Bunmi Oyinsan’s Post

How Parents Behaviour Affect the Mental Health of their Children - As parents, we all want the best for our children. We aim to provide them with love and care which helps them to succeed in life. But sometimes, we may underestimate the profound impact our own behaviour can have on our children's mental health. In reality, our actions, our words plays an important role in shaping their emotional well-being. The journey of parenthood is not easy as it keeps evolving over the time. It is natural to be frustrated, stressed and have mood swings. But, it is important to understand that our kids are highly affected by how we behave and handle a situation. We as a parent are role model of our children and our activities can influence our children positively as well as negatively. 1. Emotional Expression Children learn about emotions by observing their parents. If parents consistently express anger, anxiety, or sadness without healthy ways of coping, children may adopt similar patterns. On the other hand, parents who model emotional regulation and open communication can help children develop these essential skills. 2. Communication Styles The way parents communicate with their children can either foster a sense of security or insecurity. Harsh criticism, yelling, or constant negativity can erode a child's self-esteem and create a toxic environment. Encouraging, empathetic, and respectful communication, on the other hand, can strengthen the parent-child bond and nurture emotional well-being. 3. Setting Healthy Boundaries Clear and consistent boundaries are vital for a child's sense of security. Parents who establish and enforce rules in a loving and consistent manner provide structure and stability. In contrast, inconsistent or overly permissive parenting can lead to confusion and anxiety in children. 4. Self-Care Parents often prioritise their children's well-being above their own, but neglecting self-care can lead to burnout and strained relationships. Taking time for self-care, pursuing personal interests, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance sets an example for children to prioritise their own well-being. 5. Seeking Professional Help It's important to acknowledge that parenting can be incredibly challenging, and no one is perfect. If you're concerned about your child's mental health or your own ability to provide a nurturing environment, seeking professional help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Therapists, counsellors, and support groups can offer guidance and support. In conclusion, as parents, we hold a profound responsibility for the mental well-being of our children. Our behaviour, attitudes, and actions shape their understanding of the world and themselves. By modelling emotional intelligence, effective communication, and resilience, we can foster healthy minds and strong spirits in our children. #happyworldmentalhealthday

Khalid’s Knowledge Mentally Strong Kids Have Parents Who Refuse to Do These 13 Things! Mental strength is what helps kids bounce back from setbacks and it gives them the strength to keep going, even when they're plagued with self-doubt. A strong mental muscle is the key to helping kids reach their greatest potential in life. 1. Condoning a Victim Mentality Refuse to attend your kids' pity parties. Teach them that no matter how tough or unjust their circumstances, they can always take positive action. 2. Parenting Out of Guilt Show your kids that even though you feel guilty sometimes--and all good parents do--you're not going to allow your uncomfortable emotions to get in the way of making wise decisions. 3. Making Their Kids the Center of the Universe Teach your kids to focus on what they have to offer the world, rather than what they can gain from it. 4. Allowing Fear to Dictate Their Choices Show your kids that the best way to conquer fear is to face those fears head-on and you'll raise courageous kids who are willing to step outside their comfort zones. 5. Giving Their Kids Power Over Them Letting kids dictate what the family is going to eat for dinner or where the family is going on vacation gives kids more power than they are developmentally ready to handle. Treating kids like an equal--or the boss--actually robs them of mental strength. 6. Expecting Perfection Expecting your kids to perform well is healthy. But expecting them to be perfect will backfire. Teach your kids that it's OK to fail and it's OK not to be great at everything they do. 7. Letting Their Kids Avoid Responsibility kids who perform age-appropriate duties aren't overburdened. Instead, they're gaining the mental strength they need to become responsible citizens. 8. Shielding Their Kids From Pain Hurt feelings, sadness, and anxiety are part of life. And letting kids experience those painful feelings gives them opportunities to practice tolerating discomfort. 9. Feeling Responsible For Their Kids' Emotions Proactively teach your child healthy ways to cope with their emotions so they don't depend on others to do it for them. 10. Preventing Their Kids From Making Mistakes Let your kids mess up sometimes and show them how to learn from their mistakes so they can grow wiser and become stronger. 11. Confusing Discipline With Punishment Punishment involves making kids suffer for their wrongdoing. Discipline, however, is about teaching them how to do better in the future. 12. Taking Shortcuts to Avoid Discomfort Although giving in to a whining child or doing your kids' chores for them will make your life a little easier right now, those shortcuts instill unhealthy habits in your kids. 13. Losing Sight of Their Values Many parents aren't instilling the values they hold dear in their children. Instead, they're so wrapped up in the day-to-day chaos of life that they forget to look at the bigger picture.

Anxiety is at record highs among teens and young people, and experts are pointing the finger at everything from phones to politics to helicopter parenting. One of the main causes of this increase in anxiety is parents' over-the-top stress about their kids' future. In a world where college graduates earn significantly more and outlive those without a degree, it's understandable that parents would be anxious about their kids' academic achievements. However, research shows that the more parents stress about their kids' grades, the more miserable their kids become. This is because when parents always lead with schoolwork-related questions, kids learn that what their parents really care about is their achievements, not them. One simple change parents can make to help protect their children's mental health is to "lead with lunch" instead of asking their kids about school right away when they walk through the door. By asking their kids about their day, their interests, and their friends, parents can show them that they care about them as whole people, not just their academic achievements. This can help to reduce anxiety and build a stronger parent-child relationship. Of course, parents should still be involved in their kids' schooling and support their success. But they can do this without pressuring them all the time. Breheny Wallace, the author of the book Never Enough: When Achievement Pressure Becomes Toxic -- and What We Can Do About It, suggests that parents save conversations about academics and future plans for a single allotted hour on the weekend. This way, kids can understand how much their parents value academic achievement and hard work, but also know that their love for them isn't tied to any particular outcome. By following these tips, parents can help to reduce anxiety and protect their children's mental health. Additional tips for parents: Be a role model. Show your kids that it's okay to make mistakes and that it's more important to learn from them than to be perfect. Teach your kids coping skills. Help them to identify their triggers and develop strategies for dealing with anxiety. Encourage your kids to be physically active. Exercise is a great way to reduce stress and improve mood. Make sure your kids are getting enough sleep. Sleep is essential for physical and mental health. Seek professional help if needed. If you're concerned about your child's mental health, talk to a doctor or therapist. It's important to remember that every child is different. What works for one child may not work for another. It's also important to be patient and consistent. It takes time to change habits and reduce anxiety. #ChildAnxiety #Anxiety #Child #Children #Parentingtips #Parenting #mentalhealth #emotionalhealth

As parents, we all want what's best for our children. We want them to grow up happy, healthy, and well-adjusted. One key aspect of a child's development is their social and emotional growth. This involves learning how to interact with others, manage their emotions, and navigate the complexities of relationships. In this blog post, we will explore some parenting practices that can help promote social and emotional development in children. Communication is key One of the most important things parents can do to promote social and emotional development in their children is to communicate openly and honestly with them. Encourage your child to express their thoughts and feelings, and listen attentively when they do. This helps them develop the skills needed to communicate effectively with others and build strong relationships. Set a good example Children learn by watching the adults around them, so it's important for parents to model positive social and emotional behaviors. Show your child how to handle stress, conflict, and difficult emotions in a healthy way. By demonstrating empathy, kindness, and respect towards others, you are teaching your child valuable lessons about how to interact with the world around them. Provide opportunities for play Play is essential for a child's social and emotional development. Through play, children learn important skills such as cooperation, problem-solving, and self-regulation. Encourage your child to engage in imaginative play with other children, which helps them learn how to take turns, share toys, and resolve conflicts peacefully. Offer praise and encouragement Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool for promoting social and emotional development in children. When your child exhibits desirable behaviors such as kindness or empathy towards others, be sure to praise them for their efforts. This helps boost their self-esteem and encourages them to continue engaging in positive behaviors. Teach emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions as well as those of others. Parents can help cultivate emotional intelligence in their children by talking openly about feelings, validating their emotions, and teaching them healthy coping strategies for dealing with stress or anxiety. Promoting social and emotional development in children is crucial for helping them navigate the complexities of relationships and live fulfilling lives. By practicing effective communication, setting a good example, providing opportunities for play, offering praise and encouragement, and teaching emotional intelligence skills, parents can help nurture these important aspects of their child's growth. Remember that each child is unique in their needs and abilities, so be patient as you support your child on their journey towards becoming socially adept individuals.

Play is seldom the first thing we think about when it comes to supporting children's mental health. This might be because we often interpret the phrase 'mental health' to mean 'mental ill-health'. When we think about how parents can support children's mental health, we usually think about using listening skills for emotion coaching, and how we can build children's self-esteem and support their emotional regulation. All of these are certainly helpful. However, one of the most important ways parents can nurture children's mental health is by supporting their play. By exploring through play, children develop lifelong skills and competencies and lay down neurological pathways in their brains. Good play experiences build children's emotional and social skills and their resilience. For example, through watching, listening and interacting in play, children learn to rise to challenges, deal with frustration, interact with others and develop problem-solving and coping skills. In my latest blog post, you'll find out: 🙂 How play helps children's mental health 🙂 How parents can support play experiences 🙂 How to support your child's mental health through play Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eW7Cx69B #parenting #play #earlyyears #earlyyearseducation #playmatters #ShapingUs #childrensmentalhealth #workingparents #EmotionalHealthWeek 👉 I run a social enterprise that delivers workplace parenting support to help working parents balance career and family. We work with top international firms to support D&I, wellbeing and talent retention strategies. I'd love to connect to see how we might support your working parents.

Anger/grief can harm the parent-child relationship and the overall well-being of both the parent and the child. The children feel it, fear it, and it can repel them. They are in survival mode because of the psychological abuse aka ‘parental alienation’. Attachment theory emphasises the importance of secure attachments between children and their caregivers for healthy emotional and social development. When a parent allows intense hatred for their ex-partner to interfere with the child's relationship with the other parent, it can disrupt the secure attachment the child needs for optimal development. Stressors, such as intense emotions related to a past/broken relationship, can influence coping strategies. A parent might cope with stress by engaging in maladaptive behaviours, such as denigrating and alienating the other parent. Chronic stress resulting from traumatic conflict can impair a parent's ability to provide nurturing and supportive parenting. Stress can also affect cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, and the ability to respond sensitively to a child's needs. Intense hatred may contribute to personality-disordered delusions and cognitive dissonance, a psychological phenomenon where people experience discomfort when holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes. This internal conflict can manifest in inconsistent behaviours, making it challenging for a parent to maintain a positive and consistent relationship with the child and the ex-partner. Anger and resentment can stop us all in our tracks. Not just the alienating parent. It can consume us. If we’re not careful, it can rob us of happiness, health, and other good things in our life we can still be grateful for despite whatever is going on that’s not currently how we want it to be. Negative emotions like anger can change us, turn us into something we’re not and impact all our relationships, our work, and our lives. We owe it to ourselves and our children to focus on our well-being and understand the pathology of ‘parental alienation’, especially because dealing with it is counter-intuitive. We need to practise self-care and develop healthy boundaries. Thanks to longboards_by_solo for this: “Sure, we all suffered greatly when dealing w/ a narcissistic “co-parent” but harbouring such resentment, it truly only cripples any reconnection w/ our kids. My relationship w/ my Daughter is in a new chapter of healing, I owe it to you, my research, therapy and my desire to never stop growing, healing and my willingness to do the work w/ my kid to help her overcome her own traumas placed upon her doorstep by both me and her mother. And yes, for any of you who choose to read this, it does get better, but only if one does the hard work. Setting the ego aside and never seeking revenge is critical.” #parentalalienation #parentalalienationawareness #childcustody #fathersrights #mothersrights #sharedparenting #parentalalienationsyndrome #survivingparentalalienation #charliemccready

I work with adolescents and teens battling anxiety. And this work extends to include their parent too. Here’s why - Often it’s the anxiety of the parent that is being reflected by the child - Whether A child learns to cope or breakdown in their anxious moment could depend on the parent - The environment a child grows up in reflects in their life skills and self worth. So its only natural that any work involving a young child by default involves parents too. Here are somethings that we as parents can do to support our children while they learn to manage their anxiety 1) Remember that anxiety cannot be eliminated. It can be managed. – anxiety , worry , stress have a role to play in living, learning and growth. It’s the extreme anxiety that starts to interfere with daily functioning and becomes a matter of concern. As parents we need to accept first that Our child’s anxiety is just a reflection of their inability to cope with a challenge. Its not to be labeled as a disability or disadvantage. When you relax your expectations you learn to respond better to your child’s need 2) You can never have all the right answers. Trying to help your child deal with anxiety may force you to ask " Am I a competent parent". Our desire to protect them , provide solutions and create fail safe outcomes can send us down a rabbit hole of feeling worthless as parents. Helping your child to cope with anxiety is not about solutions but about support. You can sit with them , discuss options with them or sometimes even agree to how difficult the situation is. 3) Check in with your own response pattern. Are you avoiding things to keep your child comfortable? Are you leading them into conversations that amplify their negative thoughts? Are you being overly dismissive or overly sympathetic to their challenge? Are you helping them set realistic expectations? Your to response to their feelings today will set the stage for how they cope with challenges in the future. 4) Teach your child to be ok with their discomfort. I cannot emphasise this enough. This is one skill that I find a gap with most commonly today. Discomfort is unacceptable. There needs to be immediate relief , distraction or solution. Teach them that its ok to come back to a problem after some time or that sometimes all you can do is breathe through the difficult moment . Assure them that you will be there to talk about it maybe an hour or so later when they feel calmer. Reassure them that you are on their team. Revise a coping plan that empowers e.g "Everytime you find your heart racing with anxiety first take a sip of water" 5) And lastly – Be the model of healthy coping. Your children learn more from what they observe around them rather than what they hear or read. They need examples of healthy responses and empowering patters to mimic. This is where you step in.

As students head back to school, it's essential to prioritize their mental health and well-being. This article from Skyland Trail provides actionable strategies for parents to support their teen's mental health and success.  https://lnkd.in/diDqvxqx #TeenMentalHealth #BackToSchoolStrategies #SupportingTeens #MentalWellbeing #ZenithBH

Parents, teachers, and anyone working with children must sometimes set limits, which can be difficult. How do you set firm limits while still being kind and supportive? 🙋♀️🙋♂️ Here's a blog from Diane Boehm, LPC, RPT, our Momentous School Mental Health Professional.

Why Is Your Family's Emotional Connection Important? Families with healthy emotional communication practices allow children to develop better coping mechanisms to overcome communication challenges. However, when families unconsciously or consciously dismiss their child’s emotions, they invalidate their child’s needs and thoughts. This parenting practice can lead to children developing less emotional intelligence and pave the way to mental health issues, including increased chances of anxiety, depression, and lack of empathy. As easy as it is to ignore, downplay, or get frustrated with your child’s emotions, grownups must understand that children have thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and worries that need to be heard. From an adult’s perspective these feelings may seem small, but to a child, they are immense. Talk to your child about their emotions and use the conversation as an opportunity to grow your parent/child relationship. Grownups can introduce positive emotional communication practices to kids. https://lnkd.in/gSDGeken #ei