“Building resilience in children is not about making them tough. Resilience is the ability to recover from difficulties and manage how you feel.”- Unknown
In recent years, mental health has received a lot of attention. Whilst it remains one of the most important elements for happy and healthy living, it is extremely under researched and is rarely spoken of in some parts of the world.
The World Health Organisation describes mental health as a “state of well-being” which enables us to “cope with the normal stresses of life”. The reality is some of us will at some point experience loss or trauma, but our ability to rationalise and see beyond our challenges will help us overcome these obstacles.
Mental wellbeing enables children to mature into well-rounded and functioning adults by allowing them to develop resilience techniques and other necessary life skills. As guardians we have a duty to provide an enabling environment which promotes good mental health. It is also important that we are able to recognise the signs when our young ones are going through any mental health challenge or when an environment undermines their mental wellbeing.