Children require a supportive space to grow healthy and emotionally stable. As a parent, the temptation to over-rely on a stern parenting method is inappropriate and creates an unconducive environment in the home. How are you there for your kids emotionally? In the United States alone, about 7.1% of children aged three to seventeen years suffer from anxiety-related issues detrimental to their mental health. It is essential to be there for your kids emotionally, and here is how:
1. Listen first before talking
In most scenarios, parents fail to listen to their children and instead go off on them. By doing this, you miss the opportunity to provide your youngster with his or her freedom of expression. Make a deliberate effort to listen to their opinions and how a situation must have impacted their emotions or psyche. For example, if your child comes to you with a complaint, take the time to listen to them express themselves before you go ahead to reply.
2. Avoid quashing your kids’ emotions
The more you silence a child, the more they keep a lid on their emotions. Over time, this accumulation of unexpressed emotions creates issues for their mental wellbeing. Behavioral scientists recommend allowing a child to go through the process of a tantrum or meltdown before coming in to offer help. Also, do not disregard your child when they come to you for support or some comfort. Instead, help them find solutions to their problems.
3. Express your own emotions
Unconsciously, in the effort to come across as a stoic parent, you miss out on the chance of opening up to your children. Remember that children imitate what they see. Therefore, once in a while, open up to them. For example, if you’re injured in an accident and you’re looking for highly-seasoned personal injury attorneys, share the challenges that you’re having with your kids. When you open up, you teach the youngsters the concept of discussing issues, trust, and seeking emotional support. It also allows them to trust you more and builds their confidence to know that if you can get through your personal distresses, so can they.
4. Build confidence
It is a good thing to want to raise a tough kid. However, in your attempts to do so, you may not be helping them build self-confidence and self-esteem. Did you know the majority of the time, self-confidence is created through the admission of failures or pain and the willingness to face it better another time? Give them enough support to push them to conquer their fears and not necessarily to shield them from it. If your child is afraid of the dark, you can take little steps with them to help get over the fear. Leaving the lights on could gradually turn into using just a nightlight, and soon, your child would be confident to take the next steps.
Creating an emotionally supportive environment for your child is beneficial not just to them but to the entire family. It helps build a mentality that every big emotion can be talked through with trust and understanding. Children learn to be kinder to themselves when they see that in you.