Top Worry for Parents - Mental Health in Kids

Mental health is one of the biggest things parents are worried about more than anything else for their children. In this week’s blog post, check out three proven ways that every parent can help improve their children’s mental health.

What is the top worry parents have for their children? Mental health! More than any other topic, parents are worried about their children’s mental well being. Thankfully, there are three proven ways every parent can improve their children’s mental health.

Time Outdoors

The more time you spend outside, the better your mental health will be. Study after study has found connections between time spent outside and:

• Stress reduction
• Better attention and cognitive function
• Increased happiness
• Increased subjective well-being
• Increase in positive social interactions
• Greater sense of meaning and purpose in life.
• Decreased mental distress

We highly recommend creating a rhythm and expectation of time spent outdoors for your children because the longer they are outside, the better their mental health will be. This could look something like having their afternoon snack in the backyard, a family walk after dinner, or weekly trips to the park!

Quality Family Time

The more time parents spend with children through activities like playing games, talking, or eating meals, the better the child’s mental well being. Quality family time— physical, not digital —significantly reduces depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses in children. 

We highly recommend being intentional with family time. Here are a couple of blogs on how to incorporate this in your family:

• Family Game Nights
• Family Day Ideas

Adequate Sleep 

Mental health practitioners are unanimously in agreement, sleep is a HUGE factor in mental health! One study found that those who average 6 hours or less of sleep per night were about 2.5 times more likely to have frequent mental distress than those who slept more than 6 hours. Most parents agree, sleep is important. But did you know that the number one disruptor of quality sleep is screens?

In fact, study after study has found that screen time in the 30 minutes prior to bed significantly disrupts the quality of sleep for the entire night. This is because the blue lights from screens affects melatonin production in the brain. 

Two Simple Ideas for How to Prevent the Negative Effects of Screens on Sleep

1. Wind down. Create a 30–60-minute wind down routine before bed. Include rituals like teeth brushing, reading aloud from a book, picking up the house, or any other activity that is not screen related. Try to do these outside the bedroom so your brain associates your bed with sleep only. 
2. Turn off screens 30 minutes prior to bed. Encourage kids to use a dim light to read a book or a printout instead of scrolling on a screen or watching tv.

We pray that you include these things in your family life. And know that we in MecKidz are praying for the mental health of your children.

 

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SOURCES:

Mental Health: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/01/24/parenting-in-america-today/
Adequate Sleep: https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2021/20_0573.htm & https://www.sbm.org/healthy-living/blue-in-the-face-the-effects-of-blue-light-on-sleep?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1678273678&gbraid=0AAAAAC8Q9sXZQDrPaWy3bj42aaOojChWJ&gclid=CjwKCAjw04HIBhB8EiwA8jGNba4t8IYvo1nBu-W6ZF4_WK6X2PDoTLjz0bK80Y21qjg0uPNkCu2b1xoCugQQAvD_BwE
Quality Family Time: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10106685/
Time Outside: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature

 

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