Books to help child mental health: Part 1
Good morning and welcome back to a new week. This week, I will be exploring some of the books available that you can use at home that can support children with their mental health. So if you would like some recommendations on books to help child mental health, then keep reading.
Firstly, before I start, a reminder that I am not an expert, psychologist or qualified professional.
So why use my advice?
Like I have explained above and in previous blog posts, I am not a qualified health professional and I am not a trained or qualified psychologist or therapist.
The advice and support that I aim to provide within my blogs comes from a 16-year background in Policing as well as being a mother myself to a now 7 year old that has been exposed to both trauma and death in his little life.
Any of the recommendations within my blogs come from my own research or direct experience of either implementing these strategies myself successfully, or developing those skills myself with my family.
Sometimes, practical advice from those directly impacted can be more relatable than text books. And with mental health teams currently at breaking point due to limited resources, self-help can often be the only option.
As I’ve said before, if in any doubt then please seek professional help, but some of the recommendations I will provide may help to broaden your own knowledge and understanding.
Some of the things that affect child mental health
As adults with many years of life experience, it’s often difficult to understand or appreciate why children might struggle with their mental health at such a young age, but below I’ll be exploring some of the reasons that children suffer and some of the things that we may not be able to relate to.
Changes in daily routine
Even a simple change to their daily routine can leave youngsters feeling unsettled. This could be the move of a house and a different route to school, the introduction of a new sibling, or the breakdown of a relationship. Take the Pandemic, for example, I speak from my own experience when I say that this had a huge impact on my family in particular. So consider your own circumstances, were you suddenly furloughed and working from home? Were you trying to balance a job as well as teach your children? Were they prevented from seeing friends and other relatives? All of these things could lead to feelings of separation and anxiety as well as depression and frustration.
Impact of social media
Social media, as loved as it is by youngsters, teens as well as adults can be hugely impactful on mental health.
If, like me, you have taken to using it for work purposes there is a good chance you have stumbled across the negative side of it.
With children taking to it to write suicide diaries, posting about their poor relationships with food, bullying and knife crime to name but a few it’s no wonder that the children of the future are exposed to harmful content.
Peer pressure
As diverse as society is today, the pressure to conform is sadly still present. With so called ‘influencers’ saturating social media platforms such as YouTube, young people can be left feeling deflated and insignificant. This can be hugely impactful on confidence levels and social anxiety.
Childhood trauma
Just like adults, children can experience trauma and can be more exposed to trauma than we often realise. Whether that’s heartbreak through the loss of a loved one or a young relationship, dealing with the separation of parents or bullying. Or other situations such as illness, sibling illness, or witnessing violence or threatening behaviour. A lot of the time, children can be exposed to these things without our knowledge.
Communication
As I touched upon in my last blog, the key to understanding the challenges faced by children, begins at communication.
Before you overload yourself with all of the tools available, communication is one of the things we can develop with young people to understand their perspective.
Understanding what they are really dealing with and how it may be impacting them is half the battle.
Take time to engage, listen and understand their emotions and you’ll build a good foundation for taking the next steps towards seeking more support.
Come back this week for Part 2 of my blog, Books to help child mental health.
If you’d rather skip the info, then check out how my new book ‘Shipwrecked SOS’ could help you,
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Thank you for reading,
Sabrina x