in children is by engaging them in the activities of their interest. It gives the child a way to express and vent out the feelings positively and productively.
4. Be Aware
It is important to be aware of your child’s reactions and behaviours. It will help you attend to them in a better way. If your child is acting out or behaving differently, maybe they are in trouble or need your help. It is important to be aware of such behavioural changes and address them as soon as possible.
5. Help the Child Recognize Feelings
It is essential to teach children different emotions and feelings. They should be able to recognize what they are feeling and express it without inhibitions. Always encourage children to share their feelings. It will help them to open up. Set a good example yourself. Talk to the child about your feelings and how you expressed them and came up with the solution. It will help the child to deal with his/her emotions in a better way.
6. Listen to the Child
Children want to be heard and understood. Always listen to your child before offering any advice or scolding them. Make them feel comfortable. It will help them express how they feel openly and they will not have to struggle with sharing their feelings in the future. Support the child identify and express his/her feelings.
7. Encourage the Child
Praising children when they share their feelings helps them to understand that it is okay to talk about them. Moreover, they will know they did the right thing by reaching out to you and that they’ll always have your support.
To conclude, children need to receive the right kind of support at home, school as well as in their peer group. Nurturing emotional health of children from an early age helps to inculcate positive feelings in them which in turn helps them to feel confident and they can focus on their academics in a better way. Maintaining the emotional well-being of the child empowers them for the future. They not only feel more competent, capable and confident, but also perform better in school and display less behavioural problems. Sound emotional health enables children to think lucid, mature socially and acquire new skills.
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