Children’s Mental Health and Positive Parenting Methods

Children’s mental health is no less important than a child’s physical and intellectual health. Parents may feel responsible and concerned about ensuring that their child grows up in a healthy way, helping them develop a balanced, stable, and independent personality, and providing a suitable environment for their mental, physical, and psychological growth. Children who suffer from mental health problems often find it difficult to adapt to different circumstances. Studies have shown that if these children are left untreated and are not referred to mental health specialists, they may experience feelings of inferiority, negativity, lack of self-confidence, and poor academic performance. However, when they are supported correctly, they can live healthier lives and overcome many of the problems that affect them.

Conditions Required to Support Children’s Mental Health:

• Giving the child the opportunity to freely express what is inside their mind and feelings, and helping them get used to expressing themselves so they can communicate with others and avoid suppressing their emotions and thoughts.
• The child should grow up in a balanced environment and within a stable and understanding family, especially from birth until the age of 5, as this period is when the child’s personality is formed and has a strong impact on their mental health.
• Parents should have the necessary awareness to understand proper ways of dealing with children, and the relationship between them should be based on friendship rather than fear. For example, if a child experiences a problem such as sexual harassment, the child should be able to express what happened, and parents should know how to deal with such situations.
• Developing the child’s mental abilities through play, and encouraging parents to use games that stimulate the child’s physical and intellectual skills.
• Child mental health experts emphasize the importance of the school’s role in communicating properly with children and developing their cognitive and social communication skills in a healthy way.
• Parents should be aware of the risks of exposing children to verbal, emotional, and physical abuse.
• Providing support for children to discover their talents and giving them strong self-confidence.
• Child mental health specialists recommend the importance of applying the principle of reward and punishment with the child.
• The importance of providing children with sexual awareness so they can protect themselves from any harm they may be exposed to.