In today’s society, parents are faced with the very real probability that their child will someday suffer from a mental health illness.
Statistics showed in 2014, one in every five adults have a diagnosable mental disorder. That’s 18.1% of the population. And that was a long time ago.
The same can be said for young adults. 20% currently are or will be at some point diagnosed with a mental health illness such as depression, anxiety, or substance use.
The percentage of youth age 8-15 with a diagnosable mental disorder are as follows.
Any disorder – 13.1%
ADHD – 8.6%
Mood disorders – 3.7%
Major depressive disorder – 2.7%
So what should we as parents do with this information?
Should we sit back, hope, and pray that our kids are mentally healthy? Or is there something we can do to help them accept themselves, better process negative emotions, and learn to navigate through difficulties?
I write a lot here on Word from the Bird about bridging the emotional gap between parents and children so that they can have healthy communication and relationships.
Today, I specifically want to address the things we communicate to our kids that will positively affect them, and nurture their emotional and mental health. I genuinely believe that when the family unit is healthy, our society can be healthy.
Check out this incredible parenting book by Paul David Tripp – Parenting.
Why you should be asking your child these questions daily
Sometimes our attention as parents misses the emotional mark of our children’s needs, to simply providing for them physically. But children need so much more than a hot meal and quick convo at dinner. They need intentionality, and for you to identify with them — empathize with them.
Along with modeling what a healthy person looks like, as parents, we are given the responsibility to help our children navigate their negative emotions.
And even though we may feel helpless, and think that the only way our kids will learn how to do that is with a therapist, we are not helpless, and we can directly influence our children and equip them to thrive emotionally in our culture.
Not to say that your child shouldn’t have a therapist or counselor.
There are situations that your child may need outside help.
In fact, it takes humility on a parents part to allow their children a mentor, or other healthy adults in their life, such as a counselor.
Children sometimes will better seek advice from an adult who isn’t their parent. So as they get older, don’t discourage other healthy individuals to be apart of their life.
Parenting also includes accepting that you won’t always have the answers — and that’s okay. What’s important is that you do your best to research, understand, and apply everything you can to better identify with your children, and give them the tools to work through their emotions.