Discussions and awareness around mental health have increased significantly in recent years, but many people still feel a stigma around the topic, and consequently struggle to talk about it — this can be even harder when you’re talking to children, who might not have the vocabulary or capacity for understanding complex topics. 

But talking to kids about mental health is incredibly important. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, one in five US children aged 3 – 17 has a mental, emotional, behavioral, or developmental disorder. Even if your child doesn’t appear to be suffering from any one of these, it doesn’t mean they won’t, either in their childhood, adolescence, or as they move through adulthood. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than one in five adults in the United States live with a mental illness.

While there are professionals who can help discuss and diagnose mental health issues in children, like those who have studied counseling psychology online masters programs, it’s important that parents and caregivers start teaching their kids about mental health while they’re young in order to instill healthy habits and encourage a well-rounded understanding of the complexities of mental health. There are many ways you can do this:

1. Age-appropriate Mindfulness 

Mindfulness is a mental state where you entirely focus on the present moment, practicing calmness, typically focusing on your breathing, thoughts, and feelings. Practicing mindfulness can help to reduce stress and feelings of anxiety, as well as improve sleep and focus. 

While it might be difficult to get a young child to sit still and focus intentionally in the way that traditional mindfulness habits work, you can tailor practices to be more age appropriate. 

For example, you could set aside some quiet time in the morning or at night before bed to discuss their feelings, and take note of their surroundings and anything else they may have on their mind.

2. Open and Honest Conversations

One of the best things you can do to teach children about mental health and reduce stigma is to have open and honest conversations about it with them. There are a few ways you can do this: 

• Find opportunities to talk about mental health in everyday conversations, so that it doesn’t feel like such a big and scary, or even taboo, topic of discussion.
• Ask your children about how they are feeling and let them know that whatever it is, is okay, acknowledge that some feelings can be difficult and never shame them for how they feel.
• Be honest when you aren’t feeling your best, showing them that this is normal, and that talking about it can help.
• Talk openly about mental health, how it affects people and what it means, find opportunities to dispel myths about mental health conditions.

3. Lifestyle Choices

There are many lifestyle choices that can contribute to better mental health outcomes. You can discuss these with children, but additionally, implement them in their everyday lives so that they become their normal:

• Nutrition: Ensuring a balanced diet that meets their nutritional needs may improve mental health outcomes.
• Sleep: A consistent sleep routine, as well as ensuring you get enough sleep is crucial to mental health. 
• Exercise: A healthy relationship with physical activity benefits mental health. 
• Self care: Time dedicated to rest, hobbies and social interactions all benefit mental health. 

4. Practice What You Preach

Children follow the examples that are set for them, and behaviors and attitudes to mental health are no exception to this. Make sure you engage in the habits you tell your kids to — they likely won’t take you seriously otherwise. If you’re asking them to open up to you, open up right back (in an age appropriate way, of course). If you’re telling them to exercise, make sure you’re being active too. If you’re demanding they sleep enough each night, set an example by having your own consistent bedtime. 

5. Positive Self-talk

A really simple way you can encourage even very young children to look out for their own mental health is by practicing positive self-talk with them. Self-talk is how we speak to ourselves, largely internally rather than out loud, and unfortunately, we are often our own harshest critics. 

Self-talk can influence our perception of ourselves, influence our decision making, and affect our emotional responses. 

While you obviously can’t hear how your child talks to themselves internally, you can encourage them to use positive affirmations, saying things repeatedly out loud, to help them learn positive self-talk. You can also model positive self-talk by outwardly saying nice things about yourself. You can also identify negative self-talk when your children use it, and reassure them that they are wrong when they are being too harsh on themselves.

Education around mental health is incredibly important to everyone, no matter your age. By teaching children about it from a young age, and encouraging positive habits wherever you can, you can help them look after their own mental health, and better prepare them to deal with mental health struggles, whether for themselves or others.