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Supporting Your Child’s Physical and Mental Health

child’s health

One of your jobs as a parent is to ensure your child is healthy, both physically and emotionally. This doesn’t just mean you need to feed them a balanced diet and make sure they have a reasonable bedtime, as you probably have those mastered already; there’s more to it than that. Read on for some advice from a prep school in Somerset.

Consider Your Child’s Home Environment

What is your child’s home life like? Do you allow them to express their thoughts and opinions without judgement? Do they know that they have your full support no matter what? Your child’s happiness at home will have a huge impact on their health, because if they constantly feel stressed, their immune system will be compromised, and they may end up with mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety.

Try to focus on praising your child when you see them doing something you approve of, rather than relying on punishment to determine their behaviour. Demonstrate a positive and optimistic attitude around your child so that they don’t dwell on things that have upset them. Remind them regularly that they can come to you with any concerns so that they don’t bottle up their troubles.

Maintain Contact with Your Child’s Teachers

Staying in touch with your child’s teachers will not only allow you to monitor their progress, but it will also show them how dedicated you are to their success. Essentially, it will show them that you care about their school life, as well as their life at home. What’s more, it will allow you to be aware of and deal with any problems that arise at school, such as friendship troubles or issues with learning. It will show your child that they are not alone.

Try to Limit Your Child’s Screen Time

Parents are rightfully becoming increasingly more concerned with the amount of time their children spend playing on digital devices. Too much screen time is unhealthy, both physically and mentally, so it’s up to you to encourage your child to put their devices down and explore other avenues of entertainment. Of course, it would be impossible and probably quite unfair to ban screens completely, but you could consider establishing a rule such as 2 hours a day maximum on digital devices.

Also Read: THE BEST PARENTAL CONTROL APPS FOR PARENTS IN 2020

You will need to lead by example and put your own phone down, to show your child that there are other ways to spend your time. Encourage them to play out in the garden, bake a cake or read a book. Younger children, in particular, will need help coming up with some ideas of how to keep themselves entertained, so perhaps you could take them to the park or provide them with crafting supplies.

Urge Your Child to Join an Extra-Curricular Activity

There are so many extra-curricular clubs your child could join to help them channel their energy in a healthy way and learn new skills. Having a hobby will be great for your child’s physical and mental health because it will allow them to blow off some steam and build relationships with like minded people.

Have a look into what’s available at your child’s school and also within the local community and see if you can find something that suits their interests. Of course, there are the obvious options, like sport or music, but there are also things like debate club or chess, which they might like. Unless they are genuinely interested, it will just be a waste of everyone’s time.